DANNY WELBECK SHINES WITH BRACE IN BRIGHTON’S NEWCASTLE VICTORY
Danny Welbeck's brace, including an 84th-minute winner, seals a 2-1 victory for Brighton over Newcastle. Nick Woltemade's clever back-heel equaliser wasn't enough for the Magpies at the Amex Stadium.
At the Amex Stadium, Brighton defeated Newcastle 2-1 in the Premier League thanks to two goals from Danny Welbeck.
When Nick Woltemade equalised with a wicked backheel 14 minutes from time, Eddie Howe's visitors appeared to have salvaged a point their efforts deserved.
After Newcastle's midfield appeared to have vanished, Welbeck gave Brighton the lead in the first half with a beautiful finish past Nick Pope.
And the former England forward scored the game-winning goal in the 84th minute with yet another display of composure and accuracy, giving Fabian Hurzeler's team their third victory against Champions League opponents this season.
Although Brighton's brilliant forward play was a constant danger, Newcastle may reasonably ask how they lost a game that they appeared to have controlled for the most part.
Joelinton stupidly threw the ball deep inside his own half to Welbeck, who was hiding there and quickly passed it off to Georginio Rutter.
Rutter blasted low for the corner, and Pope had to be at full stretch to go down there and save his team.
Brighton's Yankuba Minteh then went in down the right, but he decided to pass instead of shooting. Malick Thiaw was able to shovel the ball to safety because it was never on.
After a clash with Pope earlier, Brighton lost Diego Gomez after thirty-five minutes. Their rhythm remained unaffected, and they took the lead at halftime.
Welbeck finished with unwavering composure after Rutter took possession in midfield and appeared to mislead Sandro Tonali and the rest of Newcastle's midfield with a deft, unexpected lunge down the centre. He drove into space and rolled the ball up for Welbeck, who slid into a gaping hole between the two central defenders.
Soon after the interval, Minteh assisted in creating a spectacular opening for his team. Welbeck declined requests to shoot, and Kaoru Mitoma refused as well, causing Yasin Ayari to veer painfully wide.
It was then Ayari's time to falter while facing Pope, passing the ball rather than shooting, continuing a pattern that was at this point clearly annoying home crowds, who cried out in vain for a goal.
After Bruno Guimaraes recovered from Mitoma's charge and made a fantastic stop against Bart Verbruggen, Newcastle was regrettably denied a closer look at a potential handball during the follow-up.
Moments later, they would be level, and it was a memorable conclusion. Although it was a clever move, Lewis Miley's reverse ball to Woltemade did not set up the striker for a clear goal.
Woltemade walked across the ball, turned his back, and used his heel to knock it across the goal and into the corner in a flawless moment that combined timing, technique, and inventiveness.
After Verbruggen flailed helplessly at danger inside the box, with Ayari deflecting his snapshot over, Guimaraes should have won it for Newcastle.
They would regret the chance lost. Welbeck was positioned right next to Dan Burn, who slid to block Mats Wieffer's shot. Welbeck remained composed and curled home Brighton's winner with a lazy right boot.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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