BREAKING: NEWCASTLE FUMING OVER ANTHONY TAYLOR’S PENALTY SNUB AT OLD TRAFFORD
Newcastle fans are in uproar over Anthony Taylor’s penalty snub as Eddie Howe’s side slumps to a 1-0 loss at Manchester United.
Newcastle United fans were angry about the ref, Anthony Taylor, not calling a penalty in the second half at Old Trafford. But let's be real, the finishing was bad too in that Northwest loss on Boxing Day.
Things are getting tense for head coach Eddie Howe. The team's still stuck in the bottom half. They attacked well, but awful choices in the final plays really hurt them. Howe tried everything, making lots of changes in the second half, but nothing worked.
It went dead quiet when Sandro Tonali was subbed off for Joe Willock near the end—a weird move. It feels like Howe and his staff are out of ideas, and it showed against a Man United team missing seven players, including their main guy, Bruno Fernandes.
After Lisandro Martinez blocked the ball with his arms, Newcastle fans started chanting some stuff about knowing where Anthony Taylor lives, referencing his address in Altrincham.
Ignoring the penalty drama for a second, that Man United team was beatable, right? Nobody was scared when they saw the lineup before the game.
But if Man United needed a boost, Newcastle handed it to them, along with the lead, after some terrible defending from yet another throw-in.
The Red Devils got a corner early on, with Mason Mount crossing the ball in, but Casemiro headed it way over. Man United—in a 4-2-3-1 formation—seemed to have extra energy, like when Manuel Ugarte charged into Bruno Guimaraes to win the ball back early on.
A Patrick Dorgu cross found Benjamin Sesko, who had plenty of space to turn and shoot, but he missed. Newcastle responded with a corner, Sandro Tonali crossing it in for Bruno Guimaraes, but Senne Lammens saved it.
Halfway through the first half, Newcastle was putting pressure on Man United, earning four corners. But Man United still threatened, and Matheus Cunha reminded everyone with a shot that Aaron Ramsdale barely stopped.
Newcastle didn't learn from that warning, and soon enough, they were having another defensive crisis. Diogo Dalot's long throw-in from the left was headed out by Nick Woltemade, but only as far as Dorgu, who scored easily, beating Ramsdale.
As Newcastle tried to get back in the game, Man United attacked again, feeling confident. Dorgu tried to chip Ramsdale, but the goalie stopped it. Later, Dorgu attacked down the right again, and Ramsdale saved his low shot.
With just a few minutes left in the first half, Jacob Murphy sent the ball across the goal, but it missed Woltemade. Newcastle went into halftime trailing, with only one shot on target.
Man United subbed Mount out for Jack Fletcher at halftime. Newcastle had a chance right after the restart when Woltemade back-heeled the ball to Ramsey, but he tripped at the worst moment.
Later, Miley's corner was partially cleared before Fabian Schar shot at the goal, but Dorgu made a key play. Ugarte took advantage of a mistake from Bruno, setting up Sesko, but he only hit the bar.
Newcastle had the ball for a while but didn't score, so Lewis Hall tried his luck, hitting the bar. Shortly after, Schar's shot hit Martinez's arm, but VAR didn't call a penalty.
Later, Murphy slipped the ball to Gordon, but he missed the far post. Soon after, Murphy, Woltemade, and Ramsey were taken off, replaced by Harvey Barnes, Yoane Wissa, and Joelinton. Tonali was booked for a foul on Dorgu.
From the free kick, the ball was crossed in for Dalot, but he shot over the bar. Tonali was then replaced by Joe Willock, and even though Tonali was on a yellow card, the Newcastle fans didn't really react.
Gordon crossed the ball in for Joelinton, but the goalie easily caught his weak shot. Bruno lost the ball in midfield, and Cunha missed.
With a few minutes left, Barnes passed to Gordon in the middle, but he shot it way over. Hall's cross was flicked on by Wissa, but Miley shot high.
Newcastle pushed for a deserved tie, with most of the possession and a lot of shots, but they missed a big chance to beat a beatable Man United team.
That's six wins in the last 20 games for Howe and his team. Losing to Burnley isn't an option.
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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