DAVID MOYES GOES WILD: EVERTON BOSS CHANNELS DAVID PLEAT AFTER DRAMATIC LATE BETO EQUALIZER
David Moyes admits he nearly tried a knee slide after Beto’s late equaliser saved Everton in a dramatic 1-1 draw at Brighton.
The Toffees boss couldn’t hide how he felt at the Amex. When Beto, who’d just come on, poked in a goal deep into stoppage time, wiping out Pascal Gross’ earlier strike, Moyes just let it all out.
His reaction? Honestly, it looked a lot like that old clip of David Pleat sprinting across Maine Road when Luton pulled off their great escape in ’83. Moyes, at 62, even thought about going for a knee slide. He did pick up a yellow card, but that’s not going to stop him next time.
“I hope you’re not going to start calling me ‘Pleaty’,” Moyes joked.
“The thing is, David Pleat never got booked for it. Back then, it was fine—people loved seeing managers go wild after a big goal. Now, we’re told we can’t leave the technical area, can’t celebrate properly. That’s the stuff you all want to see and talk about!”
Would he do it again? “You bet I would!” he said, laughing. “Honestly, if I were a bit more nimble, maybe I would’ve tried the knee slide too. What’s one yellow card anyway? Might as well go for it.”
Everton really didn’t get going in the first half. After the break, though, they took control. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall missed a huge chance, then Gross got his first Brighton goal since coming back from Dortmund. Brighton almost went ahead earlier too—Mitoma came close around the 19th minute—and for a while, it looked like they’d just hang on.
Then, right at the death, Beto pounced after Bart Verbruggen spilt a shot from Jake O’Brien. The away end exploded.
“It was a mad finish,” Moyes said. “It didn’t look like we’d get the equaliser, but in the end, we earned it. Dewsbury-Hall should’ve put us ahead, and they missed a big one in the first half too.”
Brighton now sit three points behind Everton, with only one win in their last 11 league games. The mood among Albion fans hasn’t been great, and coach Fabian Hurzeler knows it.
“I think it’s just a small group feeling that way,” he said. “They’re allowed to be frustrated—even with me. That’s football. But what matters is they stuck behind the team today, and I appreciate that.”
He’s not running from criticism. “I’m open to it, good or bad. I want to go through this with the fans. We just need to handle those big moments better. We switched off for one second, and it cost us the match. It hurts, but we’ll get through it and bounce back.”
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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