EPL: Sunderland stun Chelsea to go second; Newcastle beat Fulham late
London: Sunderland climbed to second place in the Premier League as Chemsdine Talbi’s stoppage-time winner stunned Chelsea, while Newcastle United also struck late to defeat Fulham 2-1 on Saturday.
Back in the top flight for the first time in eight years, the Black Cats already look poised to defy the usual fate of newly promoted sides.
Chelsea appeared on course to move into second spot when Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring with his first goal for the club just four minutes in. But with Brazilian prodigy Estevao surprisingly benched and Cole Palmer still sidelined through injury, the Blues struggled for creativity in the final third.
Sunderland drew level in the 22nd minute when Wilson Isidor bundled home from close range after Chelsea failed to deal with a long throw-in.
Despite Estevao’s introduction on the hour mark, the visitors comfortably contained the Club World Cup winners for most of the second half. Then, deep into stoppage time, Brian Brobbey set up Talbi, who curled a precise finish into the bottom corner to seal a famous 2-1 win.
The defeat leaves Chelsea in seventh place, with their hopes of mounting a title challenge fading fast.
At St. James’ Park, Newcastle claimed a much-needed victory courtesy of Bruno Guimaraes’ 90th-minute strike. Jacob Murphy had given the Magpies the lead after capitalising on a Calvin Bassey error, before Sasa Lukic headed Fulham level just before the hour mark.
However, Marco Silva’s side fell to a fourth straight defeat, hovering dangerously above the relegation zone. Guimaraes swept home the rebound after Bernd Leno saved William Osula’s initial effort to give Newcastle only their third league win of the campaign.
The result lifted Eddie Howe’s team to 11th, just three points adrift of the top four.
Meanwhile, Manchester United were looking to build momentum later in the day with a win over Brighton, which could lift them into fourth. The Red Devils shocked Liverpool last weekend to secure back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time under Ruben Amorim.