Premier League roundup: Newcastle light up London to stay ahead of Manchester United
West Ham 1 Newcastle 5
Newcastle United’s pursuit of a first top-four finish in the Premier League since 2002/03 continues to gather momentum, as braces from Callum Wilson and Joelinton fired the Magpies to a resounding 5-1 victory over relegation-threatened West Ham United at the London Stadium.
With two further managerial casualties in the league over the weekend, Irons’ boss David Moyes knew the importance of building on his side’s narrow victory over Southampton.
However, a clash against top-four chasing Newcastle promised to be a much sterner test, with Eddie Howe guiding the Tyneside outfit to three consecutive league wins, including a convincing triumph over Manchester United last time out.
Despite the magnitude of the contest for both sides, the early stages were played at a frantic pace, with Bruno Guimaraes diverting a dangerous cross from Jarrod Bowen against his own post.
Grateful for the early reprieve, the visitors wasted no time in asserting their authority as Allan Saint-Maximin tricked his way beyond Said Benrahma and lifted a clever delivery into an unmarked Wilson, who guided a composed header into the far corner.
Buoyed by the breakthrough, Newcastle doubled their lead just eight minutes later when Fabian Schar threaded a perfectly-timed through-ball into the path of Joelinton, who broke the offside trap and rounded Lukasz Fabianski to finish.
This spurred the hosts into life after a disastrous opening 20 minutes, and despite Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio wasting good chances, Kurt Zouma capitalised on a mistake from Nick Pope to halve the deficit going into the interval.
Having regained some semblance of composure during a topsy-turvy first half, West Ham immediately relinquished their momentum within 30 seconds of the restart, with Nayef Aguerd losing the ball in calamitous fashion, allowing Jacob Murphy to set up Wilson for a simple finish.
With just one defeat in their previous 10 away trips in the league, Newcastle went in pursuit of further success against a fragile Hammers rearguard, however, Fabianski stood firm to deny efforts from Murphy and Saint-Maximin.
While aspirations of a comeback were always unlikely for the hosts, Newcastle deepened West Ham’s woes with two late goals.
First, substitute Alexander Isak pounced on a dreadful error from Fabianski to loop a clever finish into an empty net, before Joelinton scored his second of the night with a powerful low effort.
The result ends West Ham’s five-game unbeaten league run on home soil, while Newcastle consolidate their place in the top-four with a fourth consecutive league victory.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle United)
Manchester United 1 Brentford 0
Marcus Rashford continued his stunning season as his 28th goal of the campaign breathed new life into Manchester United’s UEFA Champions League hopes. The England international’s first-half strike was enough to earn a 1-0 win over Brentford, as the hosts extended their unbeaten run at Old Trafford to 23 matches.
It took the Red Devils a while to find their feet, but they eventually started to go through the gears as Scott McTominay and Antony blazed shots off target.
Rashford then made their dominance count as he fired the hosts into a 27th-minute lead by coolly converting into the top corner from Marcel Sabitzer’s knockdown.
That was United’s first league goal since the Carabao Cup final, and it lifted the pressure on Erik ten Hag’s side as they continue their pursuit of a top-four spot.
Antony looked to double the advantage when he twice failed to hit the target with left-footed efforts that sailed wide of the far post, while David Raya denied Rashford in the closing moments of the first half.
The Bees, on the other hand, failed to test David de Gea at the opposite end, although the goalkeeper was nearly left red-faced after the break when his clearance hit Ivan Toney and bobbled wide. The Spaniard was then called into action for the first time by Kevin Schade, who burst past Raphael Varane only to see his shot saved.
Indeed, it was a much more disciplined performance in the second half from the visitors, with the hosts’ attack blunted by a belligerent defence. Even so, substitute Fred should have put the game to bed when hooking over the bar from Rashford’s lay-off.
Brentford failed to threaten the United goal in the final stages, as Ten Hag's side successfully defended their one-goal lead and secured all three points.
The win for the Red Devils is their first in four games in the Premier League, while Thomas Frank's Brentford suffered only their second defeat in 17 league games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
