Premier League wrap: Ireland's Cullen and O'Shea on target as ...

30 Mar 2024
Premier League: Chelsea 2 Burnley 2

Chelsea suffered another setback in their erratic season on Saturday when they were held to a 2-2 home draw by 10-man Burnley who remain deep in Premier League relegation trouble.

Premier League - Figure 1
Photo The Irish Times

Mauricio Pochettino's expensively-assembled side looked to be in the driving seat when Burnley's Lorenz Assignon was shown a second yellow card for bringing down Mykhailo Mudryk and top-scorer Cole Palmer converted the resulting penalty in the 44th minute.

But Ireland’s Josh Cullen stunned Stamford Bridge by scoring two minutes into the second half with a fine shot from outside the box.

Chelsea struggled to make their numerical advantage count before restoring their lead in the 78th minute when Palmer scored again, this time with a low shot. Burnley were level again three minutes later, however, when Dara O'Shea headed home from a corner.

The draw left Chelsea in 11th place in the table while Burnley are 19th, four points behind 17-placed Nottingham Forest.

Bournemouth 2 Everton 1

A stoppage-time own goal by Ireland defender Seamus Coleman condemned Everton side to a 2-1 Premier League loss at Bournemouth on Saturday, deepening the woes of the relegation-threatened Toffees.

Having had a 10-point deduction for financial irregularities cut to six, Everton arrived on the south coast under the cloud of another charge and they struggled to create goal-scoring opportunities in a scoreless first half.

Bournemouth took the lead through striker Dominic Solanke in the 64th minute, but an 87th-minute goal by Everton substitute Beto after a terrible goalkeeping error by Neto looked to have given them a share of the spoils.

Four minutes later, however, Everton were plunged into crisis again as Coleman was fooled by a bouncing ball into the box, chesting it into his own net to condemn them to their third defeat in a row.

Bournemouth are 13th in the table on 38 points. Everton are 16th on 25 points, three above the drop zone.

Nottingham Forest 1 Crystal Palace 1

Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood rescued a point for his relegation-battling side against Crystal Palace in a 1-1 home draw.

Forest, plunged into the drop zone last week after having four points deducted for breaking financial rules last season, went behind in the 11th minute when Jean-Philippe Mateta fired the ball into the top left corner.

But Forest equalised in the second half when Wood connected with Morgan Gibbs-White’s cross from the left wing, netting with a close-range header in the 61st minute with the goal standing after the VAR checked for offside.

Forest continued to threaten Palace’s defence after the leveller but were unable to finish their chances as both teams shared the spoils at the City Ground. Forest are 17th and level on 22 points with third-bottom Luton Town after 30 games.

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-Min applauds the fans after the Premier League match vs Luton Town. Photograph: Steven Paston/PA Wire

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Luton Town 1

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min struck late on to secure a 2-1 Premier League victory over Luton Town to bolster his side’s top-four ambitions on Saturday.

Son started and finished a flowing Tottenham move in the 86th minute to leave relegation battlers Luton with nothing to show from a spirited display in north London.

Tahith Chong gave Luton a surprise early lead with Son being denied by the woodwork soon afterwards. Tottenham equalised in the 51st minute when Issa Kabore scored an own goal and the hosts’ pressure was eventually rewarded with Son’s clincher.

Tottenham moved into fourth place with 56 points, ahead of Aston Villa on goals scored although Villa were in action later at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Luton slipped back below Nottingham Forest into the relegation zone.

Fulham 3 Sheffield United 3

Fulham fought back from a two goal deficit to secure a 3-3 draw at Sheffield United in the Premier League on Saturday.

United took the lead when Oli McBurnie’s cross from the left found Ben Brereton Diaz in the box for a quick tap into the net in the 58th minute. Fulham equalised just four minutes later through Joao Palhinha’s header off a corner.

McBurnie restored United’s lead in the 68th minute, two minutes before Brereton Diaz got his second to make it 3-1. But substitute Bobby Decordova-Reid scored for Fulham in the 86th minute before Rodrigo Muniz got the equaliser three minutes into added time.

United remained bottom of the table with 15 points ahead of Thursday’s visit to Liverpool. Fulham, 12th with 39 points from 30 matches, visit Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.

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