EPL: Eze on target as Palace draw with Chelsea, Newcastle beat Spurs
Eberechi Eze was the hero for Crystal Palace on Sunday as they earned a 1-1 English Premier League draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
In the other Premier League match that kicked off at the same time, Newcastle United weathered some Tottenham Hotspur storm before winning 2-1 at St James’ Park.
Chelsea, who smashed Wolves 6-2 last week, were the better side in the first half, with Cole Palmer firing just wide and Dean Henderson saving superbly from Noni Madueke before Nicolas Jackson broke the deadlock.
The Cote d’Ivoire striker finished off a fast counter-attack by Chelsea, tapping home Palmer’s cross at the near post.
Palace improved in the second half and they were rewarded eight minutes after the restart when Eze, the England international with Nigerian blood, curled a fine strike beyond Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal.
Sanchez did superbly to push away Daichi Kamada’s stinging drive and prevent Palace taking the lead, but Jackson could have won it in stoppage time for Chelsea after going through on goal, but his shot was saved by Henderson.
The draw got Crystal Palace their first point of the season after back-to-back defeats, while Chelsea have four points from their first three games.
Meanwhile, Newcastle maintained their unbeaten start to the season as they beat Tottenham at a packed St James’ Park.
The hosts took a 37th-minute lead when Harvey Barnes finished off a pull back from Lloyd Kelly.
Spurs, who were without the injured Dominic Solanke, pulled level in the 56th minute as Dan Burn diverted Brennan Johnson’s shot into his own net.
Against the run of play, Newcastle regained their lead with 12 minutes left, with Alexander Isak scoring from Jacob Murphy’s low cross.
In another boost for Newcastle, Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali made his first Premier League appearance since October after he served a 10-month ban for breaching betting regulations.
