Soccer

Round-up: Watford relegated from Premier League after Crystal Palace defeat

Burnley fail to pick up points as Wolves strike late to draw at Chelsea

Watford’s Hassane Kamara after being shown a red card at Selhurst Park. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Sat May 7 2022 - 17:29

Crystal Palace 1 Watford 0

Watford were relegated from the Premier League on Saturday after a 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace as Wilfried Zaha’s first-half penalty soured former manager Roy Hodgson’s return to Selhurst Park.

Palace were awarded a penalty following a VAR check for handball by Hassane Kamara and Zaha stepped up to slot home his 13th goal of the season after sending Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster the wrong way.

The visitors needed a win and a mathematical swing to keep alive their dwindling hopes of surviving the drop but their timid display meant Palace comfortably kept Watford at arm’s length.

Watford’s task of scoring at least two goals became even more difficult when they were reduced to 10 men in the second half after Kamara, booked for handball earlier, was shown another yellow card for a foul on Michael Olise.

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Foster kept Watford in the contest with a string of fine saves, ensuring Palace’s dominance did not reflect on the scoreline, but his team mates offered little in attack and fell to their sixth straight league defeat.

Patrick Vieira’s side climbed up to ninth place on 44 points while Watford remained second-bottom with 22 points.

Burnley 1 Aston Villa 3

A resurgent Aston Villa beat Burnley 3-1 at Turf Moor, halting the home side's mini-revival under interim manager Mike Jackson with goals from Danny Ings, Emiliano Buendia and Ollie Watkins.

Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill after the final whistle at Turf Moor. Photograph: Getty Images

Buendia sent Ings through on goal with a precise pass with seven minutes on the clock, and the former Burnley striker made no mistake as he slotted home past Nick Pope.

Villa doubled their lead in the 31st minute after Watkins combined with Lucas Digne, who cut the ball back across the box for Buendia to score via a slight deflection.

Burnley had won their last three league games under Jackson but were made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal, with Wout Weghorst and Dwight McNeil guilty of missing chances in the first half.

Burnley lost their captain James Tarkowski to an injury shortly after the restart and things got worse for them when Watkins headed in Villa’s third from point-blank range in the 52nd minute, after meeting John McGinn’s superb cross.

Substitute Maxwel Cornet pulled a consolation goal back for Burnley in the 91st minute. Burnley remain in 16th place on 34 points but could find themselves back in the relegation zone if Arsenal fail to beat Leeds United and Everton beat Leicester City on Sunday.

Chelsea 2 Wolves 2

Conor Coady struck deep into time added on to snatch a 2-2 draw for Wolverhampton Wanderers away at Chelsea, as the Londoners’ prospective new owners looked on from the Stamford Bridge stands.

Coady headed home a cross from substitute Chiquinho in almost the last action of the game.

Wolves defender Conor Coady celebrates his late goal at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Wolves had trailed for much of the game after Chelsea’s out-of-form striker Romelu Lukaku scored twice in two second-half minutes.

Lukaku, who had not scored in the league since December, claimed his first from the penalty spot in the 56th minute after a lengthy VAR check concluded he had been fouled by Romain Saiss just inside the area.

He put his second away with a fine strike from 20 metres after being put through by Christian Pulisic.

But Wolves snatched a goal back in the 79th minute through substitute Francisco Trincao and then upped the pressure, giving Chelsea, who sit third in the table and are looking to cement a Champions League spot, a nervous finish.

The terms of Chelsea’s sale to a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers’ part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by a private equity firm Clearlake Capital were agreed earlier on Saturday.

Brentford 3 Southampton 0

Two goals within 61 seconds spurred Brentford to a 3-0 Premier League victory over Southampton.

Brentford captain Pontus Jansson opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he prodded home after Ivan Toney diverted a Christian Eriksen corner in the defender's direction.

Yoane Wissa then added the second by curling a shot past goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

Kristoffer Ajer sealed the win for the hosts in the second half, shuffling past a Saints defender before coolly slotting under Forster’s legs.

Southampton had 60 per cent of the possession but struggled to make any chances count. They came closest when Adam Armstrong fired into the back of the net in the first half but was denied the goal for straying offside.

The visitors’ underwhelming performance was met by chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” and “you don’t know what you’re doing” which echoed from the away end as Saints fans turned on their manager Ralph Hassenhuetl towards the end of the game.

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