PREMIER LEAGUE
Antonio ends Canaries’ hope as Blades cut Blues to shreds
NORWICH’S relegation from the Premier League was confirmed with a crushing 4-0 home defeat to West Ham, for whom Michail Antonio scored all the goals.
The Canaries restarted the season six points adrift at the bottom of the table and have since lost six games in a row to confirm their return to the Championship.
Versatile star Antonio’s heroics gave a huge survival boost to the Hammers, who dominated from the start and went ahead inside the first 10 minutes.
A second followed on the stroke of half-time when Antonio headed in a Mark Noble free-kick before two further strikes in the second half emphatically sealed the home side’s fate.
Champions Liverpool saw their 24-match winning home run in the league brought to an end as Burnley snatched a 1-1 draw at Anfield and came close to claiming all three points.
Fine goalkeeping from Nick Pope and some wayward finishing from Mohamed Salah had kept the Clarets in with a chance until Liverpool went ahead in the 34th minute.
Fabinho lofted a cross to the far post, where full-back Andy Robertson headed past Pope.
Burnley grabbed the equaliser after 69 minutes when Jay Rodriguez fired home after a long free-kick into the box.
Sean Dyche’s men almost sealed a famous win when Icelandic midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson crashed an effort against the crossbar late on.
Chelsea’s Champions League aspirations were dealt a major blow as they were thumped 3-0 by an inspired Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
David Mcgoldrick claimed his first Premier League goal when he knocked home a rebound in the 18th minute, then pounced to seal a stunning victory in the second period after Oli Mcburnie’s fine header had given the Blades a 2-0 half-time lead.
The result bolstered the hosts’ own hopes of qualifying for Europe as they climbed up to sixth place, four points behind Manchester United in the table.
NEWCASTLE United suffered their 14th defeat of the season after throwing away a half-time lead against Watford at Vicarage Road.
The visitors were looking to make amends for an awful performance at Manchester City three days previously and Dwight Gayle put the Magpies’ in front midway through the first half.
Newcastle capitulated after the break and Troy Deeney converted two penalties to earn the Hornets a precious three points in their battle against the drop.
Here are five things we learned from the game.
Newcastle have suffered back-toback defeats in the Premier League at various points this season but this loss was far from a foregone conclusion.
The Magpies, after all, have previously bounced back from disappointing defeats at Norwich, Leicester and Aston Villa this season.
Safety was secured long before a 5-0 hammering at the hands of City on Wednesday night but a response was needed at Vicarage Road against a Watford side fighting for its life.
In the first half, Newcastle did not look like a side lacking motivation and played with energy and intent but a very different team emerged after the