Watford relegated
LONDON, May 7, (AP): Chelsea’s prospective new ownership watched Romelu Lukaku score his first English Premier League goals in 2022 before the team collapsed to 2-2 against Wolverhampton on Saturday, leaving work still to do to wrap up Champions League qualification.
Lukaku netted twice in a twominute span early in the second half in a rare start in the league for the Belgium striker. Lukaku has struggled in the first season of his second spell at Chelsea after being the club’s headline summer signing at a record fee of $135 million.
Among those inside Stamford
Bridge to see his first league goal since Dec. 29 was Todd Boehly, the part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers who is fronting a consortium that has agreed on buyout terms for the 2.5 billion-pound ($3.1 billion) purchase of Chelsea - the most lucrative ever for a sports team worldwide. The deal was announced hours before kickoff, meaning there was the feel of something of a new era inside the ground.
Chelsea still has to finish off a season that should end with the club back in the Champions League, but that is not certain.
Goals by Francisco Trincao, in the 79th, and Conor Coady, a header in the seventh minute of stoppage time from virtually the last touch of the game, left Thomas Tuchel’s third-placed team four points of fourth-placed Arsenal, which meet Leeds on Sunday.
Chelsea have three league games left, along with the FA Cup final against Liverpool.
The Premier League must still approve the consortium as the new ownership and the British government has to sign off under the terms of the license that allows
And where it was once Abramovich – the owner for 19 years – celebrating Chelsea’s goals, now it was Boehly standing up to applaud Lukaku.
He has five goals since his last league goal – all in various cup competitions – but has mostly had to settle for a place on the bench in recent weeks, behind Kai Havertz.
With Jorginho injured, Lukaku ended up on penalty duties and rolled his into the corner in the 55th after he was tripped by Romain Saiss in a seemingly innocuous clash near the byline and just inside the area.
His second goal was more impressive after being fed by Christian Pulisic following a poor pass out from the back by Conor Coady.
Palace 1, Watford 0
Watford became the second team to be relegated from the English Premier League after losing at Crystal Palace 1-0.
Even if Roy Hodgson’s team won at Selhurst Park, it was still highly likely to go down. But survival was no longer mathematically possible after Wilfried Zaha’s match-clinching penalty in the 30th minute.
The 74-year-old Hodgson will leave Watford having failed in his short-term mission to prevent the club making an immediate return to the Championship.
The former England manager was hired in January after the club dropped into the bottom three and it is in next-to-last place, 12 points from safety with only three games remaining.
Last-placed Norwich’s relegation was sealed last weekend.
Villa 3, Burnley 1 Burnley’s relegation woes deepened after losing to Aston Villa 3-1 for the team’s first defeat under interim manager Mike Jackson.
Steven Gerrard’s Villa did both Everton and Leeds a big favor by ripping Burnley apart. Emi Buendia made the most of only his second start since February with a goal and an assist after coming in for the dropped Philippe Coutinho.
Danny Ings scored against his old team for a fourth goal in four matches against Burnley, and Ollie Watkins applied the killer blow.
Substitute Maxwel Cornet thumped home a stoppage-time consolation goal for Burnley but the damage was already done, perhaps doubly so with key defender James Tarkowski hobbling off in the second half.
Defeat means Burnley could end the weekend back in the bottom three if Leeds and Everton pick up points from tough fixtures away to Arsenal and Leicester, respectively, on Sunday.
Everton are in third-to-past place, two points behind Burnley and Leeds in the tight relegation scrap.
Brentford 3, Southampton 0
Brentford scored two early goals in a 3-0 victory over Southampton to boost the club’s hopes of a tophalf finish in their first season in the English Premier League.
Ivan Toney set up the first goal in the 13th minute, collecting a corner and finding Jansson inside the 6-yard box for an easy finish. Then Wissa picked up a loose ball after teammate Christian Eriksen was knocked down, and shot low into the right corner of the net from just outside the box.
Kristoffer Ajer extended the lead with his first goal for Brentford when he beat a defender and shot between the legs of goalkeeper Fraser Forster in the 79th minute.