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Newcastle Hold Chelsea To 2-2 Draw As James, Pedro Spark Comeback At St James’ Park
Newcastle United let a two-goal lead slip as Chelsea fought back to earn a 2-2 draw in an entertaining 2025/2026 Premier League clash at St James’ Park earlier today, December 20.
Nick Woltemade was the star of a dominant opening spell for Newcastle, striking twice inside the first 20 minutes to put the home side firmly in control.
The forward pounced on a loose ball in the fourth minute to open the scoring before doubling his tally with a composed finish after Chelsea failed to clear their lines.
The hosts thought they had extended their advantage midway through the first half, only for the goal to be ruled out, while Chelsea also saw Neto denied by a handball decision just before the interval.
Woltemade came close to completing his hat-trick on the stroke of half-time, but his effort drifted wide as Newcastle went in 2-0 ahead.
Chelsea emerged with renewed intent after the break and were rewarded four minutes into the second half when captain Reece James curled a superb free-kick from around 25 yards beyond Aaron Ramsdale to halve the deficit.
That goal changed the tone of the game, with Chelsea pushing higher up the pitch and forcing Newcastle onto the back foot. Ramsdale produced a fine save to deny Neto, while Newcastle survived a nervy moment when a potential penalty appeal was waved away.
The equaliser arrived in the 66th minute as João Pedro showed composure in a one-on-one situation, calmly finishing past Ramsdale to bring Chelsea level at 2-2.
Both sides had chances to snatch a winner late on. Harvey Barnes volleyed wide for Newcastle, while Chelsea continued to probe without finding a decisive breakthrough.
The draw leaves Chelsea fourth in the league standings, while Newcastle sit just outside the top half after another frustrating home performance.
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Ashes LIVE: England are just four wickets away from losing the series – but rain strikes in Adelaide
Super Eagles winger Nathan Tella bagged his third assist of the season as Bayer Leverkusen defeated RB Leipzig 3-1 in Saturday’s Bundesliga game.
The Nigerian international, who was making his eighth appearance of the season, set up Patrik Schick in the 44th minute for Leverkusen’s second goal.
The host had initially taken the lead in the 35th minute through Schlager before Terrier leveled parity for Bayer Leverkusen in the 40th minute.
Read Also:AFCON 2025: Moroccans Back Super Eagles To Do Well
Tella was substituted in the 77th minute of the game for Tape after a beautiful display.
The visitor put the game to bed in the 97th minute thanks to a brilliant goal from Culbreath to end any hope of a late equalizer from RB Leipzig.
The win means Leverkusen move third on 29 points, while Leipzig sit fourth on 29 points on the league table.
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Everton vs Arsenal – Premier League LIVE: Latest score, team news and updates as the Gunners look to seal top spot for Christmas plus updates from Leeds vs Crystal Palace
Follow Daily Mail Sport’s live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Everton welcome Arsenal to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the Premier League, with Ian Herbert and Isaan Khan reporting from the grounds.
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Everton vs Arsenal – Premier League LIVE: Latest score, team news and updates as the Gunners look to seal top spot for Christmas plus updates from Leeds vs Crystal Palace
Erling Haaland led from the front as Manchester City climbed to the summit of the Premier League with a comfortable home win over West Ham United.
At the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City made it five league wins on the bounce with a 3-0 victory over a struggling West Ham United side that never truly recovered from an early setback. Haaland struck inside five minutes, reacting quickest after his first effort was kept out by Alphonse Areola.
The Norwegian forward could have added to his tally almost immediately but headed wide from close range, while City’s dominance continued with Tijjani Reijnders testing Areola before making it 2-0 shortly before the break, smashing home after latching onto Haaland’s pass.
West Ham showed more intent after the interval, with Jarrod Bowen going closest, but Haaland had the final word with his second goal to seal a bleak afternoon for the Hammers, who remain rooted in the relegation zone. The win moves City one point clear of Arsenal, who can reclaim top spot later in the day against Everton.
At Molineux, the misery deepened for Wolverhampton Wanderers as a second-half double from Keane Lewis-Potter handed Brentford a 2-0 win.
Lewis-Potter opened the scoring after Wolves failed to deal with a hopeful ball into the box from Vitaly Janelt, then wrapped up the points with a composed finish late on.
Wolves’ woes were compounded when Caoimhin Kelleher saved a late penalty from Jorgen Strand Larsen. The defeat stretches Wolves’ club-record losing run to 10 top-flight matches and leaves them 14 points adrift of safety, with relegation fears growing by the week.
There was little to warm the mood on the south coast as Brighton & Hove Albion were held to a 0-0 draw by Sunderland in the first Premier League meeting between the sides.
Sunderland threatened more in the first half, while Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen produced a fine save after the break to deny Omar Alderete. The Seagulls’ winless December run leaves them ninth, while Regis Le Bris’ promoted side climb to fifth.
Drama unfolded at the Vitality Stadium where Burnley halted a seven-game losing streak thanks to a late header from Armando Broja, earning a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.
Antoine Semenyo had earlier given the hosts the lead with a curling effort, his eighth league goal of the campaign, but Burnley’s late rally denied Bournemouth a much-needed win.
On Tyneside, Chelsea showed their resilience with a rousing comeback to draw 2-2 at Newcastle United. Newcastle looked in control at half-time after a brace from Nick Woltemade, but the mood shifted when Chelsea captain Reece James curled in a superb free-kick early in the second half.
Tensions rose when Newcastle were denied a penalty, and Chelsea took full advantage as Joao Pedro, making his return to St James’ Park, capitalised on a defensive slip to slot past Aaron Ramsdale. A late chance fell to Harvey Barnes, but he fired wide, leaving Eddie Howe frustrated on the touchline.
Chelsea remain fourth, six points clear of Newcastle.
Kwara United have received a timely injury boost ahead of their Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, Matchday 18 fixture against Bayelsa United.
The Harmony Boys will welcome back a quartet of players — Olarewaju Abdulrahman, Issa Gata, Aule Johnmark, and Obiora Kingsley — for the game.
The players have returned to training in preparation for the clash against Bayelsa United.
The return of the four players is a major motivation for Suleiman Ashifat’s side as they aim to get back to winning ways following their recent defeat to Enyimba.
Kwara United will face Bayelsa United at the Rashidi Yekini Mainbowl Stadium in Ilorin on Sunday.
Both teams will be seeking to secure maximum points from the encounter.
Manchester City cruised to a 3-0 victory over West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The defeat piled more misery on West Ham United head coach Nuno Espirito Santo with his side now guaranteed to spend Christmas in the relegation zone.
Erling Haaland opened scoring for City after five minutes with Phil Foden providing the assist .
Read Also:EPL: João Pedro Salvages Draw For Chelsea At Newcastle
The Citizens doubled their lead through Tijjani Reijnders in the 38th minute.
Haaland made sure of victory with his 19th strike of the campaign.
City moved to top position on the table with 37 points from 17 matches.
West Ham remain in 17th position with 13 points from same number of matches.
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Tottenham vs Liverpool – Premier League LIVE: Latest score and updates as Spurs star is sent off for horror challenge after VAR check
Follow Daily Mail Sport’s live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Tottenham welcome Liverpool to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League, with Riath Al-Samarrai, Matt Barlow and Lewis Steele reporting from the grounds.
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Tottenham vs Liverpool – Premier League LIVE: Latest score and updates as Spurs star is sent off for horror challenge after VAR check
Manchester City have now overtaken Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, following their 3-0 win over West Ham on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s men kept closing the gap between themselves and the Gunners.
City’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace last weekend ensured they were two points behind.
Against the Hammers, Erling Haaland fired City into the lead in the first half, before Tijjani Reijnders doubled their advantage ahead of half time.
Haaland grabbed one more goal in the second half, to take his team up to 37 points after 17 fixtures.
Arsenal will have the chance to go top again, when they travel to Everton in the last game on Saturday night.
Moroccans in Fes, the city where the Super Eagles will play their Group C matches at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, are backing the three times continental champions to do well at this year’s tournament.
The Super Eagles are drawn in Group C with former champions Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania.
Eric Chelle’s side will begin their campaign against Tanzania on Tuesday, 23 December before facing Uganda and Tunisia later in the group.
Ahead of the commencement of the tournament, Completesports.com’s James Agberebi, who is in Morocco, spoke with some of the locals in Fes to get their views about the Super Eagles and their chances.
Nabil, a student and who sells bracelets, tipped the Super Eagles to top the group.
“My prediction is Nigeria to top the group because I love the Nigerian team and I think Tunisia will be second then Uganda and Tanzania in that order and I think Tanzania will go out.”
On which players who will perform well for the Super Eagles, Nabil said:”I think the players that will do well for Nigeria are Victor Osimhen for sure and Ademola Lookman, who was African best player last year.”
He went on to predict Morocco and Nigeria to play in the final.
“Trust me Moroccans love Nigerians because they give us a lot of good players and we watch them a lot but for who will win the AFCON for sure it’s Morocco and we will beat Nigeria in the final.”
According to another local in Fes known as Mohar, he also believes the Super Eagles will place first in Group C.
“Nigeria will be the number one team in the group and for the AFCON I think Nigeria will finish third while Morocco will be the number one team, I’m from Morocco so it’s normal for me to support my team but good luck to Nigeria.”
For Mohammed Tanan, he predicted that the Super Eagles and Tunisia will go through from the group.
“I think Nigeria and Tunisia will qualify from the group because they have won the AFCON before and have more experience.”
Also Read: AFCON Now To Hold Every Four Years
Tanan also predicted that both Nigeria and Morocco will meet in the final.
“Nigeria always has good players but one player that I always like is (Austin) Okocha and I think Nigeria and Morocco will play in the final.”
Speaking with another local in Fes whose name is Youssef, he tipped the Super Eagles to reach the semi-finals.
“For the team that will go through from the group I will go for Tunisia and Nigeria and I believe Nigeria will reach the semi-finals.”
For Samad, he said the Super Eagles will not only top their group but also go all the way to the final.
“We are very happy to have our other African brothers in Morocco especially Nigeria and I think they will be the first in their group and remain till the end of the competition.”
He also reminisced on Nigeria’s 1996 Atlanta Olympic gold medal winning side.
“I remember the Nigerian team that participated in Atlanta with players like Okocha and Amokachi.”
By James Agberebi in Fes, Morocco
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Manchester City vs West Ham – Premier League LIVE: Latest score, team news and updates as Erling Haaland scores after just six minutes with Pep Guardiola’s side leapfrogging Arsenal with a win – plus updates from all 3pm KOs
