Review

Chelsea held by Liverpool as Brighton go sixth

4 Apr 2023

Stamford Bridge draw leaves teams 11th and eighth as two other sides boost their European hopes

Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in their first match since the departure of their manager Graham Potter.

CHE

0-0

LIV

With interim head coach Bruno Saltor in charge, Chelsea had 12 shots but could not end their winless home run against Liverpool dating back to 2018.

Chelsea had a goal ruled out in either half, with Reece James being denied by the offside flag and Kai Havertz seeing a goal overturned for handball.

Liverpool, who made six changes and left Mohamed Salah on the bench, had more shots on target but did not seriously trouble Kepa Arrizabalaga.

A fourth consecutive goalless draw between the teams in all competitions means Chelsea remain in the bottom half, in 11th on 39 points, four behind Liverpool, who are eighth and seven points off the top four.

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
4	Newcastle United NEW	38	+35	71
5	Liverpool LIV	38	+28	67
6	Brighton & Hove Albion BHA	38	+19	62
7	Aston Villa AVL	38	+5	61
8	Tottenham Hotspur TOT	38	+7	60
9	Brentford BRE	38	+12	59
10	Fulham FUL	38	+2	52
11	Crystal Palace CRY	38	-9	45

Brighton keep dreaming

Brighton & Hove Albion's dream of European qualification remains alive after they beat AFC Bournemouth 2-0 to rise to sixth.

BOU

0-2

BHA

Eighteen-year-old Evan Ferguson put Brighton in front on 27 minutes, with a clever flick from Kaoru Mitoma's pass.

In doing so, Mitoma became the first Brighton player to score or assist in five straight Premier League matches.

Brighton had to wait until stoppage time for their second, from substitute Julio Enciso, who scored his first goal for the club.

Victory moves Brighton on to 46 points, four behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and with two matches in hand. It extends their unbeaten run to seven Premier League away matches, the longest active run in the competition.

AFC Bournemouth are 18th on 27 points, in the relegation zone on goal difference.

Leeds ease relegation fears

Leeds United eased their fears of going down with a 2-1 turnaround victory over relegation rivals Nottingham Forest that lifted them to 13th.

After Emmanuel Dennis had struck a post for Forest, he turned provider to help his side take a 12th-minute lead.

LEE

2-1

NFO

From the left, Dennis played in Orel Mangala, who, after evading a challenge, fired into the bottom corner for his first goal in the Premier League.

However, the lead lasted only eight minutes as Leeds hit back through Jack Harrison, who scored for the third time in four matches.

The winner came in first-half stoppage time, when Luis Sinisterra advanced into the area before unleashing a shot into the far corner.

It makes Javi Gracia the first Leeds manager to go unbeaten in his first three home Premier League matches, as his side climb four places to 29 points. Forest are 17th, two points further back.

Traore the late hero

A stunning late strike from Bertrand Traore lifted Aston Villa above Liverpool into seventh as they secured a 2-1 victory at 10-man Leicester City.

LEI

1-2

AVL

Leicester, playing their first match since Sunday's departure of Brendan Rodgers, fell behind on 24 minutes.

Ollie Watkins collected a pass from Emiliano Buendia and kept his balance to become the first Villa player to score in six Premier League away matches in a row. He is the first player to do so for any club since Sergio Aguero for Manchester City in 2017.

Harvey Barnes equalised for Leicester just after the half-hour with a brilliant strike. After some sublime control, he surged beyond Ashley Young and into the area before sliding a shot beyond Emiliano Martinez. It was his 10th goal of the season, the first time he has reached double figures in a Premier League campaign.

Leicester were dealt a bow when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was sent off in the 70th minute for two yellow cards in quick succession, and that came back to bite them.

Traore scored with a superb curling effort in the 87th minute, his first league goal since May 2021. Villa have 44 points, while Leicester are 19th on 25 points.

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers WOL	38	-27	41
14	West Ham United WHU	38	-13	40
15	Bournemouth BOU	38	-34	39
16	Nottingham Forest NFO	38	-30	38
17	Everton EVE	38	-23	36
18	Leicester City LEI	38	-17	34
19	Leeds United LEE	38	-30	31
20	Southampton SOU	38	-37	25