No VAR on Christian Pulisic’s should-be penalty saw Chelsea settle for a draw in the Premier League while man-of-the-match Duane Holmes scored the winner for Huddersfield.
Chelsea 1 – 1 Brighton and Hove Albion
Christian Pulisic went the distance in Chelesa’s frustrating draw at home against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The game in large part was Chelsea’s to lose, especially after they scored in the 28th minute. Romelu Lukaku regained his starting position at center forward, which pushed Pulisic out wide to his preferred role as a winger. Lukaku’s goal came through a clinical header after muscleing out his defender.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuschel was up in arms as Pulisic was brought down later in the half with a resounding “No Penalty” being called by the referee. The German was even more incensed when the decision didn’t even make it to VAR for a review, with later replays showing a strong case for the spot kick that never happened.
The game, which was mostly all-Chelsea, was turned on its head at the death when Danny Welbeck scored in the 91st minute to steal two points from the home team.
With the disappointing result, the Blues find themselves in second place, now eight points adrift of leaders Manchester City.
Pulisic and Chelsea will have their work cut out for them in their next Premier League game, Sunday against Liverpool.
Watch the game highlights here:
Nottingham Forest 0 – 1 Huddersfield Town
Duane Holmes scored the winner for Huddersfield Town against Nottingham Forest, with Ethan Horvath stuck on the bench and Alex Mighton not in uniform for the home side.
Sorba Thomas clattered the crossbar just 20 second into the contest as an early sign of Huddersfield’s intent. Holmes’ lone goal in the 30th minute proved to be the only difference in the contest, his third of the season. He picked up possession and drove at the heart of the midfield, and was found on a good give-and-go inside of the box for a fine left footed finish.
Nottingham Forest tried to find an equalizer over the last hour, but were unsuccessful. They are now in ninth place and face Barnsley on Monday, while Huddersfield find themselves in sixth, facing Blackburn on Sunday.
Watch the game highlights here:
Sunderland 5 – 0 Sheffield Wednesday
Lynden Gooch went the distance for Sunderland as the Black Cats finally find themselves on top of League One.
Ross Stewart opened the scoring in the 12th minute after getting sent in towards goal, and driving home a cool finish. Stewart doubled the advantage in the 36th minute after Alex Pritchard’s surging run found him, who slotted back across the face of goal for his second on the night.
Callum Doyle made it three just four minutes later after a corner was headed back across for an easy nod in. The fourth goal started with Gooch spraying a ball wide, eventually landing to Stewart on the six yard line for an easy header to complete his hat-trick. Benji Kimpioka scored the final goal after a back post finish that was far too easy.
Sunderland have a week to prepare for their next game on January 8th against Wycombe.
Watch the game highlights here:
Notes:
Zack Steffen was on the bench for Manchester City in their narrow 1-0 win over Brentford.
Josh Sargent played the final 9 minutes in Norwich’s 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Matthew Olosunde’s Preston North End saw their game postponed against West Brom due to COVID protocols.
