Premier League: Newcastle stun Chelsea and United ride on first-half blitz at Fulham

Second-half goals from Gouffran and Remy sink Chelsea at Tyneside.

Yoan Gouffran put Newcastle ahead with a brilliant header past Petr Cech. Shaun Botteril / Getty Images

Newcastle United 2 Chelsea 0

Yoan Gouffran and Loic Remy dented Chelsea’s Premier League title bid as Newcastle erased the memories of their derby defeat at Sunderland with a morale-boosting victory.

Gouffran’s 68th-minute diving header and Remy’s late strike, his sixth goal of the season, settled a game which blossomed from modest beginnings into an end-to-end encounter.

Indeed, had it not been for keeper Petr Cech, who had earlier made second-half saves from Moussa Sissoko and Gouffran, the Magpies might have gleaned more reward than the 2-0 win with which they emerged from a testing afternoon.

But while manager Alan Pardew will have been delighted with a performance which started out as a backs-to-the-wall battle and ended in a toe-to-toe slugging match, opposite number Jose Mourinho was left to reflect upon a toothless display from his all-stars.

He said he was concerned at their lack of a cutting edge.

“Of course, of course I am worried, and I read in previous years, it happened the same.

“They [Chelsea] were successful in cup competitions, they were not successful in the Premier League. They finished 20 points behind, they finished 15 points behind.

“They qualified for the Champions League because they won the Champions League, but they finished fifth or sixth in the league.

“Last year in December, they were not in the race for the title because they were already 20 points behind. This season, we have played five matches away in the Premier League - I know at difficult places to play difficult matches - but we have one victory and we have two defeats. Of course it concerns me.”

Chelsea dominated for long periods in front of a packed house of 51,674, but having hit the bar twice within seconds early in the game, did not call upon keeper Tim Krul until 10 minutes from time on a day when victory would have seen them leapfrog Arsenal for a few hours at least.

On a miserably cold and wet Tyneside afternoon, the fare on offer initially did little to lift the mood as an attritional game unfolded.

Chelsea, as befits a team installed as early favourites to lift the title, started confidently and pinned their hosts back for long periods with Eden Hazard leading the home defence a merry dance.

With Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor still injured, Pardew had little choice but to field Mike Williamson and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa at the heart of his rearguard, and just how the Magpies managed to survive an error-strewn opening to the game only they will know.

A series of miskicks and misdirected headers, thankfully for the pair, dropped fortuitously and allowed Newcastle to dig themselves out of trouble.

Fulham 1 Manchester United 3

Fulham: Kacaniklic 65’

Man Utd: Valencia 9’, Van Persie 20’, Rooney 22’

David Moyes oversaw another win for United as Martin Jol’s position at the Fulham helm became increasingly precarious. Antonio Valencia, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney cut through the defence to make it 3-0 in the 22nd minute. Some “Jol out” chants were hear, but Fulham improved in the second half and substitute Alex Kacaniklic netted consolation.

Hull 1 Sunderland 0

Hull: Cuellar (og) 25’

Red cards: Cattermole, Dossena (Sunderland)

Sunderland’s derby day celebrations came to an abrupt end with defeat by Hull. Having beaten rivals Newcastle last week, this defeat will have been a comedown for manager Gus Poyet, who saw Lee Cattermole and Andrea Dossena sent off within minutes of each other at the end of the first half. By then Hull were in front, Carlos Cuellar turning a Liam Rosenior cross into his own goal.

West Brom 2 Crystal Palace 0

West Brom: Berahino 44’, McAuley 83’

Saido Berahino scored his sixth West Brom goal of the season aginast managerless Palace. Substitute Berahino opened the scoring in the 44th minute and West Brom’s 2-0 win was then wrapped up in the 83rd minute with a Gareth McAuley header. The result at means bottom-placed Palace, overseen for a second successive match by caretaker manager Keith Millen, have lost nine of their 10 league fixtures.

West Ham 0 Aston Villa 0

Sam Allardyce, the West Ham manager, picked up a rare home point as his side fought out a quality-starved goalless draw against Aston Villa. It ended a run of three straight home league defeats for West Ham but their fans must be wondering if there is a curse at Upton Park. Christian Benteke, the Villa striker, came closest to breaking the deadlock when his second-half header struck a post. West Ham have now gone 375 minutes without a goal at home and have scored just eight in 10 league games.

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