Havertz gives Chelsea moment of joy after turbulent week. (More Football News)
A week of unprecedented turmoil for Chelsea ended with a moment of joy.
In a game that came to symbolize the Premier League바카라s connections to so-called 바카라sportswashing바카라 by unsavory owners, Kai Havertz netted an 89th-minute winner to give Chelsea a 1-0 victory over Newcastle in the Premier League on Sunday.
Havertz used an exquisite first touch to control a cross into the box and then slotted a calm finish into the net to set off wild celebrations among the capacity crowd at Stamford Bridge.
It may be some time before Chelsea plays in front of a sold-out home stadium again after the UK government imposed sanctions on Russian owner Roman Abramovich, but the uncertainty surrounding the club바카라s future has so far not had an effect on the field.
The win followed a 3-1 victory over Norwich on Thursday and maintained Chelsea바카라s solid grip on third place in the standings. For Newcastle, it was the club바카라s first league loss of the year, ending a nine-game unbeaten run.
In other games, relegation-threatened Watford and Leeds both earned much-needed wins, while Everton바카라s struggles continued and Ukraine forward Andriy Yarmolenko scored an emotional goal to help give West Ham a victory.
But the Chelsea-Newcastle clash was always going to be the day바카라s standout game because of events off the pitch.
Chelsea has been granted a special license to keep playing after Abramovich was sanctioned because of his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, halting his attempt to sell the club.
Newcastle, meanwhile, is facing renewed scrutiny after Saudi Arabia staged a mass execution on Saturday, putting to death 81 people convicted of various crimes. Newcastle was bought by Saudi Arabia바카라s sovereign wealth fund in October, although both the club and the Premier League have insisted that the Saudi state isn바카라t involved in the running of the club.
Havertz may have been fortunate to escape with just a yellow card for elbowing Dan Burn in the head in an aerial duel in the first half. In the end, his goal meant Chelsea escaped with a win that may quell talk of a full-blown crisis 바카라 for now.
바카라You feel sorry for everyone in the club, the supporters, also the workers, not only for us professionals, for the academy, for everyone, it바카라s a tough time,바카라 Havertz said. 바카라But we just tried to give everything for them in the moment and if you can give them moments like this, it바카라s always nice because we all have to stand together in these times and we tried to do that. We try to win games and give them a good feeling.바카라
RELEGATION FIGHT HEATS UP
In the tightening race to avoid relegation, Watford and Leeds both boosted their chances of staying up while Everton slipped closer to dropping out of the top flight for the first time in 71 years.
Cucho Hernandez netted twice to give Watford a 2-1 win at Southampton, while Leeds ended a six-game losing streak by beating last-place Norwich by the same score thanks to an injury-time winner.
Kenny McLean had equalized for Norwich at the start of stoppage time but Joe Gelhardt then came off the bench to net the winner for Leeds and hand American manager Jesse Marsch his first victory at the third attempt.
At Goodison Park, boyhood Liverpool fan Conor Coady headed home a second-half winner for Wolverhampton to secure a 1-0 victory over 10-man Everton.
The England international expertly glanced home Ruben Neves바카라 cross and Jonjoe Kenny was then sent off for two yellow cards in the space of three minutes to damage Everton바카라s hopes of a comeback.
The results mean Watford is now tied on points with 17th-place Everton, although Frank Lampard바카라s team has three games in hand. Leeds moved four points above the relegation zone.
YARMOLENKO IN TEARS
Yarmolenko was back in West Ham바카라s squad for the first time since being granted compassionate leave due to Russia바카라s invasion of Ukraine, and was in tears after netting the opening goal to help his team beat Aston Villa 2-1.
Yarmolenko celebrated his 70th-minute goal by dropping to his knees with both arms pointing up to the sky as he was mobbed by his teammates.
Yarmolenko had received a standing ovation from both sets of fans as he came on as a 53rd-minute substitute for Michail Antonio.
Pablo Fornals doubled the lead in the 82nd before Jacob Ramsey pulled one back for Villa in injury time.
Arsenal was playing Leicester in the late game.
