Chelsea opened up a three-point lead at the Premier League summit on a hectic Halloween weekend full of twists and ultimately a nasty trick for one manager.
Despite enduring a frustrating goalless first half at St James’ Park, Reece James’ second-half brace fired league leaders, Chelsea to a 3-0 away win over second-bottom Newcastle as Jorginho netted a 81st minute penalty to complete the victory.
Liverpool remain second but blew a two goal lead as Brighton fought back for a shock 2-2 draw at Anfield through Enock Mwepu and Leandro Trossard, after Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane had put Jurgen Klopp’s Red initially ahead to leave the Merseyside club three points adrift of Chelsea.
Third-placed Manchester City suffered a shock home defeat against Crystal Palace as Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher struck for the Eagles in a 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.
West Ham remain fourth on goal difference despite moving level on points with Man City, after David Moyes’ Hammers thrashed ten-man Aston Villa 4-1 at Villa Park with Declan Rice providing a goal and assist as Villa’s Ezri Konsa was red carded for a foul on Jarrod Bowen.
Manchester United climbed to fifth as Cristiano Ronaldo provided a goal and assist in a dominant 3-0 away win at Tottenham, which ultimately resulted in Spurs sacking Nuno Espirito Santo after their fifth loss in seven league matches.
Down in the relegation zone, Norwich remain rock bottom after Rodrigo netted a 60th minute winner for Leeds at Carrow Road, after Andrew Omobamidele cancelled out Raphinha’s opener as all three goals were scored in a four minute spell.
Burnley remain third-bottom despite clinching a 3-1 victory over Brentford through first-half goals from Chris Wood, Matt Lowton and Maxwell Cornet as manager, Sean Dyche celebrated his ninth anniversary at the Clarets in style with their first league win of the season.
Elsewhere, first-half goals in the opening 18 minutes from Gabriel and Emile Smith Rowe guided Arsenal to a controlled away victory at Leicester, as Mikel Arteta’s Gunners improved to sixth and extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to nine matches.
First-half goals from Max Kilman and Raul Jimenez saw Wolves climb to seventh after beating Everton 2-1 at Molineux in Monday Night Football, despite Alex Iwobi netting a 66th minute consolatory goal for the Toffees.
Finally, Che Adams’ 20th minute curled strike proved enough for Southampton to snatch a 1-0 win over Watford at Vicarage Road.
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