Bournemouth v Luton abandoned after Lockyer collapses
Saturday's Premier League action was overshadowed by the collapse of Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer who suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch at Bournemouth. Luton later said that Lockyer was "stable and currently undergoing further tests" after being taken off on a stretcher. The match was abandoned with the score at 1-1. The Welsh centre back also collapsed in Luton's promotion playoff final win in May and later had surgery to fix an atrial fibrillation. Reigning champions Manchester City gave up a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with visiting Crystal Palace, while Everton continued their remarkable climb up the table from their 10-point deduction with a 2-0 win at Burnley, and Newcastle returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over 10-man Fulham. Chelsea scored twice in seven second-half minutes to beat bottom club Sheffield United 2-0. City conceded a penalty deep in stoppage time and Palace's Michael Olise stepped up to score from the spot to boos from the home crowd at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola's treble winners are on 34 points in the crowded title race, three behind leaders Liverpool who have one game in hand. "I think it is an unbelievable result," Palace keeper Dean Henderson told the BBC. "Manchester City are a world-class team and you've just got to try to stay in the game as long as you can and hopefully catch them on the break, which we did." Jack Grealish scored for a third consecutive game for the first time in his career, while Rico Lewis also netted for City before Jean-Philippe Mateta pulled one back in the 76th minute and Olise netted the penalty in the 95th. Everton captured their fourth consecutive win and clean sheet and fifth victory in six games thanks to goals from Amadou Onana and Michael Keane. The Merseyside club, who were docked points last month for breaching profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) relating to losses, have 16 points in 16th place. "I think it's definitely unified everyone at the club -- the players, the fans, the staff, everyone there," defender James Tarkowski told Sky Sports. Onana said the mentality of the team had changed. "And four wins in a row, very special," he told BBC. "I am happy to be part of this team and hope it keeps going. We don't fear anybody." Newcastle scored all three of their goals in the second half, including the opener from 17-year-old Lewis Miley who became the club's youngest player to score in the Premier League. "What a moment it was for me and my family. They were in the stand. Great feeling to see the ball in the back of the net," Miley told the BBC. The victory boosted Newcastle -- who had lost their last three games in all competitions and also went out of Europe -- to sixth on 29 points while Fulham dropped to 11th, eight points behind. Fulham were reduced to 10 men when Raul Jimenez was sent off in the 22nd minute and although they held on until halftime, Miley's goal opened the floodgates before Miguel Almiron and Dan Burn got on the score sheet. Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson scored to lead Chelsea in their laboured win over Sheffield. Palmer unlocked Sheffield's tight defence in the 54th minute with a one-two with Raheem Sterling, and seven minutes later Jackson netted during a goal-mouth scramble. The win lifted Chelsea to 10th place and came after back-to-back losses to Manchester United and Everton. Manager Mauricio Pochettino changed his formation after halftime to break United's stranglehold. "In the first half we didn't find a way to break the low block," Pochettino said. "We changed to try to find a better solution... better positions." Sheffield remained rooted to the bottom on eight points after 17 games, while Burnley are one spot above them on goal difference. (Reuters)____________________________
Last updated: 2023-12-17 HKT 06:35 