LAST UPDATE | 30 Jan
Premier League results
- Nottingham Forest 1-2 Arsenal
- Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle United
- Luton Town 4-0 Brighton
- Crystal Palace 3-2 Sheffield United
- Fulham 0-0 Everton
CHIEDOZIE OGBENE SCORED his second Premier League goal as Luton Town thumped Brighton 4-0 to climb out of the relegation zone.
Luton were 2-0 up with just two minutes and 17 seconds on the clock at Kenilworth Road. Elijah Adebayo took just 19 seconds to head the hosts into the lead before Ogbene latched on to a long ball and rounded Brighton keeper Jason Steele to run the ball into an empty net.
Adebayo added another goal either side of half-time to complete a superb hat-trick in what was comfortably Luton’s biggest Premier League win and their most commanding performance.
Ogbene’s Ireland team-mate Evan Ferguson was introduced from the bench at half time for an insipid Brighton, as Luton moved out of the relegation zone for the first time in nearly two months.
At the City Ground, Arsenal overcame a sluggish first-half performance to cut the gap on leaders Liverpool to two points after a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners looked toothless in the first half, but rallied to register three big points thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka.
The result leaves them on the coattails of Liverpool, who can extend their lead back to five points against Chelsea on Wednesday night.
Forest had no intention of going for the win in a pragmatic approach deployed by Nuno Espirito Santo, but they made a game of it late on as Taiwo Awoniyi slammed home in the 89th minute.
Arsenal saw it out to end a three-game losing streak at the City Ground and exorcise the ghosts of last season’s defeat, which saw their title challenge come to an end.
Forest’s situation at the foot of the Premier League is looking precarious, as they sit two points above the relegation zone with the threat of a points deduction for breaking financial rules hanging over them.
In Tuesday’s later kick-off, Newcastle condemned Aston Villa to their first home defeat in the Premier League for almost a year with a stunning 3-1 win.
Two goals in four first-half minutes from Fabian Schar put the Magpies in control before Alex Moreno’s own goal after the break.
Ollie Watkins grabbed a consolation for the hosts, who lost in the league at Villa Park for the first time since last February
They remain fourth but have played more games than leaders Liverpool and rivals Manchester City and will be caught by Tottenham if they beat Brentford on Wednesday.
Newcastle had lost six of their previous seven league games to slip away from the top four but victory lifted them to seventh, although still 11 points behind Villa.
At Selhurst Park, Michael Olise marked his return to Crystal Palace’s starting line-up by scoring the winner in their 3-2 comeback victory over Sheffield United to ease pressure on Eagles boss Roy Hodgson.
Villarreal loanee Ben Brereton Diaz stunned the home support into silence when he netted the opener inside 21 seconds at Selhurst Park before Olise teed up Eberechi Eze for the equaliser.
James McAtee restored the Blades’ lead before Olise once again set up Eze, who squared things up inside the first half-hour of a frenetic first period to complete his brace, before Olise ensured his side would walk away with all three points after the break.
Anel Ahmedhodzic came close to salvaging a point when he clipped the crossbar late in the second half, but the Premier League bottom side ultimately walked away with nothing to show.
Elsewhere, Fulham’s scoring woes continued as their missed opportunities saw them held to a goalless draw with Everton at Craven Cottage.
After last week’s exit from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, the west Londoners failed to bounce back with a win over an Everton side, who now sit in the bottom three following Luton’s 4-0 victory over Brighton.
– Updated 23.11: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Evan Ferguson came off at half time for Brighton in their defeat to Luton; Ferguson came on as a substitute at half time.
