Khan hits panic button

Fulham are on the rocks and Rene Meulensteen has been thrown overboard. This is the kind of knee-jerk stewardship we expect of a Cardiff City or Queens Park Rangers owner, but madness has taken hold down in SW6 as it’s a complete change of the management team for the third time in 76 days.

I am quite lost for words. Never in my wildest dreams did I see the abrupt dismissal of Meulensteen coming hard on the heels of two of the toughest fixtures on the calendar.

Fulham may only have gained one point this week, and shipped a further damaging five goals in doing so, but the performances were full of positives to build on. “Off with their heads” seems a singularly heartless verdict for failure against two giants of the Premier League -– especially when half of Rene’s re-shaped side are barely on first-name terms with each other.

Given that Martin Jol was allowed two-and-a-half years to run the club into the ground with “death by a thousand cuts,” sacking Meulensteen just two weeks after giving him the resources to bring six new faces into the first-team squad seems bizarre in the extreme.

Not to bore you with trivia, my working week ends with a trip to the health club and a sauna. From there on Friday evening I headed straight into the trendy part of town where some colleagues held a wrap party for their latest film. I wasn’t home that late but had a one line message from the editorial desk at ESPN towers asking for my reaction to the day at Fulham.

With a blank fixture this weekend I was puzzled and almost went to bed. Luckily, a final sweep of blog postings alerted me to the earth shattering news.

GettyImagesFulham have replaced Rene Meulensteen with Felix Magath, who becomes the club's third manager of the season.

We have the weekend to unpick the back story. For now, it’s a question of "Hallo und willkommen mein Herr" to Felix Magath. The doughty German –- the first man from his nation to manage in the Premier League, has a reputation for being thick-skinned and something of a martinet. Good luck Felix, you are going to need it in spades for the final 12 games of the season.

Rene has apparently been pouring his heart out to the media while I’ve been drinking cocktails, the summation appears to show a character shell-shocked, upset, bemused, hurt and slighted. I sense most Fulham fans will feel for him.

The other side of the coin however shows with no win since New Year's Day and the club's slide to the bottom of the table, while the disgraceful efforts in the FA Cup may have cast a long dark shadow. Outside my window the gales London that have endured all day still howl like a demented pack of wolves. I wrote of a Tempest by the Thames after the Liverpool result–- how prophetic!

Fulham in their wisdom have decided the resilience of Magath is required to stave off the spectre of relegation. It will be little short of a miracle if he pulls it off. There’s no bedding in period for him. No selecting Damien Duff for three games before realising he’s one of the problems, not a solution. And the ex-Hamburg captain has to coax all Rene’s signings into playing it his way from the start. Personally, with the shape we’re in, I would have nailed my colours to Rene’s mast. Internal disruption to a club in dire straits this deep into the season is fraught with peril.

The big question I leave you with is this: Who played executioner? Did our absentee owner Shahid Khan come to this decision all by himself? Has he any idea who Felix Magath is? He may have put his name to the press release, but who wrote it out for him?

Mourinho and Wenger: The rift reopens

When Jose Mourinho walked into the Cobham meeting room for his Friday afternoon news conference, there wasn’t initially much sign of the storm to come.

The Chelsea manager even offered an apology for being late. In the 13 minutes he kept the media waiting, though, it is tempting to think he was planning exactly what to say in response to Arsene Wenger's comments earlier in the day.

There could be no disputing the deliberateness of each of his eight acidic words, nor the fact he himself was waiting to say them. After two mild questions about whether this is really Chelsea’s Premier League title to lose, Wenger’s words were eventually put to him.

The Arsenal manager had claimed that other coaches had constantly downplayed their team’s chances because of "fear of failure." Mourinho was not afraid to say exactly what he thought.

"He is a specialist in failure," responded the Chelsea manager. "I’m not.”

- Mourinho: "Wenger is a specialist in failure"
- Wenger: "Mourinho has a fear of failure"
- Rodgers rubbishes "failure" talk

For those in the room, and especially those who had also been at London Colney for Wenger's news conference, it was a genuinely eyebrow-raising moment. Any laughter heard was out of shock someone would go so far, rather than mirth. The Portuguese spoke in very specific terms, with no hesitation but a strong element of irritation.

As to whether Wenger actually intended to spark that kind of response, that’s a little less clear, although the Arsenal manager is certainly no innocent in this.

He criticised Mourinho’s attitude to the title race as far back as December, and was probably absolutely correct to call out the patent nonsense that the Stamford Bridge side are “little horses” in this league race: “Only Chelsea can lose it because they are in front and all the other teams can win it,” Wenger rightfully said.

The line about “fear to fail,” however, was a little more ambiguous. Mourinho wasn’t actually named when Wenger was then asked why certain managers downplayed their chances, and the Arsenal manager didn’t identify him. The delivery, though, made it difficult not to think there was an element of agitation about it. The context was also obvious.

“It’s fear to fail.”

Either way, Mourinho later proceeded to escalate it all in the kind of way only he is prepared to do. It all got so much more edgy.

All of a sudden, it was easy to forget this was supposed to be a slightly more subdued FA Cup weekend, even if the Premier League top four face off against each other.

It was easy, in fact, to forget entirely about the cup. Instead, it became about the effect of all this on the title race and it certainly adds a frisson. Two managers who weren’t even playing each other began publicly bickering in a manner not seen for at least half a decade.

The news conference at Cobham had the feel of one of those to be remembered and regularly quoted, alongside Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez’s 2009 speech about “facts” or Kevin Keegan proclaiming in 1996 that he would “love it” if his Newcastle beat Manchester United. This was up there with the most catty of them.

It would be unbearably po-faced to argue that does not add an element of enjoyable pantomime to what is ultimately a game, and few are better at playing a role in all of that than Mourinho. He is the ultimate wind-up merchant and the mistake so many make is in reacting to words.

AllsportMourinho and Wenger may not be quite so cordial next time they meet.

At the same time, it did appear that for once Mourinho was a touch wound up himself, which puts a different spin on the debate about who riled whom and the whole notion of "mind games."

The Chelsea manager admitted he was "annoyed" by Wenger's comments. He also seemed to plead that fair response was required, given the words “go around the world.”

The resentment between the two managers, of course, has been around for some time too. Despite an initial element of deference and respect this season, especially around Chelsea’s League Cup win when the two clubs met in October, it did seem as if this kind of controversy required only a prod to be provoked.

Mourinho responded with daggers.

“[Wenger] loves to look at this football club," he said. "I thought between 2007 and 2013 was enough time for him to forget this, but it looks like he always likes to look at this [club].

“Am I afraid of failure? What is that?

“I believe, at the end of the day, I’ll be the [one seen as the] impolite guy, the one who’s aggressive in his words but of course. He is saying we’re not candidates because we’re afraid of failure. Failure of what? Not winning a title this year ... or in two years?

“I have a lot of respect for him. Failure is not winning a title in seven or eight years. That’s failure. Am I aggressive in my words? I don’t know.”

Mourinho offered his only moment of contrition when he was asked about calling Wenger a “voyeur” back in 2005. He immediately interjected.

“I am sorry for that, so sorry for that.”

That sounded genuine. Mourinho clearly meant everything else and, for all the pantomime, that is one of the reasons this exchange feels so pointed.

It is exceptionally rare for a manager to so go beyond protocol and to be so blunt. This extent of criticism was surprising even for Mourinho.
It also felt almost personal precisely because there was truth to it.

Wenger is undeniably one of the greatest managers of all time, but that reputation comes primarily because of the period of his career between 1988 and 2005, rather than the 8½ barren years since.

Sure, in that time, he had the obvious barriers of a new stadium to build and the nouveau riche of Manchester City and Chelsea themselves, as well as Manchester United, to beat. Those explanations start to run a little short, however, when you consider how little money was reinvested from a range of unplanned sales.

Wenger fought hard to keep players from Emmanuel Adebayor to Cesc Fabregas so it would be ludicrous to suggest their exits were part of the economic plan. Despite that, Arsenal didn’t properly spend the money received.

It seems clear now that, after the glory of the 2003-04 title win, Wenger wanted to build a brilliant team in a different way; to properly bring through a young core. When modern realities impinged on that, however, the Arsenal manager refused to readjust. In that, he was someway culpable of failure.

Now, in a season when the club have broken their transfer record for Mesut Ozil and kept a young collective, it feels as if no more allowances can be made. Wenger himself maintains the side is ready.

They must certainly be ready to avenge last week’s horrific defeat at Liverpool in Sunday’s FA Cup rematch. This fixture takes on an extra significance precisely because such a difficult run of games has started so dismally, but also because it arguably presents Arsenal’s best chance of a trophy. In that, although it is notionally their least important game of the next two months, it should be viewed with the most vigour.

Mourinho showed plenty of vigour. Of course, the final reason that managers so rarely do that is because it can also tempt fate and put greater pressure on themselves. For all Mourinho’s deliberations about development this season, perceived failure would not now be so easily forgiven.

It’s quite a time to face a Manchester City side some may feel are due to defeat Chelsea, after two successive losses. Manuel Pellegrini, however, refused to rise to anything the Portuguese had to say.

“I also don't like a lot to speak about other managers,” Mourinho said with a straight face. “I think he's right. I think he's right. So if he doesn't want to speak about me, that's perfect. That's perfect.”

Substitute Anichebe nods late equaliser as West Brom hold Chelsea

• 
     OOJ - West Bromwich Albion's Victor Anichebe (right) celebrates (PA Sport)

Premier League, The Hawthorns - West Bromwich Albion 1 (Anichebe 87) Chelsea 1 (Ivanovic 45+2)

Victor Anichebe dented Chelsea's title aspirations by coming off the bench to head the equaliser in West Brom's 1-1 draw with the Premier League leaders at The Hawthorns.

Jose Mourinho's side appeared to be cruising to three points whenBranislav Ivanovic swept the ball into the rigging from close range after David Luiz had flicked on Willian's corner in stoppage time in the first half.

But Chelsea paid a heavy price for dropping further and further back as Anichebe - on for Morgan Amalfitano with 17 minutes remaining - arrived three minutes from the end of normal time to send Saido Berahino's cross beyond Petr Cech.

Chelsea must content themselves with a lead of two points rather than the four it seemed likely to be at half-time. They will be knocked off their perch at the top if second-placed Arsenal can overcomeManchester United at the Emirates on Wednesday night.

They can have few complaints with West Brom showing a gusto and spirit in the second half that was well worthy of a point.

Pepe Mel's side are also out of the bottom three on goal difference ahead of Sunderland. Their recovery demonstrated enough character to hint at better times ahead in the final 12 games of the season.

KEY MOMENTS

45+2' - IVANOVIC STRIKES: Ivanovic drives the loose ball into the net from the Luiz flick on. Couldn't miss really. Decent corner from Willian, but poor, poor marking. A seventh corner of the half. Finally Chelsea strike seconds before the break.

60' - WILLIAN SHOT: Brilliant piece of play by Willian. Gets a deflection off Dawson with the shot, but Foster stands tall to make a solid block.

70' - CHELSEA AGAIN HIT ON THE BREAK: Hazard and Torres lead the counter attack for Chelsea, but the move ends with Willian slamming a shot straight into the arms off Foster.

74' - WEST BROM PRESSURE BEGINS TO TELL: Bifouma thumps a shot across the face of goal from a West Brom corner. Probably West Brom's best chance of the night. Couldn't direct that towards the net.

76' - BRUNT CHANCE: Brunt then with a left foot shot. Real chance for Brunt, but he is a few yards wide with the effort at goal. West Brom with plenty of crosses into the area.

87' - WEST BROM EQUALISER: Anichebe rises to head into the net from the Berahino cross. A late equaliser for the home side. Would you believe it?

90+6' - TORRES APPEARS TO PUSH FOSTER: A bad-natured end to the match with rival players jostling in the West Brom box. Pushing and shoving, but the match is over.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Gareth McAuley (West Brom): A no-nonsense performance from the home central defender. Worked well alongside Craig Dawson in repelling the visiting side. West Brom will need men like McAuley in the run-in to avoid relegation to the Championship.

MATCHCAST: FULL COMMENTARY AND PLAYER RATINGS

KEY STATS

West Bromwich Albion remain unbeaten against Chelsea in a single Premier League season for the first time in the Premier League era.

Chelsea are now unbeaten in 11 Premier League matches (home and away).

Chelsea are now winless in three Premier League matches against West Brom (D1-L2).

Chelsea’s three-match winning streak in Premier League away matches comes to an end.

Talking point: How damaging is this result to Chelsea's title hopes? They didn't win the title when they overcame Manchester City last week, and they didn't lose it with this draw. But there is no doubt that they will be kicking themselves. They seemed to become more and more negative as the game progressed. Instead of pushing for a second goal, they seemed to hold out for a 1-0 win and paid the price. Well done West Brom, but Chelsea's mindset of holding what they had seemed to contribute to their own downfall.

PLAYER RATINGS

West Bromwich Albion: Foster 7, Reid 6, McAuley 8, Dawson 8, Ridgewellm 7, Yacob 6, Amalfitano 6, Morrison 7, Brunt 7, Thievy 6, Berahino 7..subs: Mulumbu 6, Anichebe 8, Vydra 6

Chelsea: Cech 6; Ivanovic 7, Cahill 6, D Luiz 6, Azpilicueta 6; Ramires 6, Matic 6; Willian 7, Oscar 6, Hazard 6; Eto’o 6..subs: Mikel 6, Salah 6, Torres 6

MATCH IN A TWEET

Call that a Jag?

Moyes bemoans 'mental softness'

Moyes: We deserved to win

Manchester United manager David Moyes feels his side were unlucky not to get a win over Fulham after a 2-2 draw.Tags: David Moyes, Manchester United

Manchester United manager David Moyes has admitted he didn't expect his first season at the club to be so difficult after he was left to count the cost of his side’s lack of a cutting edge after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Fulham at Old Trafford.

GettyImagesDavid Moyes suffered another difficult afternoon.

Darren Bent scored a stoppage-time equaliser to salvage a draw for the struggling Cottagers, who had taken the lead through Steve Sidwell in the 19th minute.

United put in cross after cross but were left frustrated until they struck twice in two late second-half minutes through Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick -- but then Bent scored with seconds to go.

• Payne: Manchester United plumb tactical depths
• Jolly: Patience starting to wear thin

Asked at his postmatch news conference whether he had ever thought this season could have been so tough, Moyes replied: “Probably not, no.“

“We just needed to keep concentrating and see the game out. You could argue that maybe it was mental softness that we didn't get the job done. I would agree with that.

“It was a game we should have easily seen out. There was no reason not to see it out, it was comfortable. You couldn't say we were ever under real pressure.

"I don't know if we could have done an awful lot more, maybe defended a bit better a couple of times and taken a few more of the chances we made, but we completely dominated the game and should have won comfortably.

"The players are hurting, they hurt because results aren't going the way they want. They are really good professionals, and it makes me feel that they will get results, there's no doubt about that.

"We are quite often seeing similar games here where we have been the better team by far, the opposition get a goal from a set-piece or a break and then we are chasing it. But we deserved to win the game."

Delighted Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen said the result showed his side -- now four points away from safety -- still had hope of beating the drop.

"We made it difficult for them," he added. "United have got some problems of their own. They kept creating chances and crosses, but we defended well and held them. "We thought at the end it's going to slip away, all of the hard work that we've done, but at the end to score that it felt like a winner.

"When I saw Manchester United today I thought the gameplan was quite straightforward -- get it wide, get it in, whether it was from the full-back pushing on or the supporting wide man and midfielder. They put crosses in from wide angles from outside the box. We defended it well.

"I do think that a few teams have come here with a different sort of approach because certain teams have come here and done well and got something -- West Brom, Southampton, Swansea, Newcastle, Everton.

"We focused on keening our shape and we defended well. The important thing is we got a point. Some people have classified us as dead and buried."

Moyes bemoans 'mental softness'

Moyes: We deserved to win

Manchester United manager David Moyes feels his side were unlucky not to get a win over Fulham after a 2-2 draw.Tags: David Moyes, Manchester United

Manchester United manager David Moyes has admitted he didn't expect his first season at the club to be so difficult after he was left to count the cost of his side’s lack of a cutting edge after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Fulham at Old Trafford.

David Moyes suffered another difficult afternoon.

Darren Bent scored a stoppage-time equaliser to salvage a draw for the struggling Cottagers, who had taken the lead through Steve Sidwell in the 19th minute.

United put in cross after cross but were left frustrated until they struck twice in two late second-half minutes through Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick -- but then Bent scored with seconds to go.

Asked at his postmatch news conference whether he had ever thought this season could have been so tough, Moyes replied: “Probably not, no.“

“We just needed to keep concentrating and see the game out. You could argue that maybe it was mental softness that we didn't get the job done. I would agree with that.

“It was a game we should have easily seen out. There was no reason not to see it out, it was comfortable. You couldn't say we were ever under real pressure.

"I don't know if we could have done an awful lot more, maybe defended a bit better a couple of times and taken a few more of the chances we made, but we completely dominated the game and should have won comfortably.

"The players are hurting, they hurt because results aren't going the way they want. They are really good professionals, and it makes me feel that they will get results, there's no doubt about that.

"We are quite often seeing similar games here where we have been the better team by far, the opposition get a goal from a set-piece or a break and then we are chasing it. But we deserved to win the game."

Delighted Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen said the result showed his side -- now four points away from safety -- still had hope of beating the drop.

"We made it difficult for them," he added. "United have got some problems of their own. They kept creating chances and crosses, but we defended well and held them. "We thought at the end it's going to slip away, all of the hard work that we've done, but at the end to score that it felt like a winner.

"When I saw Manchester United today I thought the gameplan was quite straightforward -- get it wide, get it in, whether it was from the full-back pushing on or the supporting wide man and midfielder. They put crosses in from wide angles from outside the box. We defended it well.

"I do think that a few teams have come here with a different sort of approach because certain teams have come here and done well and got something -- West Brom, Southampton, Swansea, Newcastle, Everton.

"We focused on keening our shape and we defended well. The important thing is we got a point. Some people have classified us as dead and buried."

Messi scores twice to rally Barcelona

Barca take back top spot

Barcelona cruise to a dominant 4-1 victory away at rainy Sevilla and take back top spot in La Liga.

Lionel Messi scored two goals and set up another to lead Barcelona to a 4-1 winat Sevilla on Sunday, moving the defending champions back to the top of the table -- though there is a three-way tie on 57 points in La Liga with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

GettyImagesLionel Messi overcame the rain to score two goals on Sunday.

• Sat: Real smash four

Sevilla dominated the first half hour on the Sanchez Pizjuan's waterlogged pitch and went ahead through Alberto Moreno's 15th-minute goal.

But as the rain showers turned into a downpour, Messi supplied a free kick for Alexis Sanchez to equalise in the 34th minute before the Argentina forward blasted in his first goal in open league play since Sept. 28, before his long injury layoff.

Messi had been kept quiet until he broke loose in midfield and passed wide for Pedro, who returned the ball for the Argentine to strike a left-footed shot into far corner the net.

Messi stepped up once more to score from Andres Iniesta's pass in the 56th minute. Messi controlled Iniesta's crisp pass with one touch while at full trot and unleashed another left-footed effort that skipped off the soggy turf before bouncing in off the post.

Substitute Cesc Fabregas scored from close range after Alexis provided the pass, with Sevilla's defense in tatters.

Earlier, Osasuna beat Getafe 2-0 at home to move four points clear of the relegation zone. Osasuna's Oriol Riera opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Francisco Silva spotted his run behind Getafe's disjointed defence with a long pass that the striker expertly used one touch to lift over goalkeeper Miguel Moya.

Roberto Torres capped the win in Pamplona on the break with two minutes to play.

Substitute Humberto Osorio scored twice as Real Valladolid came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Elche.

Elche went ahead through goals by Coro in the 34th minute and Manuel del Moral in the 66th. Valladolid coach Juan Ignacio Martinez sent on Osorio in the 69th minute and the forward responded by scoring in the 71st and 78th minutes.

Valladolid's comeback was undermined when newcomer Jeffren Suarez, recently arrived from Sporting Lisbon, was injured with 10 minutes to play and his team had no substitutions to make. The draw left Valladolid in the drop zone, three points from safety.

Real Sociedad were held 0-0 at their Anoeta Stadium by Levante and the inspired form of goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

Navas denied Sociedad forwards Imanol Agirretxe and Antoine Griezmann on two occasions each in the first half before stretching to palm Gonzalo Castro's shot over his bar in the 69th minute.

Napoli's Higuain scores twice to sink Seedorf's Milan

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     OOJ - Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain celebrates after scoring against AC Milan (Reuters)

Rafa Benitez’s Napoli recorded their first victory in three games to bring an end to Clarence Seedorf’s unbeaten run as new Milan manager.

Gonzalo Higuaín grabbed an impressive brace and Gokhan Inler also got on the score sheet as Napoli bounced back from two consecutive defeats.

One positive the visitors could take from a pretty torrid night was a debut goal from January loan signing Adel Taarabt.

Taarabt handed the visitors the lead on eight minutes when he dispossessed Faouzi Ghoulam before bursting forward and producing a beautiful curled effort beyond the reach of Christian Abbiati. The Moroccan sprinted towards the away bench to celebrate with coachClarence Seedorf.

But Milan’s joy was short lived as, just three minutes later, Napoli were level when Inler saw his 30 yard effort curl into the back of the net after his shot took a deflection off Nigel de Jong.

After half an hour of sustained pressure which saw Marek Hamsik go close, amongst others, Napoli finally took the lead on 56 minutes through Higuain who lost his marker to glance Inler’s delightful cross into the back of the net.

Milan improved in the latter stages and could have levelled through Taarabt and substitute Giampaolo Pazzini but were denied by decent saves from Pepe Reina.

But Higuain sealed the match seven minutes before time after Hamsik found substitute Jose Callejon with a through pass and he simply passed the ball across goal for Higuain to tap into the back of the net.

Reds rout Arsenal, Blues top, City held

Blues go top in Premier League shake-up

ESPN FC's Paul Mariner breaks down Saturday's Premier League action which saw a shake-up among the top four.Tags: English Premier League, Chelsea, Manchester City

Liverpool produced one of the most stunning opening 20 minutes seen at Anfield -- and arguably one of the best ever -- to blow away Arsenal 5-1 and give their own title hopes a boost.

Liverpool were in scintillating form against Arsenal.

Brendan Rodgers' side fired four goals before the visitors knew what had hit them, and they were incapable of finding a response.

The irony was that the league's leading striker Luis Suarez, whom Arsene Wenger tried so hard to sign in the summer with a cheeky 40,000,001 pound bid, did not get near any of them.

Suarez, who deserved a goal for a brilliant volley which beat goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny but not the post, could claim an assist for Raheem Sterling's first of two but Liverpool were well in control by then thanks to two from defender Martin Skrtel -- the first after just 52 seconds.

There was a sense of incredulity around Anfield when Daniel Sturridge caressed home the fourth with less than a quarter of the match played but for Arsenal it was more a feeling of bewilderment as an eight-game unbeaten run came to an end with Mikel Arteta's second-half penalty no consolation.

Chelsea moved to the top of the Premier League after Eden Hazard scored a hat trick in a comfortable 3-0 victory over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.

The brilliance of Hazard secured an eighth league win in 10 for Jose Mourinho's men, who recorded back-to-back victories following their triumph over Manchester City on Monday. And now they are in first place following Arsenal's humiliating 5-1 loss to Liverpool earlier in the lunchtime kick-off.

Hazard gave Chelsea the lead after getting onto the end of Branislav Ivanovic's cutback from the edge of the penalty area to beat Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul from the far post.

He then collected his second goal of the game just seven minutes later. Hazard played a one-two with Samuel Eto'o, who found his teammate with a superb backheel, to enable Hazard to curl his effort into the far post.

And Hazard sealed his hat trick from the penalty spot after Eto'o was fouled.

Manchester City failed to capitalise on Arsenal's heavy loss at Liverpool and go top of the Premier League as they were held to a goalless draw by Norwich at Carrow Road.

GettyImagesCity could not find a breakthrough at Norwich.

City would have moved to the summit of the league table on goal difference had they found a winning goal in Norfolk, but now sit third -- two points off new leaders Chelsea following their comfortable win over Newcastle.

In stark contrast to their 7-0 defeat at the Etihad earlier this season, Norwich impressed in an edgy first half as Nathan Redmond caused particular problems to City's defence.

Gary Hooper thought he had put the home side in front midway through the first half, but the striker was judged to have been offside before he tapped in from close range. Shortly after, Stevan Jovetic similarly had a goal chalked off as Alvaro Negredo strayed offside.

Negredo almost found the breakthrough with his head but, despite beating John Ruddy, his effort crashed against the woodwork as a tight first half drew to a close.

Russell Martin went close following good work from Hooper, before City's pressure looked set to take its toll with Edin Dzeko and Jesus Navas both going close.

However, Norwich weathered the storm and proved good value for a share of the spoils, although Ricky van Wolfswinkel was aggrieved in added time following an off-the-ball incident with Yaya Toure.

Garry Monk's audition for the Swansea manager's job got off to the perfect start with a handsome 3-0 victory over local rivals Cardiff in a frenetic south Wales derby.

Monk, installed as head coach following Michael Laudrup's dismissal, watched Wayne Routledge give his side the lead just after the break before Nathan Dyer and Wilfried Bony secured the bragging rights late on.

Kenwyne Jones missed two excellent first-half chances for Cardiff, while the superb Craig Bellamy rattled the crossbar. Cardiff have now lost four of the five league games Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken charge of and remain 19th, three points adrift of safety.

Tom Ince and Joe Ledley both scored on their Crystal Palace debuts to secure another vital three points in the battle against relegation as they beat West Brom3-1, while the bottom rungs were shuffled dramatically once again by victories for Hull and West Ham.

Ince took just 15 minutes to open his Crystal Palace account against West Brom following a deadline day loan from Blackpool, clipping the ball over an onrushing Ben Foster after being sent through on goal by Yannick Bolasie. Ledley followed suit soon after, the former Celtic man -- being deployed at left-back by Tony Pulis, being set up by Ince on 27 minutes.

West Brom hit back through half-time substitute Thievy Bifouma just 48 seconds after his introduction, but the match was sealed midway through the second half as Foster was adjudged to have brought down Marouane Chamakh in the area, and the Palace striker converted from the penalty spot. Palace are now 13th in the Premier League table, three points above the relegation zone.

GettyImagesTom Ince opened the scoring for Palace against West Brom.

At the Stadium of Light, Shane Long scored his second goal for Hull in three games since joining the club in January to help propel them to a 2-0victory over Sunderland. Wes Brown was sent off for the second time this season after only three minutes as he hauled down Long when clean through on goal. It made for a long afternoon for Sunderland, who fell behind to Long's goal on 16 minutes and could not prevent Nikica Jelavic opening his account for Hull in the second half.

Two goals in the first three minutes of the second half by Kevin Nolan guidedWest Ham to a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park. The result moves Sam Allardyce's side out of the relegation zone and within two points of their hosts, who slip to 11th.

Peter Crouch scored his 22nd league goal for Stoke -- as many as he has scored for any other club -- as his side drew 2-2 at Southampton. The hosts led twice, first through Ricky Lambert on six minutes and then Steven Davis, but Peter Odemwingie and Crouch both notched equalisers in the first half.

Hazard hits hat-trick as Chelsea go top

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     OOJ - Eden Hazard scores for Chelsea against Newcastle (AFP)

Premier League, Stamford Bridge - Chelsea (Hazard 27’ 34’ 63’ (pen)) Newcastle 0

Eden Hazard scored three as Chelsea beat Newcastle in an easy 3-0 win which put them top of the Premier League table.

Chelsea started patiently, but dominated possession from the opening whistle. While it took them some time to get up to speed, they never panicked, and when Hazard first scored on 27 minutes it seemed inevitable.

The Belgian forward turned neatly into space after receiving the ball in midfield, spread the ball wide for Branislav Ivanovic on the right, turning the return pass sweetly into the far corner.

Seven minutes later he scored his and Chelsea’s second, playing a one-two with Samuel Eto’o, whose pass was back-heeled, and finishing with a clever, clipped shot past Krul.

In the second half, Hazard got his third. Substitute Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa fouled Eto’o for no reason at a corner, and Hazard converted the penalty.

Newcastle failed to create any great chances, and were limited to increasingly rare shots from distance until Marveaux missed an easy chance with minutes remaining. Chelsea are unlikely to have an easier victory all season.

KEY EVENTS

26’ - OSCAR CHANCE - Eto’o squares the ball across the edge of the box, and Oscar sends his shot just inches wide.

27’ - HAZARD’S FIRST - After finding Ivanovic on the right, Hazard turns his cross into the goal without breaking stride.

34’ - HAZARD AGAIN - Another goal for Hazard as Willian breaks down the left wing, gives the ball to the Belgian who converts a one-two with Eto’o with a lovely shot.

53’ - KRUL MISTAKE - Luiz launches the ball forward and the bounce wrong-foots Krul, who slips over as he comes towards the ball, and Oscar is just short of turning the ball in as it runs out of play.

58’ - ETO’O CHANCE - Ivanovic hits an early cross towards Eto’o, but he delays his shot until he can only have it blocked, and it’s easily stopped.

61’ - KRUL SAVE - Lampard aims a shot on the side of the penalty area, but Krul tips over for a corner.

63’ - HAZARD HAT-TRICK - An impressively stupid foul by Yanga-Mbiwa gives Hazard the chance to score his third, sending a penalty two yards to the side of a static Krul.

87’ - DOUBLE MISS - Salah, and then Marveaux, both have chances when bearing down on goal, and both blast the ball at the ‘keeper.

KEY STATS

Chelsea are unbeaten in 73 Barclays Premier League home games with Jose Mourinho as boss.

Alan Pardew’s side have failed to score in six of their last seven Premier League games, losing four and winning just one in this run.

Chelsea have won seven of their last eight Premier League games.

Since losing 3-2 at Stoke, Chelsea have conceded only three goals in 10 games.

Newcastle have lost five of their seven Premier League games since beating Stoke 5-1 on Boxing Day.

MATCHCAST: FULL MATCH STATS AND COMMENTARY

TALKING POINT

Does Hazard make Chelsea favourites for the title? Apart from Luis Suarez, there is nobody in the league in such good form as Eden Hazard. His quality might be the difference between Chelsea and Manchester City in the title race.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Eden Hazard (Chelsea): Samuel Eto’o did well to link up play between the three behind him, and Oscar and Willian both provided attacking threats and assists, but nobody did all three as Hazard, who also scored the winner.

PLAYER RATINGS

Chelsea: Cech 6, Ivanovic 7, Cahill 6, D Luiz 6, Azpilicueta 6, Matic 7, Lampard 6, Willian 7, Oscar 7, Hazard 9, Eto’o 8. Subs: Schurrle 6, Salah 6, Ba 6.

Newcastle United: Krul 6, Debuchy 6, Williamson 6, S.Taylor 6, Dummett 6, Anita 5, Santon 6, Ben Arfa 6, Sissoko 6, Sammy Ameobi 6, de Jong 6. Subs: Yanga-Mbiwa 5, Gosling 5, Marveaux 6.