Joao Pedro denied Newcastle victory as Chelsea came from behind to snatch a 2-2 Premier League draw at St James’ Park.
Nick Woltemade’s double had the Magpies 2-0 up inside 20 minutes, but Eddie Howe’s men wilted amid a second-half fightback, fuelled by the pace and trickery of Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro, after Reece James’ curling free-kick reduced the deficit.
However, it was Pedro who ensured his side left with a deserved point when he fired home a 66th-minute equaliser to end a run of three successive league defeats for the Blues on Tyneside.
Erling Haaland scored two goals and made another as Manchester City underlined their growing title credentials with a comfortable 3-0 victory over West Ham.
The prolific Norwegian was on target after just five minutes of a one-sided encounter at the Etihad Stadium, before teeing up Tijjani Reijnders and adding another in the second half.
Haaland was inches away from completing a hat-trick in stoppage time.
Victory for Pep Guardiola’s side, their fifth in succession in the Premier League, put pressure firmly on Arsenal at the top end of the table.
The Hammers, by contrast, will spend Christmas in the relegation zone after a lacklustre display that extended their winless streak to six.
It was not until the second half that the visitors began to ask questions of their hosts, but any prospect of a fightback was snuffed out by Haaland’s second, which took his tally for club and country this season to 38.
Josh Cullen started as super-sub Armando Broja scored a last-minute equaliser to end Burnley’s seven-game losing run and leave Bournemouth winless in eight after a 1-1 draw.
Bournemouth thought they had won it when the sought-after Antoine Semenyo scored his eighth goal of the season to finally break through Burnley’s spirited defence after 67 minutes.
But second-half substitutes Marcus Edwards and Broja combined to earn the returning Scott Parker a point his team had scarcely deserved.
Sunderland’s impressive season following promotion to the Premier League continued with a battling goalless draw at Brighton.
Black Cats defender Omar Alderete went closest to a winner at the Amex Stadium when his 46th-minute header was pushed on to the crossbar by Seagulls goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
Yasin Ayari wasted the best of Brighton’s opportunities as their winless run stretched to four matches, prompting a smattering of boos at full-time.
