Struggling Southampton grab vital 1-0 win at goal-shy Chelsea, Manchester City held Nottingham Forest

A trademark James Ward-Prowse free kick earned basement club Southampton a precious three points at Chelsea in a scrappy 1-0 Premier League win on Saturday and piled more pressure on home coach Graham Potter.
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta brought down Stuart Armstrong just outside the area in the 45th minute and Ward-Prowse curled a free kick over the wall into the right-hand side of the net with goalkeeper Kepa left sprawling.
Azpilicueta needed nearly 10 minutes of treatment on the pitch in the second half after he received a kick to the head in a goalmouth clash. Physios from both clubs rushed to his aid and the Spaniard was eventually carried off on a stretcher.

FULL-TIME Chelsea 0-1 Southampton
James Ward-Prowse silences the hosts as Southampton do the double over Chelsea for the first time in the #PL#CHESOU pic.twitter.com/MaNdeY0Wui
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 18, 2023
Chelsea, who have scored only four goals in 10 games in all competitions since the start of the year, looked livelier in the second half when Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz came on and they kept the Southampton defence under pressure.
But despite spending nearly 300 million pounds ($361.05 million) in the January transfer window, the Blues still could not score against the south-coast team led caretaker coach Ruben Selles after Nathan Jones was sacked a week ago.
Chelsea are languishing in 10th place on 31 points from 23 games and are 10 points adrift of the top four. Southampton have 18 points and are three points outside the safety zone.
Janelt the hero as Brentford snatch 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace
Brentford substitute Vitaly Janelt headed the equaliser deep into stoppage time to clinch a point for his side in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace after a tight, tense Premier League encounter at the Community Stadium on Saturday.
The draw, which stretches Brentford’s unbeaten run in the Premier League to 11 games, sees Brentford remain in eighth place on 35 points, while Palace are 12th on 26.

FULL-TIME Brentford 1-1 Crystal Palace
The points are shared! Eberechi Eze’s opener is cancelled out a late equaliser from Vitaly Janelt#BRECRY pic.twitter.com/pgCQJHNtrE
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 18, 2023
After a promising start with some good early chances, the clash descended into a cat-and-mouse affair with both sides taking turns in possession but struggling to create decent goal-scoring chances.
Ivan Toney provoked an angry response from Palace defender Joachim Andersen in the 49th minute when he went down as he turned in the box looking for a penalty, with Andersen reading him the riot act as the referee waved away his appeals for a spot kick.
Eberechi Eze’s impact off the Palace bench was almost immediate, as he rose unmarked to head home a Michael Olise cross from close range in the 69th minute, and Brentford did little to suggest that they would be able to pull back a goal.
Despite looking toothless in attack, they somehow pulled it off in the sixth minute of stoppage time as substitute Janelt headed in a cross form Bryan Mbueno to send the home fans into raptures.
Solomon strikes late to give Fulham a win at Brighton
Manor Solomon secured a smash-and-grab 1-0 Premier League victory for Fulham at Brighton & Hove Albion in the battle of European qualification hopefuls on the south coast on Saturday.
Israel international Solomon struck in the 88th minute after Brighton had dominated throughout the contest, sending Marco Silva’s side above the hosts into sixth place in the table.

FULL-TIME Brighton 0-1 Fulham
Manor Solomon’s late goal secures all three points for the visitors#BHAFUL pic.twitter.com/zOfXk3aUQC
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 18, 2023
Brighton, who had gone five games unbeaten in the league, were left to rue a failure to take their chances with 20 goal attempts compared to just five for Fulham.
Facundo Buonanotte and Solly March both had the ball in the net for Brighton but were denied offside flags.
Fulham have 38 points from 24 games, one point behind fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, while Brighton have 35 points having played 22 games.
Bournemouth beat Wolves 1-0 to move out of relegation zone
Bournemouth moved out of the Premier League relegation zone after a second-half goal from Marcus Tavernier guided them to a 1-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
The south-coast club jumped from 19th to 17th on 21 points after 23 games, a point above the drop zone, after their first win since the World Cup break. Wolves stay in 15th place on 23.

FULL-TIME Wolves 0-1 AFC Bournemouth
The visitors move out of the relegation spots thanks to Marcus Tavernier’s second-half finish#WOLBOU pic.twitter.com/WFJMk7FnEm
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 18, 2023
The hosts started strongly at Molineux with several early forays into Bournemouth’s penalty area, but were unable to make the most of their momentum in the first half.
Pablo Sarabia and Adama Traore, who was a constant threat down the right, found the target with shots from tight angles, but their efforts were comfortably saved Neto.
Gary O’Neil’s visitors began the second half on the front foot and were rewarded with a goal in the 50th minute as Dominic Solanke squared for Tavernier to bundle in with his thigh.
Wolves piled on the pressure as they desperately sought an equaliser and Ruben Neves stung Neto’s palm with a long-range effort in added time but Bournemouth stood firm to earn their first away clean sheet of the season.
Manchester City held at Forest to fall behind Arsenal in title race
Manchester City fell two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal after being held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Arsenal left it very late to beat Aston Villa 4-2 earlier on Saturday and climbed back to the top of the standings, putting pressure on City to earn victory at Forest, with the visitors starting the encounter at a blering pace.
City dominated possession and deservedly took the lead four minutes before the break with Bernardo Silva slamming the ball into the net from the edge of the box.

FULL-TIME Nott’m Forest 1-1 Man City
Chris Wood’s late equaliser cancels out Bernardo Silva’s opener and gives the hosts a share of the points at City Ground#NFOMCI pic.twitter.com/aXG54dqNnt
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 18, 2023
The visitors should have doubled their advantage midway through the second half but the usually lethal Erling Haaland hit the crossbar from close range before blazing the rebound over the top.
That miss proved pivotal as, out of nowhere, Forest’s January signing Chris Wood tapped home at the far post to level six minutes from time and lift the roof off a damp City Ground.
The champions threw everything at Forest in search of a dramatic late winner but they could not break the hosts’ resance, leaving City two points behind Arsenal having played one game more. Forest climbed to 13th.
Coleman earns Everton precious win over fellow strugglers Leeds
Everton defender Seamus Coleman’s goal from the tightest of angles secured a precious 1-0 victory over fellow Premier League strugglers Leeds United at Goodison Park on Saturday and moved the Merseyside club out of the relegation zone.
The decisive moment came after 64 minutes when Alex Iwobi sent Coleman clear down the flank and, with Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier expecting a cross, the right-back arrowed his shot into the net from virtually the line.
It was a deserved win for Everton who created numerous opportunities but, as has been the case for much of the season, the league’s lowest scorers’ lack of quality in the attacking third meant too many shots, passes and crosses went astray.

FULL-TIME Everton 1-0 Leeds
Seamus Coleman’s goal proves to be the winner for Sean Dyche’s side in a tightly-contested battle at Goodison Park#EVELEE pic.twitter.com/ri9wAvnArf
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 18, 2023
Everton moved up to 16th place with 21 points from 23 games, a point above the drop zone, having taken six points from three games under new coach Sean Dyche.
Leeds slipped into the relegation zone with 19 points.
Leeds, who failed to get a shot on target in the 90 minutes, have now matched their club record of 10 Premier League games without a win and the result may hasten their search for a new permanent manager with Michael Skubala in temporary charge following the sacking of Jesse Marsch a fortnight ago.
Everton might also have had a couple of goals in the first half as Amadou Onana fired two shots wide from good positions, and Leeds midfielder Weston McKennie cleared off the line twice in a matter of seconds.