Luke Littler was inspired to win his Premier League homecoming by Manchester United’s late collapse at Chelsea.
Littler, a staunch United fan, came on to stage at the AO Arena in Manchester moments after watching his side conceded two goals in injury time to lose 4-3 at Stamford Bridge and claimed a second successive weekly Premier League win, beating Gerwyn Price 6-3 in the final.
The 17-year-old star, who enjoyed a maiden victory in Belfast last week, was happy to give United fans in attendance something to cheer about.
“We were watching backstage, we were winning 3-2 and we conceded a penalty and Cole Palmer scored and then he scored again,” Littler said.
“I was in a bad mood, I was like, ‘I’m winning this now’. It gave me motivation.
“There were a few Manchester United fans on the walkout so I was glad to win.”
Price had thrown an epic nine-dart finish against Michael Smith in the semi-final, but was not good enough to get past the teenager, who was imperious in the final.
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Victory sends him to the top of the Premier League table as his star continues to burn bright following his breakthrough at the World Championship over Christmas.
Having already won titles at the Bahrain Masters, PDC Players Championship and Belgian Open, he is now all-but certain to qualify for the play-offs at the O2 in London.
“I just try and live my life as I have done so far,” he said. “As a 17-year-old boy, I just know every week playing these guys I have looked up to, I just thrive off it.
“All I do is stay in my zone. I just do what I do.”
Price produced his best performance of this year’s competition and became the first man to throw a perfect set of darts since he did it twice in a night in Belfast in 2022.
And his run to the final raises his hopes of getting to the O2, though he has a lot of work to do in the final few weeks.
Littler’s night started well as he took a winning record in his rivalry with Michael van Gerwen.
It had been tied at 3-3 but Littler moved ahead with a 6-3 quarter-final win before beating Nathan Aspinall in the semi-final, thanks largely to 131, 90 and 136 checkouts.
Price was superb in beating Peter Wright in the quarter-final before a magnificent performance, capped by the nine-dart finish, sent him to the final.
'It's quite clear' - Maresca unhappy with 'dangerous' Martinez challenge on Palmer
Enzo Maresca believes it was "quite clear for all of us" that Lisandro Martinez should have been sent off for his "dangerous" challenge on Cole Palmer during Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
The spoils were shared at Old Trafford, where a superb Moises Caicedo volley cancelled out Bruno Fernandes' earlier penalty.
However, Maresca felt United should have been reduced to 10 men following Martinez's late tackle on Palmer, with referee Robert Jones showing the defender a yellow card following a VAR review.
"I think it is quite clear for all of us, but the referee took a different decision," he said. "When you don’t go for the ball and just the man, it is a red. There is no intention to take the ball and it is dangerous."
Nevertheless, the Italian was pleased with the way his players dealt with facing United, who were overseen by interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy in their first league game since Erik ten Hag's dismissal.
"We are happy because we knew how difficult it would be," Maresca added. "The [United] players want to prove they're good enough. A new manager with different ideas, so we had to prepare a different way.
"Overall, United were similar [to under Ten Hag], we expected them to be a bit more aggressive. For a large part of the game, we were in control, there was a desire to win the game, and we lost our balance in the last 10 minutes or so.
"When you go down in this stadium, it's very difficult to come back, but we did that. Then, we tried to win it."
"We knew if we waited for a long time [to equalise], it was going to be complicated," Caicedo told BBC Sport. "I'm so happy to equalise.
"We deserved to win. We knew it would be a tough game, but we were prepared for it. I'm so happy for the team. It was a great fight."
The Numbers Game: Can Van Nistelrooy get Man Utd back on track?
Erik ten Hag seemed doomed at Manchester United and the period after winning the FA Cup became, as expected, a stay of execution.
United sacked the Dutchman on Monday, placing his compatriot - and club great - Ruud van Nistelrooy in temporary charge.
They have moved swiftly to try and appoint a permanent successor, though, with Ruben Amorim of Sporting CP the target.
Amorim has promised to provide clarity over his future after Sporting's league game on Friday, but it does seem certain that Van Nistelrooy – who oversaw a 5-2 win over Leicester City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday – will be in charge for the visit of in-form Chelsea on Sunday.
United's two Premier League matches at Old Trafford against other Big Six sides this season did not go well for Ten Hag, with the Red Devils beaten 3-0 by both Liverpool and Tottenham.
But will it be different now he has gone?
What's expected?
United are unbeaten in their last 11 home league games against Chelsea (W5 D6) and are looking to win three in a row against the Blues at Old Trafford for the first time since January 1957.
But United have picked up just 11 points after nine Premier League matches this season (W3 D2 L4), which is their second-fewest ever total at this stage – only in 2019-20 did they have fewer points at this point (10).
They have only lost four of their opening nine Premier League games on two occasions, with both coming in the last two seasons under Ten Hag.
These sides last met in April, with Chelsea coming from behind to win a thriller 4-3 at Stamford Bridge. The Blues last won consecutive league meetings with the Red Devils in March 2011 (a run of three).
United vs Chelsea is the most drawn fixture in Premier League history, with 26 of the previous 64 meetings between the sides finishing level and the Opta supercomputer is forecasting a close encounter this time.
In 37.8% of the model's simulations, United came out on top. Chelsea were the winners in 37.3%, with the probability of a draw coming in at 24.9%.
A new era
Ten Hag lost 32% of his Premier League games in charge of United (27/85), the joint-highest percentage along with David Moyes (11/34).
Seven of his 27 defeats, meanwhile, came via stoppage-time winners, the highest percentage (26%) of any manager to lose 20+ games in Premier League history.
While Amorim looks likely to come in soon, this is a chance for Van Nistelrooy to get a much-needed feel-good factor back at Old Trafford. United are down in 14th, so they could do with a win.
Their five-goal haul in midweek was a timely boost, given that finishing chances has been such a big issue.
Only Southampton and Crystal Palace (six each) have scored fewer Premier League goals this season than United (eight).
United have underperformed their expected goals by 6.8 (xG of 14.8), the worst differential of any side in 2024-25. Since 2022-23, only Everton (-26) have underperformed their xG by more than United (-17-9 – 123 goals from an xG of 140.9).
All the young Blues
Scoring goals has not been an issue for Chelsea under Enzo Maresca.
The Blues have scored 19 goals in the league this term, which is a tally bettered only by league leaders Manchester City. Chelsea have also accumulated the third-highest xG in the league (17.3), behind Tottenham (17.7) and City (18.5).
But in their last away game in the league, Chelsea struggled to click into gear in attack and lost 2-1 to Liverpool.
Arne Slot's team are a step above United in terms of quality, but Maresca will want his side to take the game to their opponents at Old Trafford.
Maresca has gone with youth this season, so a fearless approach that has mostly been present in the league is perhaps no surprise.
Chelsea have named the youngest average starting XI in the Premier League this season (23 years, 206 days). In their 2-1 win over Newcastle, they became just the second team in Premier League history to not name a single outfield player aged 25+ in their starting XI for a match, after Aston Villa who did so in two games in 2013.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Man Utd - Bruno Fernandes
Against Leicester, Fernandes recorded his 150th and 151st goal involvements for Manchester United, becoming the seventh player overall to do so in Europe’s big five leagues in all competitions since his debut and first midfielder to do so.
Chelsea - Cole Palmer
Palmer has been directly involved in 33 Premier League goals for Chelsea in 2024 (21 goals, 12 assists). Only two players have had more goals and assists in a year for the Blues: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2001 (25 goals, 11 assists) and Didier Drogba in 2010 (22 goals, 13 assists).
He scored in both of Chelsea’s Premier League games against United last season, including a hat-trick in a 4-3 win at Stamford Bridge. The only Chelsea players to score in three consecutive Premier League games against them are Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (2000-2001) and Juan Mata (2012-2013).
Newcastle must make 'right decision' on Gordon fitness, says Howe
Eddie Howe said that Anthony Gordon could feature for Newcastle United in their EFL Cup clash with Chelsea on Wednesday.
Gordon missed the trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday after picking up a groin injury in the build-up to the game, but has since had a scan that has revealed no serious injury.
Howe is hopeful that the setback is not long-term, but said that Newcastle would make the right decision if he features in midweek, with Arsenal next up in the Premier League.
Gordon's presence was missed against Chelsea, with Newcastle falling to a 2-1 defeat after Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer scored either side of Alexander Isak's equaliser.
"We have to make the right decision (Chelsea tomorrow). We have Arsenal coming up very quickly (Saturday) & have to make sure we don't do any damage to it," Howe said.
The England international has created more chances (18) than any other player for the Magpies in the Premier League this season, with only Bruno Guimaraes (14) completing more dribbles than Gordon (13).
Howe also praised Chelsea's Palmer, who was once again the difference for Enzo Maresca's side on Sunday.
Palmer has continued his goal-scoring form following his sensational debut year for the Blues, registering a division-high 12 goal involvements (seven goals, five assists), so far this season, including his strike against the Magpies.
The 22-year-old has two goals and one assist against Newcastle in five appearances against them in all competitions, and Howe stressed the importance of keeping Palmer quiet when they return to Stamford Bridge in midweek.
"It's a difficult question to answer, I thought he played really well. You can see he's playing really well," Howe added.
"We didn't do enough to stop him in transitions. He set up the first goal in that fashion, scored the second goal in that fashion. We've learned from that.
"We will pass that on to the players and aim to do better. As a team, we will aim to collectively do better.
"The last 60 minutes, we defended a lot more securely, albeit we conceded a second."
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