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LONDON — Elijah Adebayo hit his first career hat-trick as Luton Town thumped Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 to move out of the relegation zone.
Two goals in the opening three minutes from Adebayo and Chiedozie Ogbene set the Hatters on their way to their biggest Premier League win.
The Luton crowd got a big lift before kick-off as club captain Tom Lockyer returned to Kenilworth Road, six weeks after suffering a cardiac arrest during December’s abandoned match against AFC Bournemouth.
Luton got off to an incredible start, with Adebayo scoring after just 18 seconds. Ogbene then doubled the lead in the third minute after poor goalkeeping from Steele.
The Hatters made it 3-0 just before the break as Adebayo scored his second of the match. Ross Barkley played a great pass to the striker, who finished past Steele at the near post with ease.
Luton’s Jordan Clark had a goal ruled out for offside early in the second half, but the hosts made it 4-0 anyway in the 56th minute as Adebayo completed his hat-trick with a header from close range from Alfie Doughty’s corner.
The win takes Luton out of the relegation zone into 17th place with 19 points, above Everton, who drew 0-0 at Fulham. Brighton drop to eighth with 32 points.
Premier League: Jesus, Saka give Arsenal 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE — Second-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal a deserved 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest. With a win Gunners climbed to second in the table, two points off the top.
Despite dominating possession, Arsenal once again struggled to find a way through Forest’s defence in the first half, but Jesus gave them the breakthrough in the 65th minute before setting up Saka in the 72nd minute.
Forest substitute Taiwo Awoniyi pulled a goal back on 89 minutes, but Arsenal held on to make it back-to-back victories ahead of a huge showdown with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
The opening goal duly arrived in the 65th minute as Arsenal caught the Forest defence out. Oleksandr Zinchenko took a quick throw-in down the left to Jesus, who found himself free behind Forest’s defence and advanced to score from the narrowest of angles, through the legs of Turner.
The lead was doubled seven minutes later on the counter-attack. Forest lost the ball in midfield and Odegaard’s ball to Jesus put Arsenal in with four players against two. Jesus played the ball across the box to Saka, whose right-foot shot was dispatched clinically into the far corner.
Awoniyi held off William Saliba to poke in and score against Arsenal for the third match in a row on 89 minutes to set up a grandstand finish.
Premier League: Schar's brace helps Newcastle see off Villa
BIRMINGHAM — A brace from Fabian Schar helped Newcastle United record an impressive 3-1 Premier League win at Aston Villa.
Tuesday night's win ended Newcastle's run of four straight Premier League defeats, consigning Unai Emery’s side to their first home loss of the season.
The Swiss defender scored twice in five first-half minutes before an own goal from Alex Moreno all but sealed the victory early in the second half.
Ollie Watkins scored a consolation goal for Villa, who have won only one of their last five Premier League matches.
After securing only their second away win of the season, Newcastle moved them up to seventh on 32 points while Villa stay fourth with 43 points, five behind leaders Liverpool having played one match more, after their 17-match unbeaten home run came to an end.