Newcastle United ended Chelsea's unbeaten streak on Saturday, handing the English Premier League (EPL) leaders its first loss of the year thanks to two goals by striker Papiss Demba Cisse.

Cisse put the Magpies ahead 1-0 in the 57th minute when he was left open in the box and put the shot past Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois for the early lead. Cisse would score again in the 78th minute when Courtois was caught out of position and Moussa Sissoko found Cisse open to put Newcastle ahead 2-0.

Defender Steven Taylor almost blew the game for Newcastle United, taking two yellow cards in the second half – the second one coming in the 81st minute – which almost gave Chelsea new life. Didier Drogba took advantage of the Magpies being down a man, heading Cesc Fàbregas's free kick past rookie Newcastle keeper Jak Alnwick to cut the lead 2-1. Alnwick replaced starter Robert Elliot at halftime after Elliot suffered an injury that forced him out the match. The 21-year-old Alnwick made his debut with the senior team in the second half and held off Chelsea, despite a late-minute barrage as they tried to tie the game.

Chelsea failed to tie the game, losing 2-1 to Newcastle, and the team had its unbeaten streak in all competitions snapped at 21 matches. Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho was furious with the Newcastle ball boys and fans at St. James Park, whom he blamed for wasting time as his club was looking for the draw after Taylor's expulsion.

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"There could have been 20 minutes stoppage time but the situation would have been the same because things were happening outside the four lines that the referee couldn't control," said Morinho. "The referee can't punish the ball boy who disappeared with the ball, the referee couldn't punish the people in the crowd who kept the ball. He couldn't punish the person who threw a second ball and have two balls on the pitch at the same time."

Chelsea had its lead in the standings (currently sitting atop with 36 points) cut down to three points with its loss to Newcastle and defending EPL champions Manchester City's victory over Everton. Everton defender Phil Jagielka cost the Toffees the match, fouling James Milner in the box in the 23rd minute, which allowed Yaya Toure to score off a penalty kick in the 24th minute. The victory came at a price for Manchester City after the EPL's leader in scoring, Sergio Aguero (14 goals for the season), left the match in the seventh minute of the game. Aguero suffered a knee injury after a tough challenge by Everton midfielder Muhamed Besic that left the Argentine striker clutching his knee in pain. Aguero will likely miss Tuesday's UEFA Champions League game against AS Roma, with Manchester City facing the threat of elimination from the tournament.

"Sergio has a problem with the ligament in his knee," said Man City coach Manuel Pellegrini. "We'll see tomorrow how serious it is, but it's not good news. I don't think he will be able to play next week. We don't know [how long he will be out]. We must wait for the doctor - the important thing is that he will not be able to play against Roma, which for us is a very important game."

Arsenal had a tough time at Britannia Stadium, losing in stunning fashion to Stoke City. Forward Peter Crouch scored 19 seconds into the match, chipping Mame Biram Diouf's cross past Gunners keeper Emiliano Martinez to put the Potters ahead of Arsenal 1-0. Bojan Krkic would make the score 2-0 in the 35th minute, smashing Jonathan Walters' beautiful cross past Martinez before Walters himself scored off a corner kick in the 45th minute to put Stoke City up 3-0 going into the half.

Santi Cazorla's penalty kick in the 68th minute and Aaron Ramsey's goal off of Alexis Sánchez's corner kick two minutes later cut down the lead to 3-2, but Calum Chambers picked up his second yellow card in the 78th minute, forcing Arsenal to play with 10 men and killing Arsenal's momentum as Stoke City hung on for the 3-2 victory.

Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger was not happy with the officiating after Chambers ate the second yellow card and was critical of the referees after game.

"The referee did not know what he had seen for the second yellow card. It was a bad decision," said Wenger. "If Chambers had to go off today I can watch the game with you again and find five other players [who should have been sent off]. Watch what happened on the pitch, I don't think Chambers deserved to be sent off compared to some other people who put arms and elbows in faces.

Results from the rest of Saturday's EPL games:
Liverpool 0 - Sunderland 0
Queens Park Rangers 2 - Burnley FC 0
Tottenham 0 - Crystal Palace 0
Hull City 0 - West Bromwich Albion 0

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