Coventry return to top-flight form with a 4-1 win vs Newcastle

Coventry have underlined their Premier League comeback with a convincing 4-1 victory over Newcastle United, ending a 25-year wait to win top-flight football at home and lifting them out of the relegation zone. The win also leaves Frank Lampard’s side level on points with Manchester United after six games.

Jack Rudoni put Coventry ahead with a penalty, Sidiki Cherif scored his first goal for the Sky Blues on his opening Premier start, and Ellis Simms plus Stephen Mfuni added late strikes. The BBC Sport report highlights that Coventry backed up their success at Nottingham Forest before the international break, scoring four times in the league for the first time since May 2000.

Tight run-in coming up

Next up, the schedule turns tougher: a trip to Tottenham and the visit of Fulham, both without wins, followed by games against Sunderland, Everton, Crystal Palace, Leeds and Ipswich taking them towards December. Lampard stressed keeping their heads: “We’re going to be a relative underdog in pretty much every game… So we have to maximise everything and be on the limit.”

He also defended the impact of Cherif, signed this summer from Fenerbahce. “We’ve got a lot of belief in Sidi… Sometimes you don’t realise he’s 19.” At 19 years and 301 days, Cherif is Coventry’s youngest Premier League goalscorer since Robbie Keane in April 2000, and the first to score from outside the box for the club since January 2001.