Chelsea's bid to climb back into the Premier League title race suffered a major blow as lowly Ipswich beat the Blues 2-0 at Portman Road.

Enzo Maresca's side were rocked by Liam Delap's early penalty and a second half goal from former Chelsea winger Omari Hutchinson.

Chelsea's second successive defeat after their Boxing Day loss against Fulham left them without a win in their last three matches.

The west Londoners had emerged as surprise title contenders after an eight-match winning run in all competitions.

But Maresca had insisted throughout that spell that Chelsea's inexperienced squad do not have what it takes to win the title in his first season after arriving from Leicester.

And the Italian's prediction looks spot on after a shock result in Suffolk that leaves Chelsea in fourth place, 10 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

"We focus game by game. We are not focused on title race or those things," Maresca said. "It was a strange game. We had many chances but we could do many things better, defend better in some moments."

"Now we've finished the first part of the season, no one expected us to be where we are," he added. "It's a long race."

Third-bottom Ipswich climb within one point of safety after winning for the second time in their last four matches.

Kieran McKenna's side have renewed belief they can avoid relegation back to the Championship thanks to their first top-flight home win in 22 years.

"Special night for the club. First home win in the Premier League at Portman Road for 22 years and to do it against Chelsea was fantastic," McKenna said.

"Everyone involved with Ipswich can enjoy a glass of sparkly stuff tomorrow night and think about some of the moments we've had over the last couple of years," he went on to say.

Meanwhile, Manchester United ended a 2024 to forget with a fourth consecutive defeat as Newcastle cruised to a 2-0 win at Old Trafford to intensify the scrutiny on Red Devils' boss Ruben Amorim.

Just two months into his tenure, Amorim conceded this week that his job is on the line unless results begin to improve.

The Portuguese has won just two of his first nine league games to leave United languishing down in 14th, just seven points above the relegation zone.

Alexander Isak and Joelinton struck inside the first 19 minutes as a fifth consecutive win lifted the Magpies into fifth.

Marcus Rashford had been restored to the United squad for the first time in five games but remained on the bench for the full 90 minutes as Amorim turned to another outcast in Alejandro Garnacho to make a difference.

But the Argentine international was introduced just as Newcastle had ridden the storm and began to assert their control once more.

A third consecutive home league defeat for the first time since 1979 is the latest in the list of sorry statistics that have marked United's decade of decline.

"That is really clear so we have to fight," said Amorim on United being dragged into a relegation battle.

"It is a really difficult moment, one of the more difficult moments in the history of Manchester United and we have to address it with honesty," he added. "We have to fight in the next game."

The fear for Amorim is that the losing run only looks set to continue into 2025.

A daunting trip to runaway league leaders Liverpool awaits on Sunday before United travel to Arsenal in the FA Cup third round. (AFP)