The Premier League deepens further into the 24/25 season with the action showing no sign of fizzling out any time soon. It’s no surprise that many regard it to be the greatest league in the world. Thirty-four goals across ten matches this weekend only reinforces the hype that surrounds it.
Image credit- Richard Heathcote – Getty Images
Chelsea 4-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
Cole Palmer is quickly proving himself to be one of the greatest players currently in the Premier League. His performance against the Seagulls this weekend cemented himself up there. Despite this, it was actually Brighton who hit the front foot in this tie, as a loose pass from the former seagull, Moises Caicedo, fell to Carlos Baleba who lofted the ball to Brighton’s new man Georginio Rutter, who headed in for 1-0 – 7 minutes in.
With the form they’re in, holding out against Chelsea is no easy feat, and it was Cole Palmer’s 20 minute blitz that showed the world why he means business. After having a goal disallowed, Palmer equalised for Chelsea as Jackson bursted forward and unselfishly squared to him for the leveller in the 21st minute. It didn’t stop here, as Palmer calmly tucked away a penalty in the 28th minute to put the blues ahead after Jadon Sancho was fouled. Minutes later, Palmer completed his hat-trick only 31 minutes in as he scored one of the strikes of the season from 30 yards out from a free kick – leaving the stadium stunned. Brighton didn’t give up easily, as a poor pass out from Sanchez was handed straight to Carlos Baleba to slot away for a consolation in the 34th minute.
Ultimately, it was ice-cold Palmer himself who put the game to bed in the first half, as he latched onto a Jadon Sancho delivery in the 41st minute to get his, and Chelsea’s fourth – on an afternoon of triumph for Maresca’s men. It leaves Chelsea in 4th place, and sinks Brighton down to 9th.
Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
It was a major tie for both sides due to the precious state of both managers, and it was ultimately Postecoglou’s men who sunk the Old Trafford faithful after a blistering display. Any confidence that United held over a convincing display was immediately put into doubt. A stunning run from the rapid Mickey Van De Ven set Spurs ahead when Brennan Johnson tapped home for 1-0 only 3 minutes in. The first half ebbed on without much action, despite a good chance in which Rashford hit the bar. However, the controversy came in the 42nd minute in which Chris Kavanagh didn’t hesitate to send Bruno Fernandes off after he slipped into James Maddison. Man United have since won their appeal against this and Fernandes will be available for selection.
The spirits of the United faithful were low already, but Tottenham’s Swedish star Dejan Kulusevski enhanced such gloom after an acrobatic finish that looped helplessly over Andre Onana in goal only 2 minutes into the second half- much to the relief of Postecoglou. The Lilywhites maintained a strong second half being able to muster 10 shots on target in the game to United’s 2, and it was Dominic Solanke who compounded an evening of joy after poking home from a corner in the 77th minute. The full time whistle blew to heap the pressure on Erik Ten Hag, leaving United in 13th place, and sending Ange’s men up to 8th.
Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace
Everton managed to achieve Premier League lift-off this weekend after a comeback win against a lacklustre Crystal Palace on Saturday. A strong start was established for Palace, as Marc Guehi managed to poke home following some passage play from a corner in the 10th minute, easing some pressure on the already doubted Oliver Glasner.
Everton knew they needed a response in this game in order to increase their 1 point total so far, and it was Sean Dyche’s talisman, Dwight McNeil, who provided a rapid turnaround for the Toffees, with a spectacular strike in the 47th minute, and smashing home and 54th minute. Palace piled on the pressure throughout the second half, but unlike previous Everton fashion, the Toffees managed to hold on for all 3 points, placing Dyche’s men out of the relegation zone into 16th spot in the Premier League, sinking Palace down to 18th.
Ipswich Town 2-2 Aston Villa
Ipswich Town managed to establish themselves in a strong outing against an in-form Aston Villa side at Portman Road on Sunday. Liam Delap has yet to fully establish himself as a forward, but it seems he has found his future home, as after a cutback reached him, the young forward managing to squeeze under the palms of Martinez to put Ipswich 1-0 up in the 8th minute. The half went on and Aston Villa showed why they are a Champions League side, as a loose set of play from Ipswich’s Jacob Greaves reached Ollie Watkins who pulled back for a neat finish in the 15th minute for star boy – Morgan Rogers. Shortly after, Villa were ahead, after a wonderful cross from Jamaica’s Leon Bailey reached the head of Ollie Watkins to make it 2-1 to the Villains in the 32nd minute.
Ipswich needed a strong response, and they did so across the second half with strong pressure, which paid off for the Tractor Boys in the 72nd minute after a fantastic run from Delap catching Konsa out of position was slotted in for his brace. The deserved point for Ipswich ups them to 15th in the Premier League, whilst Emery’s Villa drop to 5th place.
Newcastle United 1-1 Manchester City
Manchester City went into this tie following the knowledge that their star man Rodri would miss the remainder of the season, and the cityzen’s draw away at the magpies showed how they may not be as inevitable in a title race as they were before. The first half boasted primarily in Manchester City’s favour, with Haaland and Gundogan having half chances, but the cityzen’s joy came in the 35th minute when Grealish beat half of the Newcastle defence to roll a shot into the striker-eyed centre back Josko Gvardiol, to put City 1-0 up.
The second half proved to be far more favourable for Newcastle, and after a contested VAR check for a Grealish red card, they hit the front. Anthony Gordon won a penalty for the Magpies in the 56th minute, and stepped-up himself with a composed low strike past Ederson to make it 1-1. Despite most of the attacking threat being from the Magpies, City managed to hold on for a disappointing 1-1 draw. It leaves Guardiola’s City unbeaten in 2nd place under Liverpool, and Howe’s Newcastle chasing Europe in 7th place.
Arsenal 4-2 Leicester City
Arsenal managed to dismiss any sniff of a comeback from the Foxes to show their title-chasing mentality on Saturday afternoon. It was a strong start for the Gunners, and Gabriel Martinelli managed to get himself off the mark in the 20th minute slotting past Hermansen, into the bottom left corner for 1-0. The first half ended even better for Arteta’s men after Gabriel Martinelli turned from goal scorer to provider for Leandro Trossard in the first minute of injury time to double the Gunners lead. Many expected a comfortable afternoon for Arsenal after this, but the Foxes came out with a point to prove, and notably at the hands of young James Justin. In the second minute of the first half, Justin headed in a deflected effort past Raya following a looped cross from Buonanotte to find a spark of hope.
This was only augmented by a thunderbolt of a strike from Justin again who volleyed home into the bottom left corner to equalise for the elated Foxes. Arsenal struggled to break down a fickle Leicester way up until the 92nd minute, where a clumsy set of play ricocheted around, until Trossard cushioned the ball in off of Wilfried Ndidi to put the Gunners ahead. Arsenal knew they could breathe easy in the 98th minute of the second half, when another scrappy goal in Arsenal’s favour meant that Kai Havertz could double Arsenal’s lead, and seal all 3 points for Arteta’s men. It means Arteta’s Arsenal remain in 3rd place breathing down City and Liverpool’s necks, and Steve Cooper’s Leicester stay just above the relegation zone in 17th.
Wolves 1-2 Liverpool
Arne Slot’s reds managed to extend their tenure at the top of the Premier League this weekend after an unorthodox win against the league’s bottom side. Liverpool are known for being able to break teams apart, however they struggled to do so until the 45th minute in which the towering Ibrahima Konate managed to head home following a floated delivery into the box from the former Wolves man Diogo Jota.
Despite being bottom, Wolves have a tendency to be a very stubborn defensive side, and it was Rayan Ait-Nouri who managed to tap home following a goalmouth scramble to level up the scores, and to hinder Liverpool in the 56th minute. Such a moment didn’t last long for those in Molineux, as the red-hot Egyptian Mohamed Salah slotted a convincing penalty only 5 minutes later past Sam Johnstone after Nelson Semedo brought down Jota. The game remained close, but ultimately it was Slot’s Liverpool who emerged victorious. Leading them into match-week 7 top of the Premier League, and heaping the pressure on Gary O’Neil after a dismal start to the season remaining bottom.
Bournemouth 3-1 Southampton
Bournemouth proved to be a force to be reckoned with on Monday, after comfortably beating a shaky Southampton team. The Cherries took no time at all getting the front foot forward, as Evanilson managed to head his first of the season in the 17th minute following a lovely ball in from Tavernier. Another fifteen minutes past and Bournemouth had doubled their lead. A Lewis Cook strike took a little nick off of Dango Ouattara and slotted the ball past Ramsdale into the bottom corner to double the lead for the Cherries. They weren’t done yet for the first half, as in the 39th minute, the main man for Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo – shimmied past Lesley Ugochukwu to release a clean strike into the bottom corner, making it 3-0 at half time for Iraola’s men.
The game seemed to quieten down from here. Although the young Harwood-Bellis managed a consolation goal in the 51st minute, the Cherries looked well in control, and so the game finished. It leaves Iraola’s convincing Cherries in 11th place of mid-table, whereas sinking Russell Martin’s Saints joint bottom in 19th.
Brentford 1-1 West Ham
The Bees and the Hammers shared a strong point apiece after another record-breaking start for Brentford. In some form of consistency, Brentford started the game off incredibly strong, as Bryan Mbuemo nodded home another first minute goal for Brentford after a wonderful delivery from Carvalho, making history as the first Premier League team to score within the first minute of kick off, 3 times in a row. As the half carried on, it was clear that a West Ham equaliser was on the cards – with Aaron Wan Bissaka pivotal in attack.
As the second half developed, the inevitable happened for West Ham, as the towering Tomas Soucek equalised in the 51st minute following a rather unintentional assist from Antonio. The second half continued on without much action, and the full time whistle blew on a strong away point for Lopetegui’s Hammers, and a strong defensive show from Frank’s Bees, leaving both teams 14th and 12th respectively.
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Fulham
It was the composure of the experienced Raul Jimenez that edged Fulham 3 points in a tie that extended their form against an already inform Nottingham Forest. The first half generally lacked in interest overall, but interest came when Chris Wood managed to seemingly put Forest ahead, which was immediately disallowed, but it took a lengthy VAR check to confirm that – much to the relief of Marco Silva’s side.
It took until the 49th minute in the second half for there to be any major action. Josh Smith was called to the monitor after it appeared to the fans that Murillo stamped on Andreas Pereira, to which a penalty was awarded. It was then the turn of the Mexican striker Raul Jimenez to slot the ball past Sels – to score the only goal of the game. It remained a singular goal that was the difference, and Marco Silva’s men walked away with all 3 points projecting them up to 6th, in the European spots, and pushing Nuno’s Forest down to 10th.
