Kickoff chronicles

Nottingham Forest vs Brighton Hove & Albion

The opening fixture of Matchweek 24 saw Nuno Espirito’s Nottingham Forest host Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton at the City Ground with both teams coming off the back of disappointing losses. Forest took the lead just after the 10 minute mark in a very fortunate fashion. Morgan Gibbs-White received the ball down the right wing from Danilo where he drilled a pass across the 6-yard area. Lewis Dunk was then the unfortunate defender on the end of Gibbs-White’s cross who slid in to put the ball into his own net. Dunk now becomes the Premier League defender with the 2nd highest number of own goals (7). The hosts then doubled their advantage 13 minutes later when Gibbs-White saw his brilliant glancing header from Anthony Elanga’s corner fly in at the near post. Forest then sealed the 3 points in the 31st minute when star striker Chris Wood got in on the action. Elanga chipped the ball in from the right wing where the Kiwi jumped up to head the ball under Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen. The first half finished 3-0 with Forest looking to make a statement comeback after their 0-5 loss to Bournemouth last weekend. 

Number 4 came for Forest in the 64th minute when Elanga made it a hat-trick of assists by rolling the ball across the 6-yard box from the right wing for Wood to tap into an uncontested net. Wood also set a new Premier League personal best as he overtook his best ever season tally of 14 as his 2nd goal of the game took him to 16. Wood then found a perfect opportunity to make it a hat-trick of goals after Tariq Lamptey wrestled down Gibbs-White in the Brighton penalty area. Wood stepped up from the spot and curled the ball into the bottom right corner, sending Verbruggen the wrong way. No.6 came in the 89th minute for the hosts after Taiwo Awoniyi made a dangerous run in from the right wing. Awoniyi then saw his shot saved by Verbruggen but the ball was then not cleared by any Brighton defenders. After a few scrappy exchanges by the Forest attackers and Brighton defenders, left back Neco Williams ran in for Forest and smashed the ball into the top left corner. The 7th then came in stoppage time after Verbruggen carelessly gave the ball away to substitute Jota Silva. Silva was then through on goal and free to smash the ball into the bottom left corner, completing the embarrassment of Hurzeler’s side. The full time score finished 7-0, with Forest becoming the first team ever to lose by 5 or more goals, only to win by 5 or more goals the next week. Nuno’s side remain 3rd in the table on 47 points. Brighton fail to score in back to back Premier League games as they dropped to 10th in the table taking a big blow to their goal difference.

AFC Bournemouth vs Liverpool

The following game of Matchweek 24 saw the 2 most inform teams in the league play off, with Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth hosting Arne Slot’s Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries made an electric start to the tie, with Antoine Semenyo rattling the upright after just 20 minutes in the first half. Liverpool then found a chance to take the lead, with Dominik Szoboszlai seeing his shot from close range parried away by Kepa, the Bournemouth keeper. The travelling side were then gifted a ‘ghost’ penalty, with referee Darren England making the horrible call to award Liverpool a penalty after Cody Gakpo tripped up his own feet inside the Cherries’ penalty area. After he’d missed a penalty at the Vitality 2 years ago, Mohamed Salah showed great spirit to step up and smash the ball into the bottom right corner, taking full advantage of England’s howler call. David Brooks then thought he’d equalised for the hosts in the 37th minute after he thrashed Milos Kerkez’s deflected cross from the left wing into the bottom corner, only to turn around to celebrate and see the assistant’s flag raised. The first half finished 0-1 with Bournemouth so unlucky to be behind and Liverpool so fortunate to brandish a 1 goal lead.

The hosts should have equalised the game in the 70th minute after Marcus Tavernier cracked a shot from outside the area. His curling effort rattled the post and fell into the path of Justin Kluivert who had made an untracked run into the 6-yard area. Although the angle was tight, Kluivert should have scored, blasting the ball wide of the post from what was an open goal. Liverpool then wrapped up an unconvincing win on the road when Salah secured his brace. The Egyptian received the ball in the right side of the penalty area from Curtis Jones where he immediately looked to carve out a shot. Salah picked his spot perfectly, curling the ball beautifully into the top left corner. The full time score finished 0-2 with Bournemouth losing their first game in all competitions since November 2024. Although they were lucky, Liverpool still managed to see off Iraola’s tricky Cherry’s as Slot’s men remain top of the table with 56 points. Bournemouth stay 7th despite just being 1 point away from the top 4.

Everton vs Leicester City

The next game of Matchweek 24 then saw David Moyes’ Everton host Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City in what was an important game at Goodison Park. The Toffees made an electric start to the tie when they scored after just 10 seconds, the 4th fastest goal in Premier League history. Everton keeper Jordan Pickford fired the ball deep into the Leicester half where the ball bounced over the defence and perfectly into the path of Abdoulaye Doucoure. Doucoure’s first touch was brilliant as it took him around the challenges from the Foxes’ centre halves and into a dangerous position where he smashed the ball into the bottom left corner. Everton then made it 2-0 with just 6 minutes on the clock after Beto doubled his goal tally for the season. James Tarkowski played a curled through ball into Beto who was left one on one with Foxes keeper Mads Hermansen. The Portuguese striker smashed the ball into the bottom left corner to give the Toffee’s a 2 goal cushion. Jake O’Brien then thought he’d notched his first for the club after he tapped the ball in from close range. Unfortunately, the assistant referee denied Everton their 3rd as O’Brien was quite clearly offside. Leicester were picked apart again by a through ball between their defence, this time James Garner was the man to provide Beto with a brilliant ball. Beto shrugged off the challenge of Jannik Vestergaard before delicately passing the ball into the bottom right corner. The half time score finished 3-0 with there no way back into the game left for Leicester, the damage already done.

The 2nd half was again clearly dominated by Everton, although they were less hungry for goals as they had already sealed the 3 points. The Toffees did put the cherry on top of a brilliant performance at home when Iliman Ndiaye made it 3 goals in his last 3 games. Ndiaye was relentless, dribbling into the penalty area and attempting to find Idrissa Gueye inside the 18 yard box. His pass was intercepted by Wout Faes but that didn’t stop Nidaye as he sneakily picked the pocket of Faes before placing the ball into the back of the net. The full time score finished 4-0 as Everton saw themselves go 9 points clear of the relegation zone as they have won 3 Premier League games in a row, with Moyes’ impact clear for all to see. A week after they put in a brilliant performance to beat Tottenham away, Leicester failed to back up their showings as they were well and truly beaten. They stay 18th in the league.

Ipswich Town vs Southampton

The following fixture of Matchweek 24 saw Kieran McKenna’s 19th placed Ipswich Town host Ivan Juric’s rock bottom Southampton at Portman Road. After an evenly contested start to the game from both sides, Southampton took a shock lead in the 21st minute when Joe Aribo popped up with his 3rd Premier League goal of the season. Mateus Fernandes’ drilled ball across the penalty area caught a huge deflection, taking it upwards. Aribo then ran in and brilliantly jumped to volley the ball into the bottom left corner and past Arijanet Muric, making for a superb goal from the Nigerian. The Tractor Boys then found a much needed equaliser in the 31st minute when Liam Delap scored his 9th of the season. The English striker was played through on goal by Nathan Broadhead where he beat Jan Bednarek to the ball. Delap was then one on one with Aaron Ramsdale and free to place the ball into the bottom right corner. Broadhead then saw himself denied twice by Ramsdale in quick succession with two huge saves stopping the Welshman from giving Ipswich the lead. The first half finished 1-1 with the full time result unpredictable. 

Ipswich dominated the 2nd period and should have scored on multiple occasions. In the end, they were punished in the 87th minute after Southampton finally had some last minute luck go their way. Kamaldeen Sulemana made a dangerous run down the left wing before he chopped in and cracked a shot. His effort was saved by Muric, only for Paul Onuachu to lunge in to bag his 2nd goal of the season. Southampton were finally able to show a basic level of game management as they saw out the tie for a 1-2 win, their first 3 points on the road. They stay in 20th but put an end to a horrid run of form as they look to make a miraculous comeback in the latter end of the season. Ipswich drop more points at home again as they remain 19th in the league on a drab 16 points.

Newcastle United vs Fulham

The next game of Matchweek 24 saw Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United host Marco Silva’s Fulham at St. James’ Park in what looked like an exciting tie. Newcastle made a strong start to the game, with Fabian Schar having his effort from close range saved by Bernd Leno and Sandro Tonali seeing his wonder effort from 30-yards out rattle the crossbar. The Magpies then took a deserved lead in the 37th minute when Anthony Gordon made a positive burst down the left wing. Gordon’s cross intended for top goalscorer, Alexander Isak, caught a deflection which took the ball to the back post where Jacob Murphy was unmarked. Murphy hit the ball first time, watching as it flew under Leno and into the back of the net. The first half finished 1-0 with Newcastle unlucky not to be up by 2 or 3.

After a sluggish 1st half performance, Fulham came out firing for the 2nd period and equalised in the 61st minute. Adama Traore chipped the ball over from the right wing to the left side of the penalty area where Antonee Robinson cushioned the ball with the inside of his boot, taking it into the path of Mexican No.7 Raul Jimenez. Jimenez then brilliantly poked the ball into the bottom right corner, leaving Martin Dubravka no time to react to his shot in the Magpies’ net. It was also Robinson’s 10th assist of the season as he is proving to be one of the players of the 24/25 season, 2nd in the running for this season’s top provider. After a much better 2nd half, Fulham then went on to snatch the lead and complete the turnaround in the 82nd minute. The two substitutes combined, with Andreas Pereira whipping in Fulham’s latest free kick for Rodrigo Muniz to make slight contact with, confusing Dubravka enough for the ball to creep underneath him at the near post. The Cottagers then held out for the remaining minutes of the 90 to claim a 1-2 win away from home, their first at St. James’ since 2009. Fulham climb back into 9th on the table. After such a brilliant run of form recently, Newcastle were always going to cool down a little, although missed opportunities in the first half cost them against Fulham. Howe’s men remain 5th in the table, level on points with Manchester City in 4th.

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Aston Villa

The final game of Matchweek 24 played on Saturday evening was a big Midlands derby, with Vitor Pereira’s Wolves hosting Unai Emery’s Aston Villa at the Molineux Stadium. With Aston Villa left tired after their Champions League thriller against Celtic midweek, Wolves took advantage of their sluggish start, scoring inside 12 minutes. Pablo Sarabia played a brilliant reverse pass into the penalty area for Jean-Ricner Bellegrade to run onto. Bellegarde then smashed the ball into the bottom right corner giving Wolves a priceless lead against their biggest rivals. Wolves should have then doubled their advantage in the 37th minute after Mathues Cunha dispossessed Boubacar Kamara leaving him 1-on-1 with Emiliano Martinez in goals for Villa. Martinez saved Cunha’s initial effort where the ball then fell to Goncalo Guedes who fired the ball wide with the goal gaping. The first half finished 1-0, with Wolves unlucky not to be up by 2 or 3 with Guedes missing multiple chances to double Wolves’ lead.

After a poor first half showing, Villa thought they’d tied the game 9 minutes into the 2nd period when new signing Donyell Malen put the ball into the host’s net. Leon Bailey played a smart free kick down the left wing into the path of John McGinn who rolled the ball across goal for Malen. Unfortunately for Villa, the assistant’s flag was raised as Malen ran away in celebration. After a closely contested 2nd half, Wolves sealed all 3 points with the last action of the game. Rodrgio Gomes played a long ball into the Villa half to star man Cunha who only had Ezri Konsa back to halt him. Konsa was unable to get any meaningful contact to prevent the pass which left Cunha through on goal. Cunha allowed Konsa to catch him up where he chopped back in the penalty area. The Brazilian thought about shooting before spinning back onto his right foot and drilling the ball into the bottom left corner. The full time score finished 2-0 with Wolves putting in their best performance of the season to beat their biggest Premier League rivals. Wolves now move 2 points away from the relegation zone and into 17th while Villa remain 8th after another disappointing league performance straight after their European adventures.

Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur

The first game of Matchweek 24 played on Sunday afternoon saw Thomas Frank’s Brentford take on Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur at the Gtech Stadium. Brentford made a quick start to the fixture, with Yoanne Wissa heading Bryan Mbuemo’s cross from the right wing over the bar, missing a huge chance to score the opener. Just before the half hour mark and totally against the run of play, Tottenham took a shock lead. Skipper Son Heung-Min’s corner from the left flag caught a major deflection off the shoulder of Vitaly Janelt which saw the ball fly past Hakon Valdimarsson and into the Bee’s net. Despite the setback, Brentford continued to attack at Tottenham, forcing some solid saves from new keeper signing, Antonin Kinsky. The first half finished 0-1 with Brentford so unlucky not to have scored.

Brentford should have levelled things 8 minutes into the 2nd period after Mikkel Damsgaard did well to whip in a cross from the left wing. The Dane’s ball curled perfectly into the path of Wissa who was inside the 6-yard area but unfortunately for the hosts, Wissa blazed the ball over the bar, with the chance almost easier to score than miss. It was just a frustrating day at the office for the Bees, who failed to convert every chance they created. In the end, Tottenham wrapped up all 3 points in the 87th minute when Pape Sarr scored his 2nd of the season. Son was in the thick of it again, playing a wonderful through ball to Sarr who was deep into the penalty area. Sarr very cheekily rolled the ball through the legs of Valdimarsson who had come out to claim the pass, watching as it rolled over the line to win the game for Spurs. The full time score finished 0-2 with Tottenham registering a very crucial and hard fought 3 points on the road. Ange’s side showed great adaptability and game management for once which saw them climb into 14th in the league. It was a disappointing result for Frank’s side as they remain 11th on the table.

Manchester United vs Crystal Palace

The following game on Sunday afternoon in Matchweek 24 saw Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United host Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. Crystal Palace well and truly dominated the first half and should have found the opening goal on multiple occasions. In the 21st minute, Tyrick Mitchell whipped the ball across the penalty area where Ismaila Sarr managed to make contact. His header flew just wide of the far post but he was clearly better leaving it for striker Jean-Philippe Mateta who was unmarked at the back post. Moments later Mateta missed a huge chance of his own, poking the ball around Andre Onana and wide of the far right post after Jefferson Lerma had done so well to find him in the penalty area. The first half finished 0-0 with United very fortunate to still be on level pegging.

Red Devils’ captain Bruno Fernandes came so close to giving the hosts the lead when his powerful shot from outside of the penalty area in the 50th minute was parried away from goal by Palace keeper Dean Henderson. With United playing much better in the 2nd period, Palace silenced Old Trafford when Mateta scored to give Palace the advantage. Eberechi Eze whipped in the travelling side’s latest free kick where Maxence Lacroix did brilliantly to jump and head the ball over Onana in the United goal. The ball then bounced off the crossbar before falling to Mateta who used his poacher instincts to lunge in and tap the ball into the United net. Palace then continued to threaten the hosts for the rest of the half and finally wrapped up all 3 points in the last minute of normal time. Ismaila Sarr played a brilliant ball down the left wing to full back Daniel Munoz who had timed his run perfectly. With the United defenders slow to react, Mateta was onside and unmarked in the penalty area for Munoz to roll the ball across the box to him. The Frenchman then smashed the ball past Onana to net his 10th of the season. The full time score finished 0-2 with Crystal Palace continuing their brilliant form in 2025. The Eagles jump over United and into 12th on the table. United continue their topsy turvy form as they drop to 13th in the league after another poor showing at Old Trafford.

Arsenal vs Manchester City

The final game of Matchweek 24 played on Sunday evening was the most anticipated of the weekend with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal hosting Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium in what was a huge game in the race for the title. Much like last weekend, Manchester City conceded inside 2 minutes due to a woeful defensive error. Manuel Akanji gave the ball away to Declan Rice who played a first time pass into Kai Havertz inside the penalty area. Havertz then squared the ball to Martin Odegaard who smashed the ball into an uncontested net, scoring his first ever goal against the Citizens. City should have been punished for another defensive error in the 26th minute when keeper Stefan Ortega played a careless pass to Mateo Kovacic. Rice slid in and dispossessed the Croatian where the ball fell to Havertz. With all the time and space in the world, somehow the German striker still managed to fire the ball wide of the post with the goal gaping. The first half finished 1-0 with Arsenal fans left fuming that Havertz could not give them a 2 goal lead.

City punished Arsenal’s crucial miss early on in the 2nd period when Erling Haaland claimed his 18th goal of the season. Phil Foden played the ball into the penalty area where Savinho showed great skill to take the ball around Gabriel. The Brazilian then chipped the ball up for Haaland who rose high to head the ball past David Raya. The Gunners then conjured up the perfect response, snatching back the lead just moments later. Phil Foden played a dangerous ball from inside his own half which was intercepted by Thomas Partey. Partey lined up a shot from just outside the penalty area which took a big deflection off the back of John Stones, watching as it flew into the top left corner, a brilliant way to mark his 150th appearance for Arsenal. Only 6 minutes later, the hosts found a 2 goal cushion after Rice played the ball to academy product Myles Lewis-Skelly just outside the City penalty area. Lewis-Skelly progressed into the 18-yard box and chopped onto his right foot before getting a shot away. Ortega did get a hand to his curling effort, but it was not enough as the ball rifled into the top right corner, Lewis-Skelly’s first senior goal for the club. In the 76th minute, Arsenal sealed all 3 points when Havertz made amends for his previous miss. Gabriel Martinelli drove at the City backline with Havertz making an overlapping run to his right. Havertz received the ball from the Brazilian inside the penalty area where he cut back onto his left foot before curling the ball perfectly into the far corner. Arsenal put the cherry on top of a superb performance against the champions when yet another academy product in Ethan Nwaneri scored to make it 5-1. Rice, who had been a stand out performer of the evening, played a wonderful switch-ball out to the right wing where Nwaneri was occupying Buyako Saka’s usual residence. Fresh off scoring in the Champions League just days ago, it was almost a mirror image, the 17-year old cutting onto his favoured left boot before curling the ball beautifully into the far top corner. The full time score finished 5-1, with Arsenal putting out their best showing of the season. Arteta’s side stay in 2nd as they hope to chase down league leaders Liverpool who are 6 points ahead of them. Manchester City lose in a worrying manner as they find themselves lucky to hold onto their place in the top 4.

Chelsea vs West Ham United

The final game of Matchweek 24 played on Monday night saw Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea host Graham Potter’s West Ham United at Stamford Bridge in what was Potter’s first return to the Bridge since he was sacked in March 2023. After an evenly contested first half, with West Ham holding their own despite all their injury woes, the Hammers scored the opener in the 41st minute. Chelsea centre back, Levi Colwill, was put under immense pressure by West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus where he played a carless pass back to his keeper Filip Jorgensen. His pass was weak and easily intercepted by the West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen, returning from injury, who composed himself before punishing the young defender when curling the ball quite perfectly into the bottom left corner. Moments before the interval, Chelsea came so close to equalising after Cole Palmer saw his free kick effort from 25 yards out acrobatically tipped over the crossbar by West Ham shot stopper Alphonse Areola. The first half score finished 0-1 with Potter hoping to get one back against his former employer.

After an evenly contested opening 15 minutes in the 2nd half, Chelsea were awarded a very controversial goal in the 63rd minute. The play should have never been allowed to continue as there was quite a nasty foul on Jarrod Bowen by Moises Caicedo in the build up. Substitute Pedro Neto was then released down onto the right wing where he crossed the ball into the penalty area. The ball was flicked into the path of Marc Cucurella, who was yards offside, by Marc Guiu. The ball then fell to Enzo Fernandez who cracked a shot at goal which was cleared away, but Guiu had now taken up an offside position and was clearly obstructing the view of West Ham keeper Areola. Neto then smashed the rebound in from close range, with this action of play displaying the incompetence of English referees and VAR in general. Chelsea then completed the turnaround in the 74th minute through another very fortunate goal. Palmer dribbled into the box before firing the ball across the penalty area, watching as it flicked off the heel of West Ham defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka and flew past Areola and into the roof of the net. West Ham pushed for a late equaliser but lacked a proper no.9’s mindset in the 6-yard area. The full time score finished 2-1, with West Ham being well and truly robbed by the incompetence of English referees. Chelsea got away with one as they climb back into the top 4 on 43 points. West Ham couldn’t do much about the officiating, but it was yet another positive performance under Potter as the Hammers drop to 15th in the table.

Written by Ollie Wade