Kickoff chronicles

Brighton Hove and Albion vs Southampton

The opening game of Matchweek 13 on Friday night down the South Coast saw Fabian Hurzeler’s 5th placed Brighton host Russell Martin’s rock bottom Southampton at the Amex Stadium. Brighton dominated the opening exchanges as expected and came so close in the 16th minute when Georginio Rutter’s shot from wide rattled into the woodwork. Finally, after many missed opportunities, the Seagulls opened the game in the 29th minute when Kaoru Mitoma found the back of the net for the 3rd time this season. Tariq Lamptey’s cross from the right wing bounced off the turf before the Japanese international flung himself at the cross to head the ball into the top corner and past Saint’s keeper Joe Lumley. At half time the score stood at 1-0 with Brighton fans disappointed they couldn’t convert more of the chances they created.

Martin’s Southampton came out much stronger for the 2nd half and silenced the Amex when Flynn Downes scored his first ever Premier League goal in the 59th minute. After a brilliant run and direct pass into the penalty area from Tyler Dibling, the ball ricocheted around the penalty area before Downes perfectly volleyed it into the bottom right corner. Only 9 minutes later, Southampton’s best player, Dibling, was involved once again in the travelling side putting the ball into the back of the net. The 18-year-old took on four Brighton midfielders before spreading it wide to Ryan Fraser on the left wing. Fraser whipped the ball in where Cameroon Archer was ready at the back post, inside the 6-yard box, to tap the ball past Bart Verbruggen in the Brighton net. Unfortunately for the away side, their 2nd goal was chalked off as Adam Armstrong had made an attempt to play Fraser’s cross from an offside position, interfering with play. Brighton dominated for the last half an hour, but failed to break down a resilient Saints defence. Despite the 10 minutes of extra time added on, neither side could find the back of the net for a 2nd time on the night and the game finished all square at 1-1. Brighton moved into 2nd on the table temporarily, but could’ve gone 2 points clear of 3rd placed Manchester City if they had won. Southampton picked up their first point on the road this season but felt the controversial decision to chalk off their 2nd goal unfairly stopped them from getting all 3. Southampton still remain 20th.

Brentford vs Leicester City

The first game of Matchweek 13 played on Saturday afternoon saw Thomas Frank’s Brentford host Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City at the Gtech Stadium. After temporarily filling in for the Manchester United job for a couple of weeks, Van Nistelrooy had been replaced by Ruben Amorim, only to be hired by Leicester just days later. The Foxes got off to a stellar start under the new Dutch gaffer when they found the opener just after the 20 minute mark. Jordan Ayew played a brilliant ball to the ever present Leicester skipper, Jamie Vardy, who had made a run down the left wing. Vardy showed great strength to hold off the challenge from Ethan Pinnock before he played the ball across the penalty area to Brighton loanee, Facundo Buonanotte. The Argentine tapped the ball into an uncontested net to score his 4th of the season, already his best campaign in front of goal. Brentford only took 4 minutes to get back on level terms, with Yoanne Wissa netting his 8th of the season. Mikkel Damsgaard played a perfect through ball down the left wing to Kevin Schade who then rolled the ball across the 6-yard box. Wissa was unmarked at the back post and free to tap the ball over the line. The Bees then went on to complete a 4 minute turn around when Schade opened his account for the season just before the half hour mark. Kean Lewis-Potter made a darting run down the left wing, covering almost half the pitch before releasing the ball to Yoanne Wissa who had started the move. Wissa then played it to fellow Bees superstar, Bryan Mbeumo, who drilled the ball across the 6-yard box. Noone was able to get on the end of the Cameroonian’s pass and it fell to Schade who was free at the back post. Schade hit the ball first time, watching as it nestled into the near corner. Brentford then found a 2-goal-cushion in first half stoppage time when Schade completed his brace. Damsgaard played a neat through ball into the path of the German who was inside the Foxes’ penalty area. Schade took a good string of touches before perfectly chipping the ball over Leicester keeper Mads Hermansen and into the far corner. At half time, the score stood at 3-1 with Brentford putting on a brilliant first half performance. 

Fourteen minutes into the 2nd half, Brentford wrapped up all 3 points when Schade completed his hat-trick. Club record signing Nathan Collins played a wonder ball into the path of the German, perfectly threading the ball in between the Leicester centre halves to find him. Schade then took the ball in his stride before tucking the ball away into the bottom right corner to make it 4-1 while also making it his most prolific season in Red and White. Brentford saw out the rest of the game successfully, winning 4-1 in sublime style. This result takes the Bees into a temporary 7th in the league while the Foxes fail to conjure up anything special on Van Nistelrooy’s debut as they sit 16th.

Crystal Palace vs Newcastle

The following game of Matchweek 13 saw Oliver Glansner’s underperforming Crystal Palace host Eddie Howe’s Newcastle at Selhurst Park. Despite Crystal Palace’s dominant start to the game, they failed to find the back of the net, with full back Daniel Munoz even missing an open goal in the 35th minute. At half time the score stood at 0-0 with Newcastle staring down another poor result after losing to West Ham at home earlier in the week.

Crystal Palace were punished for missing all their prior chances when Newcastle took the lead 8 minutes into the 2nd period. It all came from a well practiced free kick, with Lewis Hall and Anthony Gordon standing over the ball. Hall took the kick while Gordon made a smart run. Hall played the ball into the penalty area where Sandro Tonali spat it back out to Gordon. The wideman drilled it into the penalty area where he was fortunate enough to see his cross go over the line thanks to a deflection off Palace skipper Marc Guehi. Palace then continued their domination of the game, but it just didn’t feel as though it was their day, with Magpies keeper Nick Pope making multiple great saves and the Palace forwards missing yet more chances. Finally, with just one minute of stoppage time to play, the Eagles levelled the game. Guehi made up for his own goal, whipping in the cross for full back Munoz to make amends for his previous miss. The Colombian’s header was decent, but maybe should have been kept out by Pope who was cruelly punished after his only error of the afternoon. Munoz ran in from the back post to head the ball down at the bottom right corner, with Pope unable to keep the ball from creeping in. The full time result finished 1-1 with both sides seeing the score as a potential 2 points dropped. Palace because of the number of missed opportunities and Newcastle because they let in a late leveller. Glasner’s Palace jumped out of the relegation zone into 17th while Newcastle remained 10th.

Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich Town

The following game of Matchweek 13 saw Nuno Espirito’s Nottingham Forest take on Scott McKenna’s Ipswich Town at the City Ground. Forest dominated the opening half an hour and would’ve taken an early lead through skipper Ryan Yates if not for Sam Szmodics of Ipswich who stood in the way of the Englishman’s effort. Ola Aina for Forest was soon forced into a goal line clearance as well, halting Dara O’Shea from scoring his first for the Tractor Boys after he headed the ball at the host’s goal from a corner. At half time the score remained 0-0 with the game fully in the balance.

Forest made the most perfect start possible to the 2nd period when they won a penalty inside 2 minutes of the restart. After a dangerous run by Elliot Anderson into the penalty area, he laid the ball off to Jota Silva who was then fouled by Szmodics. It was a controversial decision to award the penalty but there was a slight amount of  contact meaning referee Tony Harrington’s decision was not overturned by VAR. Chris Wood stepped up to take the spot kick and dispatched it perfectly, riffling the ball into the roof of the Tractor Boy’s net. The Kiwi scored his 9th of the season, taking him into 3rd place in the race for the Golden Boot. Ipswich did create some chances for the remaining minutes of the half but the hosts keeper, Matz Sels, was making sure nothing got past him to give Forest their first win after 2 losses in a row. It finished 1-0, taking Nuno’s side back into the top 6 in the league. After Palace drew to Newcastle earlier on, Ipswich dropped to 19th in the league on 9 points.

Wolves vs Bournemouth

The next game of Matchweek 13 saw Gary O’Neil’s Wolves host Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth at the Molineux Stadium. The Cherries made the perfect start to the fixture when they won a penalty after less than 60 seconds played. Marcos Senesi played a brilliant ball almost the whole length of the pitch to no.9 Evanilson who was through on goal. Just as the Brazilian shaped to shoot, he was hacked down by Wolves centre half Toti Gomes. Justin Kluivert stepped up to take the spot kick and dispatched it perfectly, slotting the ball into the bottom right corner. Wolves soon struck back though, taking just 4 minutes to equalise. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde whipped the ball into the penalty area where Jorgan Strand Larsen threw himself at the cross to head the ball into the far corner, firing up the so far silent Moulinex in the process. The Cherries then restored their lead just 3 minutes later, with this game already shaping up to be a Premier League classic. It was a great bit of play from Bournemouth which resulted in Ryan Christie finding Marcus Tavernier on the left  side of the penalty area. Tavernier laid it off to right back Milos Kerkez who had made an overlapping run. The Hungarian full back then smashed the ball into the top left corner from an impossible angle, giving the Cherries the lead in spectacular fashion. In the 16th minute, Bournemouth gained a 2 goal cushion thanks to yet another penalty won by Evanilson. The Brazilian striker snuck up behind Wolves keeper Jose Sa, winning the ball and forcing Sa to foul him, with VAR eventually allowing referee Peter Banks to award the spot kick. Kluivert scored yet again from 12 yards, smashing the ball into the opposite bottom left corner. At half time, the score stood at 1-3 with Wolves in serious trouble due to 2 poor defensive errors.

The hosts managed to half the deficit in the 69th minute thanks to another Strand Larsen goal. Goncalo Guedes outmuscled Senesi before playing the big Norwegian in on goal. Strand Larsen then smashed the ball into the roof of the net, bagging his 6th of the season. The Cherries then all but sealed the 3 points when, for the 3rd time in the afternoon, Evanilson won the travelling side a penalty. Craig Dawson played a weak back pass to keeper Sa which was pounced on by the Brazilian. In the end, Sa lunged in and brought him down, giving away his 2nd penalty of the match. Kluivert completed his hat-trick from the spot, slotting the ball into the bottom right corner, becoming the first ever player to score a hat-trick of all penalties. The full time score finished 2-4 with O’Neil’s defence greatly exposed once again. Wolves have now conceded 32 goals this season as they sit 18th in the relegation zone with just 9 points. The Cherries get back to their winning ways, sitting 13th in the league on 18 points.

West Ham United vs Arsenal

The final game played on Saturday evening in Matchweek 13 saw Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham host Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal at the London Stadium. After West Ham’s huge result away at Newcastle earlier in the week, they got off to a poor start and found themselves 0-1 down inside 10 minutes. The Premier League’s best side at set pieces were at it again, with Gabriel scoring his 3rd goal off of a corner this season after Bukayo Saka’s cross. Seventeen minutes later, the Gunners doubled their advantage. Saka registered his 2nd assist of the game and 10th of the season, rolling the ball across the 6-yard area for Leandro Trossard to tap the ball into an empty net. It was all too easy for Arteta’s team after Saka gave his side yet another prime opportunity to take a 3-0 lead, winning a foul in the penalty area after Lucas Paqeuta chopped him down. Martin Odegaard had been sublime so far and got his name on the score sheet after he slotted the penalty past ex-Gunner and current West Ham keeper, Lukasz Fabainski, and into the bottom right corner. Just seconds after making it 0-3, Arsenal made it 0-4 through yet another Hammers error. Trossard’s lofted pass over the West Ham backline looked like Maximilian Kilman would easily clear the ball from the path of Kai Havertz. Unfortunately for the hosts,he tried to slide in and intercept the ball, embarrassing himself as Havertz punished his error and slotted the ball past Fabianski. This game just continued to produce goals as West Ham finally found the back of the net in the 38th minute. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, fresh off scoring against Newcastle on Monday, put the ball past Gunner’s keeper David Raya brilliantly. Carlos Soler had played a perfect through ball into the path of the full back who had made a late run into the penalty area. West Ham gave the travelling side even more to think about after their other full back, Emerson, scored a peach of a free kick from the right side of the penalty area to bring the deficit back to just 2 goals. Arteta’s side put the hopes of a ridiculous West Ham comeback to sleep after they won their 2nd penalty of the half, coming through yet another corner. Gabriel tried to head the ball past Fabianski for the 2nd time in the evening but the Pole was seen by VAR, punching the Brazilian in the head while attempting to clear it. This time Saka was given the right to take the spot kick and only just scored it, slotting it away into the bottom left corner with Fabianski unable to get a stronger palm to the ball. At half time the score finished 2-5, only the 4th ever half in the Premier League to brandish 7+ goals and the first in 12 years. West Ham’s leaky defense was once again exposed but the London Stadium was witnessing an Arsenal side at their very best.

The 2nd half was much quieter than the 1st, with the full time score finishing 2-5 as Arsenal successfully shut out the Hammers to win their 7th game of the season. The Gunners move into 2nd in the table while West Ham remain 14th, still failing to win back to back games this season.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa

The first game of Matchweek 13 played on Sunday afternoon saw Enzo Marseca’s Chelsea host Unai Emery’s Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge. After a superior start to the game from Maresca’s side, Chelsea found the lead in the 7th minute when Nicholas Jackson bagged his 8th of the season. Marc Cucurella won the ball just outside the Villa area where he played a quick 1-2 with Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho. Cucurella then whipped in the ball where Jackson made first contact with his cross, watching as it crept in at the near post and past keeper Emiliano Martinez. The Villa defence was looking very exposed, with Martinez and his 2 centre halves, Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa, arguably putting up their worst performance of the season. They were giving the ball away in dangerous areas and almost conceded from an indirect free kick inside the penalty area after Martinez picked up Torres’ back pass. It was thanks to a save from Martinez and a strong block by Boubacar Kamara that they didn’t find themselves 0-2 down. Chelsea then found a much deserved 2 goal cushion before the interval. Captain and 2nd most expensive signing, Enzo Fernandez, played a neat 1-2 with Cole Palmer outside the penalty area. He then controlled the ball on the bounce before poking it brilliantly into the far right corner. At half time the score stood at 2-0 with Villa left with a huge hill to climb.

After a 2nd half of more missed chances for Chelsea, they wrapped up the 3 points in style when their starboy, Cole Palmer, scored his 8th of the season as well. Noni Madueke released the ball to him on the edge of the area where he took a couple of touches before shaping to shoot. His effort was nothing short of perfect, watching as it curled beautifully into the top left corner. The full time score finished 3-0 with Chelsea establishing themselves as serious title contenders now as they sit 3rd on 25 points. Villa failed to win again as they fell into 12th. Emery’s men have now not won their last 5 games in the league and 8 games in all competitions.

Manchester United vs Everton

The next game of Premier League Matchweek 13 saw Ruben Amorim manage his first league game at the Theatre of Dreams for Manchester United as they hosted Sean Dyche’s Everton. United got off to the perfect start, as they have been doing so far under Amorim, when they opened the scoring in the 34th minute after some great passages of play. Bruno Fernandes saw Marcus Rashfrod unmarked outside the area when he stepped up to take his latest corner and chipped the ball all the way over to him. Rashford watched the ball, let it bounce and then hit it on the half volley with the inside of his boot, watching as the ball took a deflection on route past Toffees keeper Jordan Pickford. The Red Devils found no.2 just before the interval when arguably the best player so far under Amorim, Amad Diallo, won possession down the right wing before Fernandes picked it back from him. The captain then rolled the ball across to Joshua Zirkzee who passed it into the back of the net to bag his 2nd goal in Red and White. At half time the score stood at 2-0 with United deserved leaders.

Less than 60 seconds into the 2nd period, United sealed the game by making it 3-0. Diallo was yet again heavily involved, dribbling with the ball down the right wing before playing Rashford through in the Everton penalty area. Rashford’s first time finish found its way through the legs of Pickford, with the Rashford of the 22/23 season finally starting to come alive again. The hosts put the cherry on top of what had been a brilliant performance in the 64th minute after Diallo won the ball yet again off of Toffees captain James Tarkowski. Diallo had space to run into before eventually laying the ball off to Zirkzee inside the penalty area who was gifted another easy finish, slotting the ball past Pickford to complete his brace. At the full time whistle, the score finished 4-0 with United putting up a statement under their new manager. Manchester United fans will hope this is the first dominant performance of many as they finally climb into the top 10, sitting in 9th with 19 points. Everton failed to score for the 4th game in a row, with their major doubts now over Sean Dyche as the Toffees manager as they are in yet another relegation battle. They sit 15th on 11 points.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham 

The next game of Matchweek 13 saw Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur host Marco Silva’s Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The first half was very close, with both sides forcing 2 huge saves from the two respective keepers (Fraser Forster: Tottenham, Bernd Leno: Fulham). James Maddison came so close to giving Spurs the lead seconds before the interval, drilling a free kick along the ground and watching as it agonizingly hit the post and deflected wide. At half time, the score remained 0-0 with the game even so far.

Tottenham finally found the opener in the 54th minute when Timo Werner chipped in a ball from the left side of the penalty area to find Brennan Johnson inside the 6-yard box who smashed the ball on the volley past Leno. It was the Welshman’s 6th goal in the league this season and 10th in all competitions as he continued his brilliant performances under Postecoglou. Just 13 minutes later, Fulham equalised in spectacular fashion. Alex Iwobi received the ball from Antonee Robinson on the goal line before cutting it back to captain Tom Cairney outside the penalty area. The Scotsman hit the ball with his left foot first time, watching as his outswinging effort curled beautifully past the fists of Forster and rolled down the side netting of the Spurs goal. Sixteen minutes after drawing the Cottagers level, Cairney was then given his marching orders after he dragged his studs down the back of Dejan Kulusevski’s calf, making for a horrible challenge and a definite red card decision for referee Darren Bond. Fulham came close to scoring a few times in the dying minutes and surprisingly it was Tottenham who were relieved when Bond blew his closing whistle. The score finished 1-1, with a draw a fair result given how the game panned out, Tottenham dropping to 7th in the table on 20 points and Fulham moving into 10th on 19.

Liverpool vs Manchester City

The closing game of Matchweek 13 was easily the most anticipated of the week, with Arne Slot’s Liverpool, 1st placed unbeaten in 15 games, hosting Pep Guardiola’s 2nd placed Manchester City, winless in 6 games, at Anfield. The Liverpool fans were up for their big title game on Sunday night, with a win enough to put them 11 points clear of the current holders. They made the ideal start to the game, finding the opener after just 12 minutes. Dominik Szoboszlai pinged an immaculate ball over the Manchester City team and into the trajectory of Mohamed Salah. Salah was too hot to handle for Maunel Akanji as he tricked the Swiss defender before playing a brilliant ball across the 6-yard box for Cody Gakpo to bundle over the line. Virgil van Dijk also missed a number of headed opportunities from crosses in the first half for the Reds as they came so close to doubling their advantage before the interval. City were offering up nothing in the Liverpool half, making it the first time in 14 years where they had failed to register a shot on target in the first half of a Premier League fixture. The first half score stood at 1-0 with Slot’s side clearly dominating the Citizens.

It was fair to say City had a little more possession than the hosts in the 2nd period but Liverpool missed the more opportunities. Gakpo had a 1v1 saved by City keeper Stefan Ortega, Van Dijk missed another header, and Salah shockingly missed a 1v1 against Ortega despite having the penalty area all to himself. Darwin Nunez, who had been a real thorn in the City defence since coming on in the 73rd minute, was the pioneer of Liverpool’s greatly deserved 2nd goal, dispossessing Ruben Dias before Luis Diaz took the ball from Nunez, leaving him 1-on-1 with Ortega. The Colombian took the ball around Ortega before he was inevitably brought down by the German shot stopper. Salah, who had missed a penalty midweek against Real Madrid, was not going to make the same mistake again, drilling the ball into the bottom right corner from the spot to score his 11th of the Premier League season and wrap up the game for the Reds. The full time score finished 2-0 with Liverpool going 9 points clear at the top of the table and 11 points clear of Manchester City. Pep’s side continued their crisis, losing 6 out of their last 7 games and drawing to Feyenoord in the Champions League (having led 3-0 with 15 minutes to play). Pep’s side dropped out of the top 4 into 5th and will have to try and turn things around against Nuno’s tricky Forest in the coming week.

Written by Ollie Wade