Kickoff chronicles

Newcastle United vs AFC Bournemouth

The opening fixture of Matchweek 22 saw two exciting teams face off with Eddie Howe’s Newcastle hosting Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth at St. James’ Park. After an explosive start to the tie from Iraola’s men, the Cherries found a deserved opener inside 6 minutes. Ryan Christie played a superb through ball into the path of Antoine Semenyo who had made an intelligent run down the left wing. Semenyo looked back and squared the ball to teammate Justin Kluivert who drilled the ball into the far bottom corner to net his 8th goal of the season. It was a shock to the system of the Magpie players and fans as they were in search of their 10th win in a row in all competitions. The hosts hit back inside the half hour mark with Bruno Guimaraes popping up with a captain’s contribution. Lewis Hall whipped in Newcastle’s latest corner from the right side where Guimaraes directed all of the power from Hall’s cross onto his header to see it fly into the bottom left corner. Just before halftime, Newcastle made a very costly error, with Guimaraes turning from hero to zero in less than 20 minutes. The Brazilian midfielder was dispossessed by Dango Ouattara just outside his own penalty area where Ouattara found Kluivert inside the penalty area. The Dutchman secured his brace after he let the ball roll into his path before he passed the ball into the bottom left corner in a professional fashion. The first half finished 1-2 with a costly Newcastle error giving Bournemouth a priceless advantage.

Newcastle needed to come out and attack their opposition early in the 2nd period but unfortunately Howe’s side lacked any real excitement up front. Bournemouth continued to dominate and thought they’d made it 1-3 on the hour mark when Ouattara slid in to tap the ball over the line. VAR later ruled the goal out as the ball had crossed the goal line earlier in the play. Newcastle had well and truly been outplayed and the Cherries found a fully deserved goal in stoppage time to wrap up the 3 points. Kluivert completed his hat-trick after Tyler Adams intercepted a dangerous pass across the Newcastle half. The ball fell down kindly to Kluivert who looked up before smashing the ball into the side netting of the Geordie goal, leaving Martin Dubravka with no chance of keeping the ball out. Bournemouth made it 1-4 with essentially the last kick of the game after Kluivert played a brilliant ball down the left wing, with full back Milos Kerkez left with acres of space to run into the Newcastle penalty area. Kerkez managed his way around Kieran Trippier with ease before thrashing the ball into the far right side netting, sealing the tie in style. The full time score finished 1-4, with Newcastle missing out on the chance to rise to 3rd in the table. It was a very shocking result for the Magpies given their recent form, but they still sit 4th in the league. Bournemouth continue their amazing run this season as they jump back into the top 6, with European football down the south coast this season looking a real possibility.

Brentford vs Liverpool

The following game of Matchweek 22 saw Thomas Frank’s Brentford host Arne Slot’s Liverpool at the Gtech Stadium in what looked an interesting encounter. The Bees came inches away from opening the scoring inside 5 minutes, with Mikkel Damsgaard failing to tap the ball over the line from close range after Keane Lewis-Potter’s pass into the 6-yard area. It was then Liverpool’s turn to flex their attacking muscle, with Dominik Szoboszlai coming so close to scoring a goal of the season contender in the 35th minute, rattling the upright with a wonder strike from 25 yards out. Just 4 minutes later, Cody Gakpo missed an absolute sitter after Mohamed Salah played a brilliant ball into the path of Gakpo in the penalty area. Gakpo had no defender tracking him and plenty of time to slot the ball past Bee’s keeper Mark Flekken. Unfortunately for the Reds, Flekken’s presence alone was enough to put off Gakpo as he agonisingly rolled the ball wide of the post. The half time score remained 0-0 with Liverpool threatening for most of the first 45 minutes.

Liverpool continued their domination into the 2nd period and created a number of close chances, with Brentford shot stopper Mark Flekken impenetrable so far in the host’s goal (like he had been for most of the season). Finally, after 90 agonising minutes for the Liverpool away fans, they broke through the resilient Brentford defenders in the first minute of stoppage time. Trent Alexander-Arnold received the ball in the penalty area from Harvey Elliot where his initial first time cross was blocked by Yehor Yarmoliuk. Trent was then fortunate enough to find the ball again where he picked out substitute striker Darwin Nunez in the penalty area. Nunez made no mistake with his finish, rolling the ball underneath Flekken to win the game for the Reds. Liverpool then wrapped up all 3 points in a superb win away from home when Nunez made it a brace for the afternoon. Salah played the ball to Federico Chiesa who had multiple options ahead of him in Liverpool’s latest counter attack. He opted to go to Elliot who then progressed into the box before squaring it to Nunez. Nunez faked a shot with his first touch before taking the ball into a central position and thasing it into the roof of the net. The full time score finished 0-2 with Liverpool clutching the game late on with 2 stoppage time winners. Arne Slot’s men stay top of the league, 6 points clear of Arsenal, with a game in hand. Brentford found themselves on the end of some late drama after they had made a comeback to draw against City last week. The Bees sit 11th in the league on 28 points.

Leicester City vs Fulham

The next game of Matchweek 22 saw Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City host Marco Silva’s Fulham at the King Power Stadium. After their recent woeful run of form, Leicester made a somewhat positive start to the game and created some chances early on, with Cottager’s keeper Bernd Leno forced into some early action. Fulham managed to defend through Leicester’s attacking spell and created some good opportunities for themselves at the back end of the half. Calvin Bassey came millimeters away from scoring in the 36th minute when his volleyed effort from outside the penalty area just fizzed wide of the post. The half time score remained 0-0 with Leicester hoping to snatch all 3 points which would see them escape the relegation zone.

Fulham made the perfect possible start to the 2nd period when they opened the scoring 3 minutes in. Raul Jimenez played a wonderful switch ball into the path of Harry Wilson who was unmarked at the back post. Wilson hooked the ball back across goal where Sasa Lukic made the initial, and all important, first contact into a dangerous area. Emile Smith Rowe then threw himself at the ball, putting his body on the line to head the ball past Foxes’ keeper Jakub Stolarczyk and give Fulham the advantage. Just 20 minutes later, Fulham all but wrapped up the 3 points when Adama Traore got in on the action. Wilson was again involved as he chipped the ball over to the back post from the left wing, watching as Adama wrapped the inside of his boot along the ball and drilled it into the bottom left corner. The remaining 25 minutes of the tie was much less entertaining, with Fulham successfully seeing off the Foxes 0-2 to claim their 8th win of the campaign. Silva’s men sit 10th in the league, continuing another bright season under the Spaniard. Leicester failed to score at home yet again as they remain 19th with just 14 points.

West Ham United vs Crystal Palace

The following game of Matchweek 22 saw Graham Potter’s West Ham host Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace at the London Stadium. With a great number of players out injured for West Ham and Palace’s strong run of form, it was always going to be a tough day at the office for the Hammers. Potter’s side made a sluggish start to the game and should’ve fell behind if not for some brilliant saves by the Premier League’s oldest player, Lukasz Fabianski (39). The first half remained 0-0 with West Ham clearly struggling upfront, with their 3 main attacking options all out with long term injuries.

After a brilliant first half performance, Palace then found a deserved opener in the 48th minute when Jean-Philippe Mateta scored his 7th goal of the season. West Ham didn’t know what had hit them, as Palace played the ball out of their half superbly, with Eberechi Eze the man leading Palace’s counter attack. Eze then threaded the ball through to the French centre forward where West Ham defender Maximilian Kilman backed right off of Mateta. Mateta ate up the space awarded to him before drilling the ball into the bottom left corner, punishing some horrific West Ham defending. Although Hammer’s fans would have put their poor showings down to injuries, defensive errors is what really cost them, with Konstantinos Mavropanos being shown his marching orders in the 80th minute after he received a 2nd yellow card for a horrendous high foot challenge on Mateta. It then looked as though the hosts were going to show some fighting spirit and come back as they started to flood the Palace half with strong attacks but Palace soon wrapped up all 3 points thanks to another defensive error. Mateta played a through ball into the penalty area where Eddie Nketiah made first contact with the ball over West Ham keeper Fabianski. Nketiah then managed to find enough contact on Fabianski to grant a penalty decision by referee Thomas Bramall. Mateta just about squeezed his spot kick under the legs of the Polish keeper, wheeling away to celebrate his lucky penalty with the away end. The full time score finished 0-2 with this result proving the amount of work Potter has ahead. West Ham dropped to 14th in the league. Palace stretched their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 6 including 5 wins. Glasner’s side jumped over West Ham and into 12th.

Arsenal vs Aston Villa

The final game of Matchweek 22 played on Saturday evening saw Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal host Unai Emery’s Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners made a positive start to the game, with the hosts drawing some acrobatic saves from Emiliano Martinez early on. Arsenal finally broke down the resilient Villa defence when Leandro Trossard received the ball down the left side of the penalty area. Trossard crossed the ball in from the left wing where Gabriel Martinelli lunged in to poke the ball at goal. Martinez parried the ball upwards initially before falling backwards. The Argentine then punched the ball away from the goal but it was unfortunately too late, with referee Chris Kavanagh checking his watch before awarding the goal. The first half finished 1-0 with Arsenal punishing a very slow start to the tie by Emery’s side.

Arsenal found themselves a 2 goal cushion 10 minutes into the 2nd period when Kai Havertz notched his 8th goal of the season. The best player on the pitch so far, Trossard, whipped in the ball from the left wing where Havertz directed his cross at goal, watching as his effort flicked off the heel of Martinez and into the bottom right corner. After a terrible game so far for the away end, Villa finally gave their fans something to cheer about 5 minutes later and on the hour mark. Lucas Digne whipped in a peach of a cross from the left wing where Youri Tielemens jumped down low to head the ball into the bottom corner and past Arsenal keeper David Raya. Just moments after Tielemans had hit the post to make it 2-2, Ollie Watkins levelled the game in the 68th minute when he scored his 10th of the season. Matty Cash crossed the ball in from the right wing where Watkins found himself isolated at the back post. Watkins’ finish was world class, smashing the ball into the roof of the net. The Gunners then thought they’d clinched all 3 points late on after Mikel Merino’s volley in the 87th minute flicked off Havertz and into the Villa goal but it was later ruled out due to the ball striking the arm of Havertz. Arsenal were unlucky in the final minutes, hitting the post and drawing multiple brilliant saves from Martinez. The full time score finished 2-2 with Arsenal dropping more points at home again. The Gunners remain 2nd in the table on 44 points. Villa remain 8th in the league on 36 points but showed great spirit and fight to come back and then hold out for a draw.

Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur

The first game of Matchweek 22 played on Sunday afternoon saw two teams in desperate need of a win face off at Goodison park in David Moyes’ Everton and Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur. Everton made a great start to the game in the 13th minute when they finally put an end to their recent goal drought. Idrissa Gueye played a neat ball into the path of Dominic Calvert-Lewin who was inside the Spurs’ penalty area. Calvert-Lewin brilliantly danced his way through all the Tottenham challenges before slotting the ball away into the bottom right corner, scoring a needed 3rd goal of the season in wonderful style. After Everton had clipped the post just 5 minutes prior, they then deservedly doubled their advantage on the half hour mark when Iliman Ndiaye scored his 4th of the season. Ndiaye played a brilliant 1-2 with Gueye inside his own half which really opened up the midfield for him to run into. Ndiaye ate up the Goodison turf, progressing into the penalty area and dancing away from the challenge of Radu Dragusin with ease. Nidyae then rifled a shot at Spurs keeper Antonin Kinsky making for another superb Toffee’s goal. Everton all but wrapped up the 3 points just before the interval when they scored in first half stoppage time. James Tarkowski headed the ball across goal from Jesper Lindstrom’s cross where Calvert-Lewin flicked the ball into a dangerous area. The unfortunate man on the end of his header was young Spurs player Archie Gray who unintentionally poked the ball into the back of his own net. The first half finished 3-0 with Tottenham offering up absolutely nothing from an attacking sense in the first 45 minutes.

After an actionless first half an hour in the 2nd period, Tottenham scored a consolation goal in the 77th minute. Son Heung-Min played a brilliant ball into the penalty area where James Maddison was successful in receiving the pass before the outcoming Jordan Pickford could claim it. Maddison squared the ball to young Mikey Moore who had an unguarded goal to aim at but his effort was blocked by defender Vitalii Mykolenko. The ball then fell to Dejan Kulusevski who brilliantly chipped the ball over all the Everton defenders and into the empty net. Spurs gave the Toffees something to think about in stoppage time when Richarlison scored yet again against his former employers. Moore whipped the ball in from the left wing where the Brazilian put his body on the line, sliding in to tap the ball past Pickford at the back post. Moyes would have been disappointed his side shipped 2 late goals, but there was a huge sigh of relief from the home fans after the full time whistle was blown, the result finishing 3-2. Everton stay 16th but are now 4 points clear of the drop zone, with Moyes claiming his first win as Everton gaffer since 2013. Tottenham now sit in the bottom quarter of the table in 15th, with Ange’s time at Tottenham surely running out.

Manchester United vs Brighton Hove & Albion

The following game of Matchweek 22 saw Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United host Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton at Old Trafford. After a positive last few games for United, they made the worst possible start against Brighton, conceding inside 5 minutes. Carlos Baleba played a brilliant lobbed pass over the United backline and into the path of Kaoru Mitoma. Mitoma took the ball in his stride before rolling the ball across the penalty area for Yankuba Minteh to smash into an uncontested net. After a poor start to the game, United were handed a lifeline in the 23rd minute when they were awarded a penalty. Seagull’s keeper Bart Verbruggen played a terrible back pass right into the path of Amad Diallo who played it straight to Joshua Zirkzee. Zirkzee was then brought down in UFC fashion by Baleba who tackled him down with a flying elbow. Bruno Fernandes perfectly dispatched the spot kick, rolling the ball into the bottom left corner to level the game. The first half finished 1-1 with United very fortunate to be on level terms.

Brighton thought they’d found an early advantage in the 2nd period when Joao Pedro lashed the ball past United keeper Andre Onana from a Brighton free kick but VAR later ruled it out for a very weak foul on Diogo Dalot. After Brighton had been hard done by VAR decisions all afternoon, they found a deserved 2nd goal in the 60th minute. Yasin Ayari made a driving run through the middle of the pitch before spreading the ball wide to Minteh. Minteh then chipped the ball across to the back post for Mitoma to poke in from what looked an impossible angle, Minteh returning the favour for Brighton’s first goal. Brighton then sealed all 3 points in the 76th minute when Ayari whipped the ball in from the right wing. The cross should have been a routine claim for Onana in the United goal but the Cameroonian made a right mess of it, unable to grasp the ball as Georginio Rutter took the ball around him and passed it into an empty net. Brighton successfully saw out the remaining minutes in what was probably their easiest win of the season, the full time score finishing 1-3. Brighton climb into 9th in the league, just 3 points shy of a European place while Manchester United drop to 13th on 26 points.

Nottingham Forest vs Southampton

The following game of Matchweek 22 saw Nuno Espirito’s high flying Nottingham Forest host Ivan Juric’s rock bottom Southampton at the City Ground. Forest made a routine start to the game, taking the lead early on like they so often do. Morgan Gibbs-White played the ball to Elliot Anderson who immediately drove towards the Saint’s goal. Just before the Scotsman entered the penalty area, he fired a shot perfectly through the crowd of Southampton players and into the bottom left corner, scoring his first ever Premier League goal in some style. Just before the half hour mark, Forest doubled their advantage when Callum Hudson-Odoi got his name on the score sheet. Chris Wood forced the defensive error from Jan Bednarek just outside the Saint’s penalty area before playing the ball back to Hudson-Odoi. With no one present to shut him down, Hudson-Odoi fired the ball into the bottom left corner to score his 3rd goal of the campaign. It was all becoming too easy for Forest as they made it 3 just before the interval. Ola Aina whipped the ball in from the right wing where Wood jumped up and directed his cross into the bottom left corner with a wonderful header, scoring his 14th of the season, equalling his best ever campaign. The half time score finished 3-0 with there surely no route left back for Juric’s Saints.

Southampton did give the hosts something to think about in the 60th minute when Bednarek made amends for his earlier error. The ball was cleared out of the penalty area by the Forest defenders after a free kick but only as far as Lesley Ugochukwu. Ugochukwu drilled the ball at goal where his volley flicked off the heel of Bednarek and into the top right corner. Nikola Milenkovic thought he’d made it 4-1 just minutes later after his header somehow went in after a horror error from keeper Aaron Ramsdale but Ramsdale was later saved by an offside decision by VAR. With 12 minutes of extra time added on, Southampton made it 3-2 with there still time to play. Matues Fernandes’ corner delivery was brilliantly headed past Forest keeper Matz Sels by centre forward Paul Onuachu. Only minutes later, Southampton thought they’d levelled the game through another corner after Bednarek’s header was expertly cleared off the line by Aina, with his intervention as good as a goal the way the game was finishing. The full time score ended 3-2 with Forest just about seeing off Southampton with a very dramatic end to the game. Forest stay 3rd in the table but they are now level on points with 2nd placed Arsenal. Although they finished the game strongly, it is yet another terrible performance from Southampton as they still remain on track to become the worst ever side in the Premier League.

Ipswich Town vs Manchester City

The final game of Matchweek 22 played on Sunday evening saw Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town host Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at Portman Road. It was always going to be an uphill task for the Tractor Boys after Manchester City had finally turned their poor form around. Ipswich did make a positive start to the game, with Omari Hutchinson and Dara O’Shea coming so close inside 20 minutes but McKenna’s plan all started to unravel in the 27th minute. Jeremey Doku made an explosive run down the left wing before passing the ball into the penalty area for Kevin De Bruyne. De Bruyne’s cross caught a fortunate deflection which took it into the path of Phil Foden who controlled the ball down before prodding it into the bottom left corner, scoring his 4th goal in as many games. City then made it 2 right before the half hour mark with Doku and Foden heavily involved again, Doku cutting in from the left wing and passing it into a central position for Foden. Foden then laid the ball off for Mateo Kovacic who drilled the ball brilliantly into the bottom left corner. City’s 3rd was a mirror image of their 1st, Doku playing the ball into the penalty area for De Bruyne, De Bruyne squaring the ball to Foden, and Foden squeezing the ball underneath Ipswich keeper Christian Walton to register his brace for the game. The first half ended 0-3 with there no way back into the tie for the Tractor Boys now.

Number 4 came 4 minutes into the 2nd period with Doku scoring a fully deserved goal after all of his hard work down the wing in the 1st half. The Belgian received the ball from De Bruyne down the left before dancing his way through the Ipswich defence. Once he made it into the penalty area, Doku cracked a shot, watching as his deflected effort found its way past Walton and into the net. Doku, the clear man of the match so far, then got his name on the scoresheet again, this time for an assist, when he intercepted Jack Clarke’s woeful pass back. Doku intelligently played the ball into the path of Erling Haaland who slotted it past Walton for 5. Number 6 came in the 69th minute when substitute James McAtee scored his 1st Premier League goal in sky blue. Kovacic chipped the ball in from just outside the penalty area where McAtee smartly cushioned the ball with his head over Walton and into the top left corner. Pep’s side seemed to think 0-6 was good enough and cooled their jets for the remaining 20 minutes to see out the win. City temporarily jumped back into the top 4 after a very convincing win away from home. Ipswich dropped into the bottom 3 again, taking a huge hit to their goal difference.

Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

The final game of Matchweek 22 played on Monday night saw Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea host Vitor Pereira’s Wolves at Stamford Bridge. After a much needed positive start to the game from the Blues, they found a deserved opener in the 24th minute. Cole Palmer’s corner was cleared only as far as Reece James on the edge of the Wolves’ penalty area. James mistruck the ball, taking it into the path of centre half Tosin Adarabioyo. Tosin controlled the ball before brilliantly placing it to the left of keeper Jose Sa. After Chelsea had dominated the whole of the first half, Wolves found an equaliser out of nothing with just seconds to play until the interval. Mathues Cunha’s corner delivery into the penalty area was very dangerous, forcing Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez to punch the ball off the goal line. Sanchez punched the ball right into the path of Wolves defender Matt Doherty who lunged in to poke the ball over the line and tie the game. The first half score stood at 1-1 with Wolves finding a priceless lifeline in stoppage time.

After conceding a worrying goal at the end of the first 45 minutes, Chelsea made an ideal start to the 2nd period when they restored their lead in the 60th minute. Noni Madueke’s cross in from the right wing was flicked on into a dangerous position by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. His header fell right into the path of left back Marc Cucurella who chested the ball down before poking it into the far right corner. Chelsea all but wrapped up the 3 points 5 minutes later when Madueke made it 4 goals in his 2 games against Wolves this campaign. Palmer crossed in Chelsea’s latest free kick over to the back post where the returning Trevoh Chalobah headed the ball into an uncontested part of the net, hoping to score his first goal on his return from a short loan stint at Crystal Palace. Unfortunately for the centre half, Madueke stole the goal from him, jumping in just before the ball crossed the line to make contact and claim the goal. In the end, it didn’t matter as Madueke was onside and the goal stood. After they had conceded some late goals in recent weeks, Chelsea showed great game management to see out Wolves for the remaining minutes, winning 3-1. It was the Blue’s first win in 5 Premier League games which saw them climb back into the top 4. Wolves remain 17th and only sit there as they have a better goal difference then 18th placed Ipswich.

Written by Ollie Wade