Kickoff chronicles

Saturday the 17th of January

The early kick off on Saturday afternoon saw Michael Carrick’s Manchester United host Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at Old Trafford in the latest Manchester derby. Despite the recent shock sacking of ex-United head coach Ruben Amorim, Carrick’s team were much better than City in the first half, with Harry Maguire hitting the crossbar with a header before both Amad Diallo and Bruno Fernandes had goals disallowed for offside. City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was the best player in the first half, pulling out multiple brilliant saves to keep the score 0-0. 

Donnarumma continued his brilliant form in the 2nd half, making more amazing reactionary saves to deny United’s Casemiro and Bryan Mbeumo (returning from AFCON). Finally, in the 65th minute, United made the breakthrough after Fernandes played a brilliant through ball to Mbeumo in the left side of the City penalty area. Mbeumo met Fernandes’ pass with a crisp first-time finish into the bottom right corner to score on his return to Old Trafford. The Red Devils’ scored a second goal in the 76th minute to wrap up all three points after Matheus Cunha made a brilliant run down the right wing. He then whipped a ball into the 6-yard box where Patrick Dorgu lunged in to score just his 2nd ever Premier League goal. The full-time score finished 2-0, with United putting out a statement performance under new manager Carrick against one of their biggest rivals to take them into 5th on the table. City failed to win a 4th consecutive game as they remain 2nd on 43 points, seven behind Arsenal.

Just after the final whistle was blown to end the Manchester Derby, five other Premier League matches kicked off at the standard 3 o’clock time. Chelsea faced off against Brentford at Stamford Bridge, Leeds United took on Fulham at Elland Road, Liverpool took on Burnley at Anfield, Sunderland hosted Palace at the Stadium of Light, while Tottenham faced off against one of their biggest rivals West Ham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The first goal from the five games came from a very unlikely source, with Nuno Espirito’s West Ham taking the lead against Thomas Frank’s Tottenham inside 15 minutes. Mateus Fernandes played the ball out wide to Crysencio Summerville down the left where the Dutchman cut in. He progressed into the penalty area and past multiple Spurs defenders before smashing the ball towards Guglielmo Vicario’s goal, his effort taking a huge deflection off Micky van de Ven and wrongfooting Vicario as his effort nestled into the bottom left corner. It was his 2nd goal in as many games, after netting last week in the FA Cup, and finally his first goal of the Premier League season.

Over in the South side of the capital, Chelsea took the lead against Marco Silva’s Fulham with Liam Rosenior’s first game in charge. Brentford defender Michael Kayode played a sloppy pass which was intercepted by Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez on the edge of the penalty area, falling perfectly for Joao Pedro. The Brazilian striker then thrashed the ball into the roof of the net on the spin, a brilliant finish by Chelsea’s top goalscorer.

Moving up north, there were two goals in the Sunderland versus Palace game in the space of three minutes. Oliver Glasner’s Palace opened the scoring right on the half hour mark after Will Hughes’ corner was cleared only as far as Yermey Pino. Pino made a late run into the box before acrobatically volleying the ball perfectly into the top right corner, a lovely finish. Determined to keep their unbeaten record at home, Sunderland equalised almost instantly after Nordi Mukiele drilled the ball across the Palace 6-yard box. Striker Brian Brobbey very intelligently left the ball for Enzo Le Fee who was behind him, with Le Fee slotting the ball into the bottom right corner, a brilliant team goal. 

Over in Liverpool, Arne Slot’s side had a golden chance to take the lead over Scott Parker’s Burnley in the 34th minute after Cody Gakpo won the hosts a penalty. Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up to take it but left Anfield in silence after his effort thundered off the upright and away from danger. The Reds finally took the lead just before the break after Curtis Jones cut the ball back to Florian Wirtz from the bi-line. Wirtz took a touch before meeting the ball with a wicked strike into the top left corner to make it 1-0.

Back in the capital, Spurs had finally equalised against West Ham after a much better 2nd half display. Pedro Porro whipped in a peach of a cross from the right wing where Christian Romero met his ball at the back post with a bullet of a header into the West Ham net, with keeper Alphonse Areola unable to react to his thunderous effort.

Just minutes later in Liverpool, Burnley equalised totally against the run of play with their only chance of the game. Florentino played a direct through ball to Marcus Edwards in the left side of the Liverpool penalty area where the Englishman drilled the ball into the bottom right corner from a right angle to send the away end into celebration. 

Up north, Sunderland had completed their turnaround in the 71st minute, with Brobbey scoring yet another clutch goal to potentially seal all three points. Noah Sadiki’s pass into the striker was deflected, with Brobbey reacting well to smash the ball into the top right corner with a brilliant volley using the outside of his boot, almost a mirror image to Pino’s earlier goal.

Back in the capital, Chelsea sealed all three points against Champions League qualification rivals Brentford after Liam Delap won a penalty, fouled by Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher. Cole Palmer stepped up to take the spot kick and brilliantly converted it into the far right corner, with Kelleher unable to make amends for his error.

The game between Leeds and Fulham in Yorkshire had failed to produce any entertainment so far but there was late drama in the first minute of stoppage time. After losing out to Fulham earlier in the season thanks to a last minute goal, Leeds gave the Cottagers’ a taste of their own medicine after Lukas Nmecha brilliantly hooked Ethan Ampadu’s cross past Bernd Leno to score a crucial goal for Leeds as they continue their brilliant run of form with safety now looking certain.

That wasn’t the final bit of late drama from the 3pm kickoffs, with there still one final goal to come from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Despite Spurs dominating in the 2nd half, West Ham scored in the 3rd minute of stoppage time to silence the home fans and claim a huge three points in their fight for safety. Ollie Scarles whipped in the ball from the right corner where Tottenham keeper Vicario was unable to claim the cross. Callum Wilson, who had been on the pitch a matter of seconds, then bundled the ball over the line to score yet another priceless goal this season for West Ham. 

Full-Time Scores

Chelsea vs Brentford finished 2-0, with Chelsea claiming a huge three points to take them over the Bees and into 6th place on 34 points. Brentford sit one place below them in 7th with 33 points.

Leeds United vs Fulham finished 1-0, with Nmecha’s late winner taking Leeds onto 25 points in 16th. Fulham dropped to 11th on 31 points. 

Liverpool vs Burnley finished 1-1, with Liverpool remaining 4th on the table with 36 points while Burnley stay in 19th on 14 points.

Sunderland vs Crystal Palace finished 2-1, with Sunderland claiming another huge result at home which takes them into 9th on the table with 33 points while Palace drop to 13th on 28 points.

Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United finished 1-2, with Spurs dropping to 14th with 27 points while West Ham remain 18th on 17 points, although they have now closed the gap on Nottingham Forest in 17th who are yet to play against Arsenal.

The final game played on Saturday evening at 5:30pm saw Sean Dyche’s Forest host Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal at the City Ground. Unfortunately for the Premier League neutral, the final score finished 0-0 despite Arsenal having an XG of 2.1 and 15 shots at the Forest goal. It was a defensive masterclass by Dyches’ men who gained a crucial point to take them five points clear of West Ham as they sit 17th on 22 points. A point isn’t such a terrible result for Arsenal as City lost to United earlier in the day. They remain 1st on the table on 50 points, now seven clear of Pep’s side.

Sunday the 18th of January

The first of two games played on Sunday saw Rob Edwards’ Wolves host Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United at the Molineux Stadium, with Wolves unbeaten in their last four while Newcastle had just come off the back of a 4-3 win in a thriller against Leeds United. This had everything it needed to be an entertaining watch but unfortunately, Wolves versus Newcastle also finished 0-0. It was a good result for Edwards’ Wolves, with their unbeaten run stretching to five games as they remain 20th on eight points,   still 14 away from safety as they hope to continue their brilliant form in 2026 which would see them escape relegation. Newcastle failed to break down one of the worst defensive sides in the league as they missed out on an opportunity to climb into the top five. The Magpies sit 8th on 33 points.

The following game played on Sunday afternoon saw Unai Emery’s Aston Villa host David Moyes’ Everton at Villa Park. Merlin Rohl came so close to opening the scoring inside 20 seconds for the Toffees after his effort from Jordan Pickford long ball hit the inside of the Villa post before bouncing away from danger. Jake O’Brien then thought he’d made it 0-1 after he headed James Garner’s cross past Emiliano Martinez in the 33rd minute but unfortunately for Everton, his effort was ruled out for offside. The half-time score stood at 0-1 with Villa’s 11-game winning streak at home seriously at threat.

Villa looked better in the 2nd half but it was Everton that took the lead in the 59th minute after Pau Torres gave the ball away on the edge of the penalty area to Dwight McNeil. McNeil saw his quickfire shot saved by Martinez but Thierno Barry was there to perfectly chip the ball over the Argentine shot stopper on the rebound and into the far corner. Everton were defending well and it looked as though they were going to hold out for a huge three points on the road although Villa came so close to scoring in the 72nd minute. Morgan Rogers’ long range effort looked destined for the top corner but Toffees’ keeper Jordan Pickford was somehow able to claw the ball over the top of the crossbar, a world class save proving once again why he is England’s no.1. The full-time score finished 0-1, with Everton claiming a huge three points on the road, taking them into 10th on the table with 32 points. Villa drop points in the title race as they remain 3rd on 43 points, missing out on the chance to overtake City and move into 2nd as they are now seven points away from Arsenal.

Monday the 19th of January

The final game in Matchweek 22, and sole game played on Monday night, saw Fabian Huzeler’s Brighton Hove & Albion host Andoni Iraola’s AFC Bournemouth at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League’s latest South Coast derby. Despite Brighton making a stronger start to the game than the Cherries, the travelling side took the lead after Marcus Tavernier drilled the ball across the Brighton penalty area in a wicked Bournemouth counter attacking move. Amine Adli then beat Brighton keeper Bart Verbuggen to the ball, sticking a leg out before eventually being brought down by the Dutch shot stopper. Tavernier, who had started the move, stepped up to take the penalty and dispatched it perfectly, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner. Bournemouth keeper Djordje Petrovic was having a brilliant game in goal, pulling off some amazing games to keep the score to just 0-1 at half-time.

The hosts came out much better in the 2nd period although their fans started to become frustrated that they could not convert with all their chances. Finally, in the 1st minute of stoppage time, Brighton equalised thanks to young striker Charalampos Kostoulas. Olivier Boscagli whipped the ball in from the right wing to the back post where Jan Paul van Hecke headed it back into the danger area. Kostoulas then flicked the ball up for himself before rifling it into the top corner with an out of this world over head kick, hands down the best goal of his career to win a point at the death for the Seagulls. The full-time score finished 1-1 with the draw a fair result for both sides. Brighton remain 12th on 30 points while Bournemouth remain 15th on 27 points.

Written By Ollie Wade