Kickoff chronicles

Brighton Hove & Albion vs AFC Bournemouth

The opening game of Matchweek 27 on Tuesday night saw Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton host Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth at the Amex Stadium with both sides hoping to pick up some points in the race for European football. The opening 10 minutes saw both sides share chances, with Ryan Christie having his effort saved by Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen before Kaoru Mitoma placed his effort just wide for Brighton. The hosts then found a glorious opportunity to strike ahead after Joao Pedro won the Seagulls a penalty, being brought down by Cherries’ keeper Kepa, as he was through on goal. Winning the spot kick, Pedro then stepped up to take it, smashing the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0. Minutes before the interval, Brighton came inches away from making it two after Mitoma saw his acrobatic volley agonisingly rattle the woodwork and fire out of danger. The half time score finished 1-0 but Bournemouth were still in the fixture.

The travelling fans were finally given something to cheer about in the 61st minute after their top scorer, Justin Kluivert, scored what you might call a ‘wonder goal’. The Dutchman received the ball down the left wing from Milos Kerkez where he looked to drive at Brighton full back Tariq Lamptey. Kluivert cut into a more central position just outside the penalty area where he cracked a shot, watching as his effort flew over Verbruggen and dipped into the top right corner, his 12th of the season. Bournemouth then started to play with a bit of fire in their bellies, with Dango Ouattara having his effort from close range brilliantly kept out by Verbruggen. After soaking up Bournemouth’s 2nd half pressure, Brighton then restored their lead in the 75th minute. Georginio Rutter threaded the ball beautifully to Danny Welbeck where the veteran centre forward just about scraped a shot away before he lost his footing. Welbeck was then able to get back onto his feet and celebrate with the home crowd as his effort just crept into the far bottom corner. The Seagulls held out for the remaining minutes to seal a 2-1 win at home against a solid Bournemouth side. Bournemouth remain 6th on the table with 43 points while Brighton rise to 8th, also on 43 points.

Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa

The following fixture of Matchweek 27 saw Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace host Unai Emery’s Aston Villa at Selhurst Park. After an expected close start to the tie, Villa thought they’d snatched the lead in the 26th minute after Jacob Ramsey thrashed the ball through the legs of Dean Henderson. He then glanced over to his right and was met by the assistant’s flag as he was well and truly offside when Ollie Watkins played the ball through. The Eagles then found the opener 3 minutes later when Ismaila Sarr netted his 5th of the season. Adam Wharton recycled a cleared cross when whipping the ball over to the back post. American centre half Chris Richards then made a solid connection with the ball, heading it powerfully at Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez. The Argentine was only able to parry it into the feet of Sarr who was left with the easy take of tapping the ball over the line from a yard out. Just before the break, Villa progressed to score yet another illegal goal, Watkins chasing a long ball down before squaring it to Morgan Rogers who scored, only for Watkins to be quite clearly in front of the last Palace defender. The score at the interval stood at 1-0 with Emery fuming his side had not registered anything meaningful on the score sheet as yet.

Seven minutes into the 2nd period, Villa finally found a deserved goal, with Watkins combining with Rogers again. The travelling side went back to a more traditional method of ‘route 1 football’ with substitute goalkeeper Robin Olsen playing a long ball from his own penalty area into the Palace danger zone. Watkins made first contact with the goal kick, flicking the ball onto Rogers who was in on goal. Rogers brushed off the challenge from Richards before expertly smashing the ball into the bottom right corner on the spin. This was a real wake up call for the hosts as they went on to restore their lead just 7 minutes later. Wharton was yet again involved, playing a brilliant killer pass into the penalty area to find Ebereci Eze. Eze was most certainly fouled by Axel Disasi but it didn’t matter as Jean-Philippe Mateta was able to pick up the ball inside the penalty area before thrashing it into the left of Olsen’s net, a classic Mateta goal as he went onto bag his 12th of the season. The Eagles then all but wrapped up the 3 points 12 minutes later when Sarr was able to complete his brace. Daniel Munoz crossed the ball in from the right wing where his delivery was met by a technically beautiful volley from Sarr, perfectly guiding the ball past Olsen and into the bottom left corner. The icing was applied to the cake in the 1st minute of stoppage time for Palace, with substitute Eddie Nketiah finally bagging his first goal for the Eagles after 17 plus hours of Premier League football (October 2023). The energetic Palace full back, Tyrick Mitchell, made a tireless run down the left wing before drilling the ball across the 6-yard area. Nketiah then tapped the ball home from a yard out, a simple but much needed goal to hopefully kick start the young man’s Palace career. The full time score finished 4-1, with Palace picking up a huge 3 points which saw them tighten their gap on the top half of the table (12th on 36 points). Villa take a big hit to their goal difference as they drop to 10th on the table on 42 points, although they are only 2 points away from the top 4, proving how close it will be in the race for Champions League football in 25/26.

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Fulham

The next game of Matchweek 27 saw Vitor Pereira’s Wolves host Marco Silva’s Fulham at the Molineux Stadium, with both sides enjoying a short run of form. The Cottagers got off to an electric start, scoring inside 60 seconds. Andreas Pereira made a lunging challenge to poke the ball through to left back Ryan Sessesgon, exposing the Wolves back five. Sessegnon was through on goal and brilliantly finished the ball into the bottom right corner, scoring his first goal in 2 seasons. After conceding so early in the tie, Wolves showed great spirit to level the game in the 18th minute. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde fired in the ball from the left wing where Nelson Semedo delicately backheeled the ball into the path of Joao Gomes. Gomes then made no mistake with his finish, smashing the ball into the top right corner. The rest of the half was closely contested as reflected by the 1-1 scoreline at halftime, with the final result impossible to predict.

Yet again, Fulham made a very quick start to the 2nd half when scoring on the 1 minute mark again. Adama Traore played a brilliant killer pass into the path of Rodrigo Muniz who only needed one lethal touch, lifting the ball over Wolves keeper Jose Sa with a very delicate chip from outside the penalty area. Wolves dominated the majority of the 2nd half, but unlike the 1st, they were unable to find the back of the Fulham net. Fulham successfully saw out the remaining minutes to win 1-2 and snatch a crucial 3 points on the road to a tricky Wolves side. The Cottagers move into 9th on the table on 42 points, 2 points away from the top 4. Wolves still sit 17th in the league, but they are 5 points clear of the relegation zone.

Chelsea vs Southampton

The final game of Matchweek 27 to be played on Tuesday night saw Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea host Ivan Juric’s Southampton at Stamford Bridge in what was a must win game for both sides. After a rare positive start to the game for the travelling Saints, all their hard work was completely diminished when Christopher Nkunku scored in the 24th minute. Pedro Neto crossed in Chelsea’s latest corner which was smartly flicked over to the back post by Tosin Adarabioyo. Nkunku was then unmarked and open to bundle the ball over the line at the far post. After both sides had just missed chances to score and change the game, Chelsea found a real nerve settler in the 36th minute when Pedro Neto scored his 3rd of the season. Nkunku turned scorer to provider, laying the ball off to Pedro in the left side of the penalty area where the Portuguese winger thrashed the ball in at the near post leaving Aaron Ramsdale with no chance of keeping it out. The Blues then all but wrapped up the 3 points before halftime when centre half Levi Colwill got in on the action. Only 8 minutes after he had scored himself, Neto crossed a dangerous ball into the penalty area from a free kick. Colwill then got up brilliantly to guide the ball past Ramsdale and into the top left corner. The half time score stood at 3-0, with there no way back into the tie for rock bottom Southampton.

With the damage already done after Chelsea’s brilliant first half performance, Chelsea decided to give appearances and debuts to many of their young academy talents. One in particular, Tyrique George, shone under the Stamford Bridge lights, providing a brilliant assist for Marc Cucurella in the 78th minute for Chelsea’s 4th. The 19-year-old received the ball down the right wing from Malo Gusto where he took the ball to the goal line before very intelligently cutting the ball back to the penalty spot where Cucurella was placed. The Spaniard took a composed first touch before perfectly slotting the ball into the bottom right corner. The full time score finished 4-0 with Chelsea putting in a dominant performance which saw them climb into 7th on the table, 1 point away from the top 4. Southampton put in yet another terrible performance as the worst ever team in the Premier League remain 20th on 9 points.

Brentford vs Everton

The next game of Matchweek 27 played on Wednesday night saw Thomas Frank’s Brentford host David Moyes’ Everton at the Gtech Stadium. Brentford made a more positive start to the game, but after 20 minutes, Everton started to find their way into the tie. Beto, who was looking to score in his 5th consecutive game, missed two huge 1-on-1 chances with Mark Flekken in the 1st half, with the Dutch keeper forced into making two brilliant stops. All of Everton’s efforts in the opening 45 minutes were then cancelled out after Brentford notched a goal in first half stoppages. A long throw into the penalty area from Kevin Schade caused confusion in the Everton box as the ball bounced into the path of Bryan Mbeumo who saw his headed effort rattle off the upright. Fortunately for the hosts, Yoane Wissa leaped over Toffee’s keeper Jordan Pickford to head the ball in from a yard out. The half time score finished 1-0 with Brentford hoping to deal David Moyes just his 2nd loss since retaking charge of Everton.

Everton came out for the 2nd half looking to be much more clinical after wasting multiple chances in the 1st period, coming so close in the opening minute after Jack Harrison’s inswinging corner delivery was cleared off the line by Schade. After soaking up all of Everton’s 2nd half pressure, the hosts then thought they’d doubled their advantage after Keane Lewis-Potter played the ball to Wissa in the Everton area. Wissa then smashed the ball into the back of the net as Pickford had come to claim the ball from Lewis-Potter, but as Wissa was in front of Pickford, he was therefore offside. Everton then finally found the back of the net in the 77th minute after 6” 6’ centre half, Jake O’Brien, scored his first goal for the club. Vitalii Mykolenko whipped in the ball from the left wing where the Irishman dove down low to head the ball past the so far unbeatable Flekken. With just 2 minutes to play, the inform Beto was given one last 1v1 chance against Flekken to win the game for the travelling side. As he cut in from the left wing, the striker attempted to curl the ball into the top right corner. Unfortunately for him, Flekken pulled out yet another wonder save, stretching out his left arm to deny Beto for the 3rd time on the night. The full time score finished 1-1 with a point each a fair result. Brentford remain 11th on the table with 38 points while Everton extend their unbeaten run to 7 games as they sit 15th with 32 points.

Manchester United vs Ipswich Town

The following game of Matchweek 27 saw Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United host Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town at Old Trafford. The opening 4 minutes of the tie pretty much summed up Manchester United’s season as they conceded to a horror error early on. Jacob Greaves launched the ball over the United defence hoping to find the run of Jaden Philogene down the right wing but United’s new signing, Patrick Dorgu, had a big head start. Dorgu and goalkeeper Andre Onana then made a terrible communication mistake, with Onana wanting Dorgu to leave the ball so he could claim in but Dorgu rolling the ball under the keeper. Philogene was then able to run past them both and tap the ball into an empty net. In the 22nd minute, United were able to level the game thanks to a very fortunate goal. Bruno Fernandes whipped the ball in from the left wing with their latest free kick where Ipswich captain Sam Morsey was unlucky in heading the ball past his own keeper, Alex Palmer. The Red Devils then completely flipped the game on its head, scoring just 4 minutes later to restore their lead. It was yet another scrappy goal from a set piece, Fernandes crossing the ball in from a corner where the ball was not properly cleared by Ipswich. Diogo Dalot then fired a shot at Palmer which the English keeper was able to parry across the goal line but unable to keep United centre half Matthijs de Ligt from smashing the ball in from a yard out. After making such a positive comeback from Dorgu’s early error, the Danish full back then made it even harder for his team to hold onto their delicate lead after he was sent off for a horrific tackle on Ipswich’s Omari Hutchinson. Down to 10 men with seconds to play in the 1st half, United conceded again. Fresh off scoring his first Premier League goal just 40 minutes ago, Philogene crossed the ball into the penalty area, hoping to find the feet of star striker Liam Delap. In the end, the ball didn’t even need a touch from Delap as the low and hard driven cross curled all the way into the bottom left corner. The score at the break stood at 2-2 with Ipswich left with a very valuable one man advantage.

Manchester United got off to the best possible start in the 2nd period, scoring in the opening 2 minutes from a 3rd set piece. Fernandes whipped the ball in from the right flag this time where Harry Maguire was able to head the ball past Palmer. Ipswich dominated the ball in the 2nd half but to the frustration of the away end, they were unable to create any real chances. The full time score finished 3-2, with Amorim’s 10 man United putting in a real shift to gain a crucial 3 points. United jump up to 14th on the table while Ipswich remain 18th, 5 points away from safety with time running out if they want to stay in England’s top flight.

Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal

The next game of Matchweek 27 saw Nuno Espirito’s 3rd place Nottingham Forest host Mikel Arteta’s 2nd place Arsenal in what was a huge game at the City Ground. After Arsenal had lost 0-1 at home to West Ham United on the weekend just gone, they needed a big result in Nottingham if they were to have any chance of challenging for the title. They almost made the perfect start inside 25 minutes after Italian fullback, Riccardo Calafiori, turned Nicolas Dominguez to progress into the penalty area. Calafiori then attempted to whip the ball into the far right corner, only for his effort to hit the inside of the post and somehow not into the back of the net. The remaining minutes of the 1st half was fairly actionless, with both sides failing to create any big chances. The score remained 0-0 at the interval.

Arsenal had a few chances early on in the 2nd half through set pieces, but it seemed that was their only real way of breaking down the Forest defence, with the Gunners lacking any creativity. Forest then had a huge chance to take the lead in the 70th minute after they hit Arsenal on the counter attack. Morgan Gibbs-White played a long ball over to Chris Wood, completely splitting the Arsenal centre halves. It was a hard ball to control and Wood took an unusual sloppy touch inside the penalty area which allowed William Saliba to recover and tackle the ball off the Kiwi to prevent a certain goal. Minutes before the full time whistle, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard had two monumental chances to win the game for the Gunners. Oleksandr Zincheko was very unselfish in the penalty area when cutting the ball back for Odegaard who had a fairly open target to aim at. His initial effort was spectacularly blocked by Murillo before his 2nd effort was brilliantly saved by Matz Sels. That was the last chance of the game as the full time score finished 0-0. Arsenal yet again fail to score and drop points, with lack of creativity their main problem as they remain 2nd, 13 points behind Liverpool with the title race all but mathematically over. Forest continue their very positive campaign with a solid point at home as they remain 3rd on 48 points.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City

The following game of Matchweek 27 saw Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur host Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what has been the most entertaining fixture over the recent years. After a tough loss at home to Liverpool last week, with Erling Haaland out injured for that game, the Citizens took the lead inside 12 minutes. Jeremy Doku, who is so often criticised for his final pass, made a brilliant run down the left wing before brilliantly slicing the Tottenham defence open when finding the feet of the returning Haaland. The big striker was then left with the easy task of passing the ball into the bottom left corner to score his 20th goal of the season. City dominated the rest of the half, with Doku the standout performer, coming so close to scoring a wonder effort himself in the 20th minute after his long range effort was tipped wide by Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario. Doku then created another huge chance for City, making his trademark run down the left wing before he crossed the ball over to the back post where his fellow winger, Savinho, was unmarked. The Brazilian then blew the chance to give City a two goal cushion, smashing the ball over the upright. The score at the interval stood at 0-1, with Tottenham offering up nothing to their share of the 60,000 plus fans in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

Spurs came out the blocks much better for the 2nd period, with Wilson Odobert blasting his effort over the bar from just a couple of yards out. Later on, Son Heung-Min then had his shot destined for the bottom right corner brilliantly palmed away by City keeper Ederson. As it so often does, the ending of the tie was filled with drama after City thought they’d won the game in the 3rd minute of stoppage time. Haaland received the ball inside the penalty area from Phil Foden where he controlled it down before placing the ball past Vicario and into the bottom left corner. VAR then took a long while to rule the goal out, although they made the correct decision as Haaland clearly controlled the ball with the aid of his hand. With just seconds to play in the fixture, Tottenham created one last big chance. Pedro Porro received the ball down the right wing from Dejan Kulusevski where he whipped it into the penalty area. Son made the first contact with the cross, heading the ball over to the back post where Pape Sarr was unmarked. Maybe the young midfielder wasn’t expecting the header from Son but his effort was woeful, blasting the ball over the crossbar with a horrible header. That was the final action of the game as City came out 0-1 victors to see them climb back into the top 4 after Chelsea had overtaken them after their win versus Southampton. Tottenham will feel they were unlucky not to get a point as they remain 13th on the table with 33 points.

Liverpool vs Newcastle United

The final game of Matchweek 27 played on Wednesday night saw Arne Slot’s Liverpool host Eddie Howe’s Newcastle at Anfield. Despite dropping points against Newcastle the last time they played (playing out a thrilling 3-3 draw) it was hard to see Liverpool losing points at home given their recent form. Fresh off scoring at the Etihad last matchweek, Dominik Szoboszlai netted in the 11th minute to give the Reds an early lead. Newcastle then surprisingly created some big chances in the back end of the half, clearly missing star striker Alexander Isak who was out with a recent injury . Filling in for him was Callum Wilson who blew two huge 1v1 chances against Liverpool keeper Alisson, putting them both shockingly wide. The half time score finished 1-0 with Howe left fuming that Wilson was unable to convert either of his opportunities.

Liverpool then scored an all crucial 2nd goal in the 63rd minute after Alexis Mac Allister intercepted a poor pass from Sandro Tonali inside his own half. The Argentinian ate up the Anfield turf, driving up the pitch and into the Newcastle penalty area before he laid it off to Mohamed Salah down the right wing. The Egyptian then claimed his 42nd goal involvement of the season when he attempted to dribble past the Newcastle defence before poking the ball back to Mac Allister who fired the ball into the top left corner. Liverpool thought they’d scored a 3rd in the last minute of the game after Cody Gakpo prodded the ball in from a yard out but it was ruled out almost instantly as Ibrahima Konate had quite clearly headed the ball out of the hands of Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope. The full time score finished 2-0, with Liverpool keeping their 13th clean sheet of the season as they remain 1st, 13 points clear of 2nd placed Arsenal. Newcastle won’t be too bothered by their loss, due to missing main man Isak to a last minute injury, as they remain in a very positive position of 6th in the league.

West Ham United vs Leicester City

The final game of Matchweek 27 saw West Ham United host Leicester City at the London Stadium on Thursday night. After a fairly slow start to the game for the hosts, who were expected to attack at Leicester quite quickly, they finally found the lead in the 20th minute. West Ham legend Aaron Cresswell received the ball just outside the penalty area where he fired it right into the danger zone in the Leicester 6-yard box. Mohammed Kudus made first contact with the ball, where his effort was brilliantly kept out by Mads Hermansen. Unfortunately for the Danish keeper, he had no defence in sight to stop Tomas Soucek from tapping in the rebound and treating himself to a 30th birthday present. West Ham dominated the half, but it was more because Leicester were so sluggish and were lacking any real energy which made the Hammers look good. They found the all important 2nd goal right before the break after James Ward-Prowse whipped in one of his signature corners. The ball very fortunately dropped to skipper Jarrod Bowen at the front post where he was able to dance his way around Jamie Vardy before firing a shot. His effort caught a big deflection of Leicester centre half Jannik Vestergaard before bobbling into the back of Hermansen’s net. The score at half time stood at 2-0 with Leicester needing a huge change in the 2nd half if they were to come away from the capital with anything.

The 2nd period was fairley actionless and boring considering the usual Premier League drama. West Ham had already done the damage on Leicester and were more focused on resting legs while Leicester had no desire or fire in their bellies at all. West Ham did miss a huge chance to make it three in the 80th minute after Bowen picked the ball up from just outside his own penalty area. Bowen drove all the way to the Leicester 18-yard box, with Carlos Soler to his right and new loan signing Evan Ferguson to his left. Bowen opted to play in Ferguson whose first touch let him down before his late effort was brilliantly blocked by Leicester defender Vestergaard. After that, the full time whistle was blown with West Ham picking up a much needed 2-0 win, the first time they had registered back to back Premier League wins in over a year. The Hammers move into 15th on the table, level on points with 13th placed Spurs on 33. Leicester make it 4 games in a row where they have failed to score, conceding 12 in that run as well, as they now look destined for relegation sitting 19th on a measly 17 points.

Written by Ollie Wade