Kickoff chronicles

Newcastle United vs West Ham United

The 30th week of the Premier League kicked off in Northern England with Newcastle hosting West Ham United at St. James’ Park. Newcastle opened the scoring inside 5 minutes when Vladimir Coufal fouled Anthony Gordon inside the away side’s penalty area. Alexander Isak stepped up to take it and buried it into the bottom left corner, sending the Magpies into the lead. West Ham hit back 15 minutes later when the creative vision from Lucas Paqueta saw him chip a ball over the Newcastle defence and through to Michail Antonio. The Jamaican international took a touch and smashed it past Newcastle keeper Martin Dubravka to level the tie. The rest of the half was quiet until the 9th minute of stoppage time when West Ham formed an attack. Lucas Paqueta played a quick free kick down the right wing to Jarrod Bowen. The English international laid it off to Mohammed Kudus whose side-footed curling finish flew past Dubrabka and found the top left. That was the last attack of the action-packed first 45 minutes as West Ham went into the break 1-2 up. The Hammers doubled their advantage when they went up 1-3 within 2 minutes of second period. The blistering pace of Kudus down the left wing left Newcastle vulnerable when he crossed a ball into the middle of the park with no one marking Bowen. West Ham’s top scorer dribbed into the area and placed it into the bottom corner, making it 1-3. After that goal, 2 crucial substitutions were made. Kalvin Phillips came on for West Ham and Harvey Barnes for Newcastle. Straight away Phillips gave away a penalty, fouling Gordon inside the area. Once again Isak stepped up and scored to reduce the deficit for the hosts. Then in the 83nd minute, Isak played a beautiful defence splitting ball through to Barnes who was left one on one with West Ham goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianski. He took a couple of touches and threaded it through the legs of the Polish keeper, levelling the tie. Barnes was to be the crucial player in this tie when he scored a quite brilliant goal. Gordon played the ball to him just outside the area where he struck it perfectly, watching the ball curl into the far corner and winning the game for the Magpies. Things ended sourly for the home side as Gordon ruined his stellar performance by being sent off after the referee showed him a second yellow for time wasting. The game finished 4-3 with this result proving once again why the Premier League is the most entertaining in the world. It takes Newcastle just 1 point behind West Ham in the table but with a game in hand. West Ham stay 7th and Newcastle 8th.

Bournemouth vs Everton

The second game of the match week took us down to the South Coast with Bournemouth hosting Everton at the Vitality Stadium. The first half was entertaining but goalless. Both teams went to the break with a clean sheet but Bournemouth looked much more likely to score an opener. The Cherries found that goal early on in the second half when Lloyd Kelly whipped a lovely ball into the Everton box. Waiting was Dominic Solanke who jumped high to head the ball past Toffees keeper Jordan Pickford. The next 20 minutes were quiet but Everton eventually found an equaliser. Cherries keeper Neto came out to claim a high ball but fumbled it and Everton striker Beto tapped the rebound into an uncontested net. Bournemouth did find a winner 4 minutes later but it was really put down to the poor defending by Everton rather than the smart attacking from the home side. A ball that was crossed into the area was tapped into the Everton net when away side skipper Seamus Coleman tried to chest the ball to Pickford who was nowhere near his pass. It was a terrible ending to the game for Everton who dropped a point but a lucky 3 points picked up for the Cherries. This result leaves Everton in 16th and Bournemouth in 13th.

Chelsea vs Burnley

The third game of the weekend was played at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea hosting Burnley. Chelsea had an early goal ruled out for handball when Axel Disasi found himself unmarked at the back post but he was unable to pull his arm away and it was chalked off. Burnley found themselves in a spot of bother when Lorenz Assignon was shown a second yellow for pulling down Mykhailo Mudryk inside the area. Meanwhile Clarets manager Vincent Kompany also saw red for arguing with officials and was banished to the stands for the rest of the game. Cole Palmer cooley dispatched the penalty, chipping the ball down the middle of the goal, sending the blues into a 1-0 lead. The half ended 1-0 with 10 men Burnley left with a mountain to climb in the second period. The travelling side found a brilliant equaliser early on in the second half when Josh Cullen scored a spectacular volley. He played a 1-2 with Josh Brownhill outside the area and hit the ball perfectly, watching it spin into the side netting. Half an hour later, the Blues reasserted their dominance. Marc Cucurella played a pass into Raheem Sterling who backheeled it into the area for Palmer to run onto. The Englishman took a touch and buried his finish into the corner making it 2-1 to the hosts. To the shock of the home support, 10 man Burnley equalised once again. Dara O’Shea headed in a Josh Cullen corner and watched his glancing effort glide through the palms of Chelsea keeper Petrovic. The game finished 2-2 with Burnley winning a fully deserved point on the road. This leaves Chelsea in 11th place and Burnley in 19th, 4 points away from safety.

Nottingham Forest vs Crystal Palace

The next game of the match week was played at the City Ground with Nottingham Forest hosting Crystal Palace. The visitors got off to an ideal start when Jefferson Lerma threaded a ball through to Eberechi Eze. Eze was off balance when he took his third touch and it fell away from him. It ended up looking purposeful as Jean Phillipe-Mateta buried Eze’s heavy touch into the back of the net, putting the Eagles ahead. Both teams shared chances in the next 35 minutes but neither could get a final crucial touch inside the opposition’s 18 yard box. The half ended 0-1 with Forest current status relegation after their points deduction a week ago. Forest found a leveller just 15 minutes into the second period. Morgan Gibbs-White chipped a ball into the area hoping striker Chris Wood could get on the end of it. He was running backwards and jumped to head it. He made connections and spun around, watching his brilliant header loop over Palace keeper Dean Henderson and equal the tie. The teams shared a few more chances but the game finished all square at 1-1. This result sees Forest rise out the relegation zone on goal difference and Palace stay in 14th.

Sheffield United vs Fulham

The 5th game of the weekend was played at Bramall Lane with Sheffield United hosting Fulham. The first half ended 0-0 but there were many more attacking chances to come in this game. The Blades found their first in the game when Oliver McBurnie played a spectacular trivela ball across the Fulham 6 yard box for Ben Brereton Diaz to tap in. They were not in the lead for long though as Fulham equalised 4 minutes later. Joao Paulinha was left unmarked at the front post and guided his header superbly into the far post from a Andreas Pereira corner. This see-saw of a game just kept entertaining when the hosts took a quick free kick. Ben Brereton received the ball deep inside the Fulham 6 yard box and cut it back to McBurnie who tapped the ball in to put the Blades in front. United then doubled their advantage 2 minutes later when Ben Brereton made it a brace when he headed in a cross from the left wing by Gustavo Hamer. The home side believed they had wrapped up the 3 points in the 82nd minute when McBurnie tapped the ball into the net after a scrappy corner. It was checked by VAR as two Sheffield United players who were involved in the goal were offside so it was brought back to 3-1. Fulham clawed their way back into the game in the 86th minute when 2nd half sub Bobby De Cordova Reid who had only been on the pitch for a matter of seconds, struck the ball from outside the area and watched it nestle into the bottom left corner. Fulham rallied and fought hard and found their 2nd equaliser. Adama Traore had the ball on the right side of the United area and crossed it in. Inside the box was inform Rodrigo Muniz who somehow jumped and watched his sideway bicycle kick find the back of the net. It was an amazing end to an exhilarating game. Sheffield United drop 2 points and stay 20th while Fulham stay in 12th.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Luton Town

The next game in match week 30 was played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Spurs hosting Luton Town. Luton opened the scoring inside 3 minutes when Andros Townsend passed the ball into Ross Barkley who was inside the penalty area. Barkley took a touch and played it across to Tahith Chong. Chong was left unmarked and had all the time in the world to smash the ball into the bottom right corner. Spurs dominated the rest of the half but failed to score, coming close multiple times. The half ended 0-1 but Tottenham knew they were only behind by one and were creating the opportunities to potentially level the game at some point. Brennan Johnson was the man to inspire a Tottenham comeback when his pass across the Luton 6 yard box was smashed into his own net by Luton centre back Issa Kabore. It took them 35 more minutes but Spurs eventually found a winner. The tricky feet of Timo Werner dribbled down the left wing. The German international crossed it into the box for Johnson to control for Son Heung-Min. The South Korean ran into it and smashed it home, picking up a crucial 3 more points for Tottenham as they fight for Champions League football. It finished 2-1 meaning Luton dropped to 18th after Forest drew with Palace. Tottenham stay in 5th but are only 3 points behind Villa in 4th with a game to play as well.

Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

The next game played on Saturday was at Villa Park with Aston Villa hosting Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers. The hosts thought they had found the lead after just 10 minutes when Ollie Watkins’ strike was saved by Jose Sa but Douglas Luiz smashed in the rebound. However, the assistant referee raised his flag as Watkins was initially offside. Villa eventually found an opener in the 36th minute when Leon Bailey cut the ball back outside the area to Moussa Diaby who was unmarked. He ran onto it and whipped the ball with pace, watching it fly past Sa. The half ended 1-0 with the home side more threatening in the first 45. Aston Villa doubled their lead in the 65th minute when Diaby played it to Konsa who was deep into the Wolves penalty area. He lifted the ball up hoping to find the head of one of his teammates, but he accidentally scored himself, watching his chip lob over Sa and find the far post. Villa defended well and saw out a well deserved win over their biggest rivals. They hold onto their top 4 spot picking up 3 points but Wolves stay in 10th, missing out on a good opportunity to climb the table.

Brentford vs Manchester United

The final game played on Saturday was at the Gtech Stadium with Brentford hosting Manchester United. Brentford dominated the opening 45 minutes, hitting both the post and the upright, creating multiple opportunities and getting unlucky. The half ended 0-0 but Manchester United were not threatening the Brentford goal at all. The second half was exactly like the first with Brentford creating chance after chance, but not finding the final finishing touch. The home fans thought they had finally found an opener when Ivan Toney reached out to volley in Bryan Mbeumo’s cross but the linesman found him to be offside. Finally in the 6th minute of stoppage time, an opener was scored but to the shock of the home support, United were the culprits. Casemiro passed it into the box for Mason Mount to receive and finish, scoring his first goal for Manchester United in the process. There was more to come in this game though as the Bees found a leveller in the 9th minute of stoppage time. A ball was crossed into the box for Toney to control and dribble with. He cut it back into the middle where Kristoffer Ajer smashed the ball home. It finished level at 1-1 but Brentford probably deserved more, cracking a grand total of 31 shots at United’s goal. This leaves the away side in 7th and Brentford in 15th.

Liverpool vs Brighton

The first game played on Sunday was played at Anfield with Brighton making the trip up to take on Liverpool. The Seagulls made a perfect start to the match when Danny Welbeck opened the scoring inside 2 minutes. His first effort was blocked but he made sure of the second, thrashing his shot into the top right. Liverpool found an equaliser 25 minutes later through their Colombian winger, Luis Diaz. Diaz was released deep into the Brighton area when Mohamed Salah looped a headed into the box for Diaz to lunge in and volley the ball into the top left corner. The half ended 1-1 with Liverpool needing to find a winner if they want to keep their title dreams alive. The Reds came out strong in the second half, creating lots of chances. They finally made one count in the 65th minute when Alexis Mac Allister played a smart reverse ball into the Brighton area to Salah. The pass had the Brighton defenders nowhere to be seen and Salah had all the time he needed to slot away his 16th goal of the Premier League season. Diaz thought he had wrapped it up 6 minutes later when he buried Salah’s brilliant pass along the Brighton box but VAR later found him to be offside by millimetres. Liverpool saw out the win, picking up a huge 3 points and taking them to the top of the table. Brighton missed out on an opportunity to pick up some points in their hunt for European football leaving them in 9th.

Manchester City vs Arsenal

The last game of the match week was the most anticipated one, Manchester City vs Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. It was fair to say that Arsenal dominated the first 45 with the Gunners creating many chances but none that their main man, Gabriel Jesus could dispatch. The half ended 0-0 with the game still in the balance. City came out stronger in the second period but they too couldn’t find the back of the net. Arsenal had a chance to pinch it right at the death when Martin Odegard released Leandro Trossard down the left wing. Trossard should have maybe played it across the goal to Gabriel Martinelli who was unmarked at the back post but the Belgian chose to shoot and his effort was easily saved by City keeper Stefan Ortega. The points were shared at the end, with the 0-0 result leaving Arsenal in 2nd and Man.City in 3rd but only 4 points separating 1st Liverpool and 3rd Man.City.

Written by Ollie Wade- About Me