Kickoff chronicles

Manchester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

The opening fixture of Matchweek 35 saw Pep Guardiola’s in-form Manchester City host Vitor Pereira’s Wolves, who are on a 6-game winning streak, at the Etihad Stadium. Wolves were the much better side in the opening minutes, with Marshall Munetsi coming inches away from scoring after failing to get on the end of Jean-Ricer Bellegarde’s pass across goal. Wolves then had another huge string of chances, with Rayan Ait-Nouri’s first effort striking the woodwork before his follow up was cleared off the line by Josko Gvardiol. After the half hour mark, City finally woke up, scoring the opener in the 35th minute. Jermey Doku made a positive run down the left wing before progressing into the penalty area and poking the ball backwards to Kevin De Bruyne. De Bruyne then popped up with a captains contribution, smashing the ball into the bottom left corner. The half time score stood at 1-0 with City hoping to claim a 4th consecutive win.

Wolves came so close to equalising the game in the 56th minute after Matheus Cunha received the ball on the edge of the City penalty area. He then cracked a shot, with Ederson thanking his lucky stars that the Brazilian’s effort rattled the woodwork and not the back of his net. The rest of the half was actionless, with Wolves left wondering how they had failed to score across the 90 minutes. The full time score finished 1-0 thanks to De Bruyne’s contribution, the Belgian rolling back the years. Manchester City continue their brilliant form as they rise to 3rd, with their 25/26 Champions League qualification all but confirmed. Wolves’ winning streak comes to an end as they remain 13th, but with the 18 other teams yet to play.

Aston Villa vs Fulham

The first game of Matchweek 35 played on Saturday afternoon saw Unai Emery’s Aston Villa host Marco Silva’s Fulham at Villa Park. The hosts took an early advantage in the 12th minute after John McGinn’s corner was powerfully headed into the back of the Fulham net by Youri Tielemans. Moments before the interval, Tielemans came inches away from scoring a wonderful second goal after his strike from 25-yards just flew wide of the top right corner. The first half score finished 1-0, with Fulham putting out a disappointing performance in the opening 45 minutes.

Fulham came out quickly for the 2nd period and thought they’d scored just five minutes in. Alex Iwobi’s cross from the right wing deflected its way into the path of Ryan Sessegnon outside the penalty area. Sessegnon controlled the ball with his chest before smashing the ball into the bottom right corner. Unfortunately for the Cottagers, VAR ruled out Sessegnon’s goal as the ball struck his arm. Both sides then shared chances in the next 15 minutes, with Harry Wilson seeing his effort saved by Emiliano Martinez after Alex Iwobi’s wonder pass before Ollie Watkins saw his low driven shot saved by Fulham’s Bernd Leno. Donyell Malen was then subbed on in the 71st minute and had two big chances to wrap up the game for the hosts. His first effort in the 79th minute was tipped away by Leno before his effort in stoppage time rattled the crossbar. The full-time score finished 1-0, with Villa snatching a huge three points in the race for Champions League. Emery’s men remain 7th on the table but make it 60 points for the season. Fulham continue their inconsistent win/lose streak as they drop to 9th with 51 points.

Everton vs Ipswich Town

The following fixture in Matchweek 35 saw David Moyes’ Everton host Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town at Goodison Park. The Toffees made a much better start to the game than Ipswich, scoring an expected opener in the 26th minute. Carlos Alcarez whipped the ball in from the left wing where striker Beto met the Argentine’s cross with a powerful header into the bottom corner. Everton then made it 2-0 in quick succession after Dwight McNeil scored his 4th of the season in spectacular fashion. The Englishman picked the ball up from Nathan Patterson down the right wing where he immediately shaped to shoot. McNeil hit it in a knuckleball fashion, making his rocket of a strike impossible to save for Ipswich keeper Alex Palmer. Moments before the interval, the Tractor Boys reduced the deficit after Brighton loanee Julio Enciso produced one of the goals of the season. The Pariaguan picked the ball up at the half way line where he danced through the Everton midfield before looking up at Jordan Pickford’s goal. He then struck the ball from 30 yards out, watching as it flew through the Goodison Park air before beautifully nestling into the top right corner. The score at half-time stood at 2-1, with Enciso’s wonder strike giving the travelling side hope.

Ipswich top scorer, Liam Delap, came close to setting up Enciso with his 2nd of the game after he made a relentless run down the left wing. He powered his way into the penalty area before squaring it to Enciso who saw his effort comfortably saved by Pickford. The Tractor Boys then scored a deserved leveller in the 79th minute after George Hurst scored his 3rd of the season. It was a controversial goal, with Patterson going down with a ‘head injury’ for Everton in the build up. The Tractor Boys continued to play the ball up the pitch despite the boos from the Everton crowd, with Omari Hutchinson eventually crossing the ball in from the right wing where Hurst jumped up to head the ball past Pickford. That was the final major intervention of the tie as the points were shared at Goodison with a 2-2 draw. Moyes’ side drew their 15th game of the season as they rise to 14th on the table. Ipswich continue to show fighting spirit despite their already confirmed relegation as McKenna’s side remain 18th with 22 points. 

Leicester City vs Southampton

The next game of Matchweek 35 saw Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester host Simon Rusk’s Southampton at the King Power Stadium in a fixture that had both teams playing for pride alone. The Foxes finally scored their first goal at home since mid-December in the 15th minute, ending a ridiculously long goal drought. Bilal El Khannouss made a brilliant run down the left wing where he squared the ball to Leicester captain and legend, Jamie Vardy, who smashed the ball into the top left corner to score his 199th goal for Leicester; three games for him to aim for 200. Leicester were the much better side in the first half and found a deserved 2nd goal moments before the interval. Jordan Ayew stood over Leicester’s latest free kick which he drove into the wall, a disappointing effort. The ball then fired back to the Ghanaian, with his 2nd time effort much better, smashing the ball into the bottom left corner. The half time score stood at 2-0 with Leicester eyeing up their first win since January. 

Moments after El Khannouss fired his solo effort over the bar to make it 3-0, Mateus Fernandes thought he’d halved the deficit for the Saints. Kamaldeen Sulemana whipped the ball in from the left wing where Paul Onuachu saw his header saved by Jakub Stolarczyk before Fernandes tapped the ball into an uncontested net. Unfortunately for the travelling side, Fernandes was offside. The offside goal was a real wake up call for Leicester who fired back into action. They missed multiple chances to make it three before the full time whistle but even though they failed to score in the 2nd half, it was a much needed result for the club. The full time score finished 2-0, and despite both sides’ relegation already confirmed, Leicester fans will have still enjoyed watching their club win in a convincing manner. Leicester remain 19th on 21 points while Southampton sit rock bottom on 11, still yet to overtake Derby County’s worst ever point tally in 2007/08.

Arsenal vs AFC Bournemouth

The final game played on Saturday afternoon saw Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal host Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium. Both sides shared missed chances in the opening half an hour, with Declan Rice scraping his effort narrowly wide of the post for Arsenal while Evanilson saw his powerful header soar over the bar for Bournemouth. Right on the 30 minute mark, Leandro Trossard saw his header from Gabriel Martinelli’s brilliant cross saved on the line by Cherries keeper, Kepa, with Arsenal coming closer and closer to finding their desired opening goal. They finally made the breakthrough in the 34th minute after captain Martin Odegaard picked the ball up in the midfield and made a brilliant turn to create space outside the Bournemouth penalty area. He then played a perfect through ball into the path of Rice who took a touch around Kepa before smashing the ball into an uncontested net. The score at the interval stood at 1-0 with Arsenal hoping to hold onto just their 4th win in 10 games.

Arsenal had a few good chances to make it 2-0 in the opening minutes of the 2nd period, but in the 67th minute, Bournemouth silenced the Emirates with an unexpected equaliser. Antoine Semenyo, who had just been substituted on, conjured up a huge throw-in, launching the ball from the right wing all the way into the Arsenal 6-yard box. The ball landed perfectly onto the head of young centre half, Dean Huijsen, who placed the ball into the bottom left corner to add to his tally of scoring Premier League goals this season against big clubs (Tottenham, Manchester United and now Arsenal). The Cherries then completely flipped the script, scoring only eight minutes later off another set piece. The ball was whipped in from the left corner flag where Marcus Tavernier leapt up brilliantly to head the ball over to the back post. Evanilson was then in a real battle to beat Odegaard to the ball, which he won successfully, watching as the ball flicked off him and over the line. There was some controversy surrounding the goal, with VAR unable to find any conclusive evidence that the ball did strike Evanilson’s arm which is what the Arsenal players were protesting. That was the final action of the tie as Bournemouth came out 1-2 victors, their first ever points at the Emirates as they also competed a first league double over the Gunners. Iraola’s side move back into 8th on 53 points as they hope to retain that final European place. Arsenal drop points yet again and their 2nd place could now be in jeopardy as they are only three points clear of Manchester City in 3rd. It is fair to say that the Gunners attention is solely on their 2nd leg semi-final tie in the Champions League where they will travel to Paris, already 0-1 down after their home leg.

Brentford vs Manchester United

The first fixture played in Matchweek 35 on Sunday afternoon saw Thomas Frank’s Brentford host Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United at the Gtech Stadium. Manchester United made an electric start to the game, scoring inside 15 minutes after Alejandro Garnacho played a sharp one-two with academy talent Chido Obi. Garnacho then progressed down the left wing before crossing the ball into the Brentford penalty area, with Mason Mount left with the easy task of tapping the ball past Mark Flekken. Fortunately for the Bees fans, it only took them 13 minutes to respond, despite it being in a scrappy manner. Michael Kayode’s long throw-in was cleared back out to him where he headed the ball back into a dangerous area. Mikkel Damsgaard then got a shot away, watching as his effort deflected off the chest of Luke Shaw, making it almost impossible for keeper Altay Bayindir to keep out. Brentford then flipped the game on its head after Kayode and Christian Norgaard linked up well down the right wing. Norgaard crossed the ball in at the bi-line, with Kevin Schade easily heading the ball into the United net from the back post, the young Tyler Fredricson no match for the German. United were furious that Brentford had played on though, with centre half Matthijs De Ligt clearly going down injured and their players felt that he would have been able to clear the cross and prevent Schade from scoring if he was not injured. Norgaard then came so close to scoring Brentford’s 3rd just before the interval, with his header from Damsgaard’s free kick brilliantly saved by Bayindir. The half-time score stood at 2-1, with Brentford hoping to hold onto a huge win in their European aspirations.

After a fairly actionless opening 25 minutes in the 2nd period, Brentford scored their 3rd in the 70th minute, with Schade securing his brace. Schade yet again got the better of Fredricson at the back post, peeling off the young full back to head Bryan Mbeumo’s cross into the back of the United net. Brentford then sealed the three points in the 74th minute after Mbeumo found Damsgaard outside the United penalty area. Damsgaard then played an intelligent through ball to Kayode who had made a brilliant run around the defenders. The Italian, who had put in a solid shift today, was unselfish, opting not to score his first ever Premier League goal but square the ball to Yoane Wissa who was left with an easy tap in. The Red Devils then scored a consolation goal in the 82nd minute, with Garnacho scoring a deserved goal. He played a sharp one-two with Christian Eriksen outside the penalty area before firing the ball into the top right corner, a superb strike and most definitely the goal of the game. In the 5th minute of stoppage time, Manchester United then gave the Bees something to think about after Amad Diallo scored to make it 4-3. He received the ball down the right wing from Manuel Ugarte where he danced into the Brentford penalty area before firing the ball through the legs of Flekken and into the back of the net. Unfortunately for the travelling side, they rallied too late in the game as this classic Premier League encounter finished 4-3. Brentford claim a huge three points as they chase down Bournemouth for the final European spot. Frank’s side move into 9th on 52 points, one shy of the Cherries. United lose their 16th league game of the season, although their attention is also only focused on Europe as they play at home to Athletic Bilbao in the 2nd leg of their Europa League semi-final this Thursday. Amorim’s side sit 15th on 39 points.

Brighton Hove & Albion vs Newcastle United

The following game of Matchweek 35 saw Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton host Eddie Howe’s Newcastle at the Amex Stadium. Both sides had respective European ambitions of their own and Brighton were the much better side in the opening half an hour, scoring a deserved goal in the 28th minute. Yankuba Minteh received the ball from Mats Wieffer inside the Newcastle penalty area where he cut back onto his favoured left foot, dribbled through an array of Newcastle defenders, before smashing the ball into the top left corner, a brilliant way to score against his former employers. Newcastle failed to create any dangerous chances after Minteh’s goal, their best opportunity a long range strike from Bruno Guimaraes which was easily saved by Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen. The half time score stood at 1-0, with Brighton hoping to hold onto a win which would see them move into 8th on the table.

Newcastle were far better than Brighton in the 2nd half, creating chance after chance leaving Brighton constantly under pressure and on the back foot. Referee Craig Pawson actually awarded the Magpies two penalties in the space of 15 minutes after Anthony Gordon was said to be fouled by Tariq Lamtey and the same was said about Jan Paul van Hecke’s challenge on Joe Wilock. Fortunately for Brighton, both penalties were rightly overturned by VAR, with Gordon and Wilock clearly making the most of the minimal contact. Newcastle then finally found their desired equaliser in the last minute of the game after an interesting series of events. Fabian Schar’s rocket of a free kick struck the arm of Yasin Ayari which took the ball away from Verbruggen’s goal, but right into the flight of Callum Wilson. The veteran striker then powerfully headed the ball into the far left of the keeper’s net, where Verbruggen made one of the saves of the season to leap across his line to palm the ball away from danger, only for Pawson to bring the play back and award Newcastle a penalty for the Ayari handball. Alexander Isak stepped up to take the spot kick and expertly placed the ball into the bottom left corner, his 23rd of the season. Verbruggen was then able to save the day yet again for Brighton when Wilson’s powerful strike in the 5th minute of stoppage time was acrobatically parried over the crossbar by the Dutchman. The full time score finished 1-1, with Newcastle digging deep to claim a huge point away from home. Howe’s side drop to 4th on the table on 63 points, with their next game against Chelsea at home a huge one in their aspirations for Champions League football as they both sit on 63 points. Brighton drop to 10th on 52 points, level on points with Brentford in 9th and one point shy of Bournemouth in 8th.

West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur

The next game of Matchweek 35 saw a London derby, with Graham Potter’s West Ham hosting Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham at the London Stadium. Tottenham opened the scoring early on in the 14th minute after yet another pathetic West Ham error. Maximilian Kilman made a mess of his clearance down the left wing, gifting the ball to Mathys Tel who immediately played the ball across the West Ham penalty area. Richarlison then very smartly left the Frenchman’s pass, allowing the ball to roll through to Wilson Odobert who placed the ball past Alphonse Areola to score his 1st Premier League goal for Spurs. After another depressing start in the London Stadium, West Ham finally showed their 60,000+ home fans some gratification and respect and started looking dangerous in the Tottenham half. Arguably West Ham’s only two good players, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jarrod Bowen combined, with Wan-Bissaka threading the ball through to Bowen down the right side of the Tottenham penalty area where Bowen slotted the ball in between the legs of keeper Guglielmo Vicario, his 10th of the season. The half time score stood at 1-1, with everything to play for in the 2nd half.

To the shock of their fans, West Ham were the better side in the 2nd period, causing all sorts of problems for Tottenham. Around the hour mark, the Hammers missed two chances coming from Mohammed Kudus crosses from the left wing. The first came after Kudus played a deep cross over to the back post where Bowen controlled the ball before coming inches away from scoring a spectacular volley, his effort fizzing narrowly wide of the far post. Kudus’ next cross was then headed over the crossbar by Niclas Fullkrug, who did well to make contact with the ball. West Ham then had two more huge chances after James Ward-Prowse was substituted in at the 80th minute. His first intervention of the game saw him whip in a dangerous free kick from the left wing, which brought an acrobatic save from Vicario after Bowen bent down and flicked the ball backwards at goal. Then, in the final minute of the game, West Ham won a free kick. Ward-Prowse stood over the ball knowing he had the chance to equal David Beckham’s all time record of most free kicks scored in the Premier League (18) as well as win the game for West Ham. Unfortunately for the hosts, his effort flew agonisingly wide of the top left corner, striking the supporting post. The full time score finished 1-1 with West Ham extending their winless run. The Hammers remain 17th with 36 points while Tottenham sit one place above them in 16th on 37 points. It should be mentioned that Ange put out a much weaker side for the London Derby as he is fully focused on their 2nd leg semi-final tie in the Europa League away in Norway against Bodoe/Glimt where they will hope to protect their 3-1 advantage. This could provide Spurs with a backdoor into the Champions League next season if they can lift the trophy in June.

Chelsea vs Liverpool

The final game of Matchweek 35 played on Saturday afternoon saw Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea host Arne Slot’s champion Liverpool side at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool had already won the Premier League and Chelsea had a lot to play for in their Champions League qualification battle so it was expected that the hosts would be the better side in the opening minutes. They made a rapid start to the game, scoring inside three minutes. Pedro Neto made his usual electric burst down the right wing with the ball before cutting it back to the penalty spot. Captain Enzo Fernandez met the ball with a brilliant first touch, perfectly setting himself up to place the ball into the bottom right corner. Liverpool had some good patches in the first half but it was fair to say Chelsea were good for their lead as they went into half-time brandishing a 1-0 advantage.

After a solid first half performance, Chelsea doubled their advantage in the 56th minute after Cole Palmer made a brilliant run down the right wing before progressing into the penalty area. Palmer then crossed the ball in, watching as Noni Madueke’s effort was blocked on the line by Wataru Endo before Virgil van Dijk carelessly cleared the ball into his own teammate, Jarell Quansah, a rare error from the Liverpool skipper as the ball fired into the back of his own net. Chelsea then had a huge chance to put the game to bed in the 80th minute after Palmer’s shot from an almost impossible angle in the left side of the Liverpool penalty area rattled the inside of the post and fired back into play. Moments after Chelsea hit the woodwork to make it 3-0, Van Dijk made amends for his earlier error, heading home Alexis Mac Allister’s corner in the 85th minute to make it 2-1, giving Chelsea something to ponder. Fortunately for the Blues, they were given a glorious opportunity to wrap up all three points in the 6th minute of stoppage time after Quansah was yet again hung out to dry by his teammates. Dominik Szoboszlai played a sloppy pass across his penalty area for Mac Allister which the Argentine left for Quansah. The ball was weak, allowing Moises Caicedo to take a touch before he was inevitably fouled by Quansah, a clear penalty. Cole Palmer stepped up and buried the ball into the bottom left corner to end his goal drought, which started in mid January. The full time score finished 3-1, with Chelsea picking up a huge three points which sees them move into the final Champions League spot (5th) with 63 points. Liverpool obviously still remain 1st, with the away side not too fussed about the result as they continue to celebrate their 20th English league title.

Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest

The final game of Matchweek 35, played on Monday night, saw Oliver Glasner’s FA Cup final bound Crystal Palace host Nuno Espirito’s Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park. The game got off to a fairly slow and routine start but both sides had one big chance before the break. Palace’s came in the 35th minute after Tyrick Mitchell made a darting run down the left wing before crossing the ball into the Forest penalty area. Daniel Munoz met the cross with a first time volley, watching as Matz Sels (current leader of the Golden Glove) parried his effort away in hope to claim his 14th clean sheet of the season. Forest then had a huge opportunity in the 44th minute after Nicolas Dominguez played a perfect through ball to Chris Wood. Wood then played a nice first time pass across the penalty area to Anthony Elanga whose shot was brilliantly saved by Dean Henderson. The half time score remained 0-0, with Forest needing a big 2nd half performance to secure all three points if they were to keep their Champions League hopes alive.

Both sides had huge chances in the same passage of play five minutes after the restart. Ismaila Sarr saw his effort from close range smothered by Sels before Wood’s effort down the other end of the pitch was very fortunately deflected wide of the Palace goal by centre half Maxence Lacroix. Crystal Palace finally made the breakthrough on the hour mark after Mitchell brilliantly brought down a long ball into the penalty area from Sarr. Mitchell was then halted from tapping the ball into the net by Sels who quite clearly fouled him as he took his initial touch. After a quick VAR review, referee Andy Madley awarded the spot kick, with Eberechi Eze stepping up to take it despite missing one not long ago at St. James’ Park. This time, his effort was flawless, smashing the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0. It only took Forest four minutes to equalise though after a corner was deflected out to Nico Williams. Williams drilled the ball back at the Palace goal, only requiring a smart touch from centre back Murillo, whose important intervention saw the ball fly past Henderson. Palace were unlucky not to clinch all three points in the end, with Eze seeing his wonder effort from outside the penalty area rattle the crossbar before Eddie Nketiah’s touch and goal off Eze’s shot was ruled out for offside. The full time score finished 1-1, with Forest very lucky to take a point away in the end. Nuno’s side remain 6th in the table, needing at least seven points from their final three games if they even wanted to consider Champions League next season. Despite their big FA Cup final, which is just 12 days away, Glasner put out a strong side which probably deserved all three points. They remain 12th on 46 points.

Written by Ollie Wade