Premier League 2024/25: Gameweek 25 Recap

Gameweek 25 of the 2024/25 Premier League season kicked off on Friday, with the Seagulls getting the better of Chelsea twice in a week. Saturday and Sunday brought on some fantastic football as the Gunners left it late against the Foxes, the Cityzens steamrolled the Magpies, and a ten-man Ipswich side took away a point against the Villans. 

Liverpool endured a nervy second half against Wolves, while Spurs beat Manchester United by a solitary goal in the other game on Sunday. 

Let’s take a look at all the action. 

Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 Chelsea

Chelsea took the early initiative, but Cole Palmer scuffed both his chances, and so the Blues paid the price in the 27th minute when Kaoru Mitoma held down the ball from a long Bart Verbruggen pass, cut inside, and shot past Filip Jörgensen into the bottom far corner. Eleven minutes later, Yankuba Minteh doubled the advantage when Chelsea failed to clear their lines with great work from Georginio Rutter and Minteh capitalised on the loose ball. The first half ended with Brighton in the driving seat with a 2-0 lead. 

The visitors kept possession in the second half, but it was the hosts who delivered the killing blow three minutes after the hour mark. Levi Colwill’s mistake led to Danny Welbeck releasing Minteh, whose shot deflected off Trevoh Chalobah into the Chelsea goal. 

Chelsea had a disappointing game with zero shots on target till the final ten minutes and were handed a massive blow to their top four ambitions. 

Leicester City 0-2 Arsenal

A late brace from midfielder Mikel Merino saved the day for the Gunners as they beat a resolute Leicester side away at the King Power Stadium. 

Arsenal kept the majority of possession, but it was the hosts who had the best chance of the first half at the stroke of half-time when Victor Kristiansen’s teasing cross was headed wide at the far post by Wilfred Ndidi. 

The second half began in the same vein, with Arsenal starting to assert themselves. At the hour mark, Ethan Nwaneri had a great chance but fired his shot over the crossbar. Merino, playing as a centre-forward, broke the deadlock in the 81st minute when he headed home from a Nwaneri cross. Six minutes later, Arsenal put the game to bed when Leandro Trossard found Merino at the far post and he slotted home to get three vital points. 

West Ham United 0-1 Brentford

The Hammers fell to Brentford courtesy of an early Kevin Schade goal. 

The Bees scored the opener inside four minutes when a long ball forward from Yoane Wissa was brought down by Bryan Mbeumo, who squared it to Schade. The 23-year-old’s initial attempt was saved by Alphonse Areola, but his second attempt managed to cross the line before Areola could snuff it out. Another effort from Mbuemo in the 20th minute was saved by Areola, while another Schade effort was deflected wide off the post—all Bees in the first half. Wissa had two goals denied for offside as well. 

The hosts improved in the second half, with Mohammed Kudus missing a great opportunity to equalise as he blazed his shot over the bar from an Evan Ferguson cross. Substitute Ollie Scarles almost levelled minutes later, but Sepp van den Berg was alert to the danger and headed it away. Ferguson had a chance late on, but Mark Flekken was up to the task. 

Despite West Ham’s best efforts, Brentford remained resolute and held on to the three points. 

Southampton 1-3 Bournemouth

The Cherries beat the Saints away at St Mary’s Stadium last weekend, with Ryan Christie proving vital in the south coast affair.

Bournemouth opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Christie’s inviting cross was headed home by Dango Ouattara from close range. Two minutes later, Christie turned scorer when he unleashed a powerful strike from 20 yards out into the bottom corner past Aaron Ramsdale. Bournemouth dominated the half and went into the break with a 2-0 lead. 

Southampton showed little effort until Tyler Dibling came on and then Kamaldeen Sulemana cut the deficit from close range in the 72nd minute. Just when it looked like Southampton were getting somewhere, Marcus Tavernier struck in the 83rd minute to ensure all three points for his side.

Andoni Iraola and Co are now fifth in the PL table, tied on points with fourth-placed Manchester City, who are ahead on goal difference. 

Aston Villa 1-1 Ipswich Town

Aston Villa were left frustrated by a draw against ten-man Ipswich Town at home. 

Both sides were forced into early changes, with Villa defender Boubacar Camara coming off and Ipswich winger Julio Enciso being replaced due to injuries. The first half was particularly uneventful except for an Ollie Watkins strike that went wide off the post in the 34th minute. But drama ensued six minutes later when Ipswich defender Alex Tuanzebe saw red for a foul on Youri Tielemans just outside the box. However, the half ended goalless. 

It was Ipswich forward Liam Delap who broke the deadlock in the 56th minute with a neat first-time finish from an Omari Hutchinson cross, though Villa equalised in the 69th minute when Watkins steered the ball into the net off a rebound from a Marcus Rashford free kick. 

A frustrated Villans were left disappointed after the full-time whistle, with Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer making a string of super saves to ensure his side at least came away with a point. 

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Fulham 2-1 Nottingham Forest

Fulham defeated Nottingham Forest at Craven Cottage this weekend. 

The Cottagers scored the opener in the 15th minute from Adama Traoré’s whipping cross into the far post that was headed in by Emile Smith Rowe. The hosts dominated the first half, with Traoré being a constant threat throughout the game. Raúl Jiménez had two decent chances to double the advantage, but Matz Sels came to Forest’s rescue with two big saves, keeping the score at 1-0. Forest got their equaliser in the 37th minute from a long ball forward that was brought down by forward Chris Wood, whose shot took a minor deflection off Calvin Bassey and went away from Bernd Leno into the bottom-left corner. 

The hosts kept on pushing, though, and got their reward in the 62nd minute when Jiménez met Saša Lukic’s delivery and flicked a header to Bassey at the far post and his looping header went into the net. It was still one-way traffic, with Fulham being denied by a rock-solid Sels who kept Forest in the game, but the Tricky Trees couldn’t create any chances and Fulham held on to the three points. 

With two losses in their last three games, Forest’s top four chances have been dealt a massive blow.

Manchester City 4-0 Newcastle United

Man City came back to form in the PL with a superb performance at home thanks to a first-half hattrick by new signing Omar Marmoush. 

The Magpies were steamrolled by the Cityzens in a frantic passage of play that gave Marmoush his first PL hattrick. The first goal came in the 19th minute when Ederson Moraes’s long ball forward was intercepted by Marmoush, who went past Kieran Trippier and lobbed the ball over Martin Dúbravka into the net. Four minutes later, the Egyptian made it 2-0 with a pass from Ilkay Gündogan. City were attacking in waves now, and Marmoush completed his hattrick in the 32nd minute as he ran onto a Savinho pass into the box and put the ball into the net. 

The Magpies were already down and out in the first half and tried to find a response, but they couldn’t conjure up many clear-cut chances. James McAtee then finished off the game in the 83rd minute when he connected with a flicked header from Erling Haaland to make it four.

With this win, City got back to fourth, while Newcastle’s top-four chances took quite a beating. 

Crystal Palace 1-2 Everton

The Eagles lost to Everton at home with a late winner from the new January signing, Carlos Alcaraz. 

The hosts had a string of opportunities early on but couldn’t capitalise on the momentum, with Marc Guéhi’s shot being saved superbly by Jordan Pickford before Ismaïla Sarr hit the crossbar. They were punished for their errors as Everton took the lead in the 42nd minute through Beto, who was played in by Alcaraz and netted the opener past the onrushing Dean Henderson. 

Two minutes into the second half, Palace equalised through Jean-Phillipe Mateta to make it 1-1. Everton found a late winner, though, with an Alcaraz strike from close range in the 80th minute to take home all three points.

Everton have hit a rich vein of form with four wins and a draw in their last five games, while Palace failed to take initiative at home in this game after the win away at Old Trafford in their last PL game. 

Liverpool 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Liverpool endured a nervous second half to secure the three points at home against Wolves. 

The hosts started the first half well, keeping most of the possession, but clear chances did not arrive until the 15th minute when Mohamed Salah’s pass into the box wasn’t cleared by Wolves and Luis Díaz threw his body on the loose ball to put it into the net. Liverpool doubled their advantage in the 37th minute from a Salah spot kick when Wolves keeper José Sá was penalised for a foul on Díaz in the box. The first half ended 2-0 to the hosts. 

Wolves almost cut down the deficit early in the first half, but Alexis Mac Allister put in a great tackle to deny Matheus Cunha. Liverpool were awarded another penalty for a foul on Diogo Jota, but VAR denied it as there wasn’t a touch from the defender. Wolves started to pile the pressure after that and were rewarded with a goal when Cunha curled the ball into the left corner from the edge of the box in the 67th minute. Liverpool had to dig deep and defend well to hold on to the three points amid great pressure. 

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United

Spurs took all three points against Man United at home thanks to a solitary first-half James Maddison goal. 

The Red Devils had the first real chance in the 10th minute, when Alejandro Garnacho’s shot from the edge of the box was parried off by the returning Guglielmo Vicario on the stretch, but Diogo Dalot on the far post couldn’t capitalise from the rebound. Five minutes later, Maddison scored when André Onana’s parried save fell in his path to make it 1-0. Garnacho had a glorious chance to equalise in the 22nd minute, but he blazed his shot over the bar. New signing Mathys Tel had a shot on target too, but Onana made a comfortable save.

Spurs continued to trouble early in the second half. Tel couldn’t make his shot count, while Garnacho had a couple more shots on target, though Vicario was up to the task. Late on, an unmarked Joshua Zirkzee headed a Noussair Mazraoui cross wide off the post, which was United’s last big chance. Spurs could have hurt United more with Tel in a one-on-one situation, but Onana saved his side’s blushes.

A second consecutive win in the PL has lessened the pressure on Ange Postecoglou, while Ruben Amorim has to turn the fortunes around of his injury-ravaged side.