The Premier League Gameweek 26 arrived with yet another round of exciting fixtures with the Bees thrashing an abysmal Foxes while a 10-man Arsenal suffered a shock defeat against the Hammers.
Spurs decimated the Tractor Boys while the Red Devils came back to rescue a point against the Toffees. The Magpies defensive frailties almost let them down against Forest while Liverpool completed a double over the defending champions.
Let’s take a look at all the action from Gameweek 26 of the Premier League.
Brentford thumped a hapless Foxes at the King Power stadium at the weekend.
Leicester veteran Jamie Vardy had an early chance from a long ball sent forward but Mark Flekken thwarted his attempt. However, it went all downhill for the Foxes after that. The Bees winger Yoane Wissa latched onto a teasing outside-of-the-boot pass from Mikkel Damsgaard in the 17th minute for the opener. Ten minutes later, Damsgaard picked out Bryan Mbuemo whose curling shot from the right ended into the top left corner for Brentford’s second goal. Five minutes later, Leicester conceded again from an Mbuemo free-kick when Christian Norsgaard headed home.
The second half saw Facundo Buonanotte come on and try to create something but to no avail. Substitute Fábio Carvalho added a late fourth in the 89th minute to give his side an emphatic away win.
With this home loss, the Foxes look destined for the drop while the Bees continued their winning form from the last weekend.
Manchester United rescued a point against a dominant Everton side at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Everton started brightly and Beto opened the scoring from close-range in the 19th minute when United failed to clear the ball from a corner-routine. Everton then doubled their lead in the 33rd minute through Abdoulaye Doucouré’s header from close-range when he latched onto a ball from Andre Onana’s parried save from Jack Harrison’s shot. Everton led into the break with a comfortable 2-0 lead.
However, United weren’t to go down fighting as they scored from Bruno Fernandes’s superb freekick in the 72nd minute and restored parity eight minutes later from a Manuel Ugarte effort from another set-piece routine. Everton looked like they would secure all three points when referee Andy Madley pointed to the spot for a foul on defender Ashley Young in the United box in stoppage time. However, the penalty was controversially denied after a VAR review and the game ended in a draw, much to the consternation of the Toffees players and fans.
Everton let a two-goal advantage slip by while United got a hard-earned point at a tough away ground.
Spurs beat a lacklustre Ipswich at home courtesy of two goals each, either side of the half.
Spurs opened the scoring with the help of a long ball launched forward, Son Heung-Min drove forward into the box and passed to Brennan Johnson for a tap-in in the 18th minute. The two players combined again eight minutes later to double Spurs’ advantage with Johnson getting his brace. Ipswich cut down the deficit in the 36th minute from an Omari Hutchinson left footed shot into the right corner. Spurs went into the break with a 2-1 lead.
The home side couldn’t find any clear-cut chances in the second half and Spurs reclaimed their lead in the 77th minute when full-back Djed Spence’s shot was deflected off an Ipswich defender into the net. The visitors killed the game in the 84th minute when Dejan Kulusevski curled the ball into the far corner.
While the Tractor Boys’ woeful form continues, Spurs have turned a corner with three consecutive wins in the league.
Arsenal’s title credentials suffered a major blow with defeat at home to West Ham.
Playing at home, Arsenal couldn’t create many clear-cut chances and West Ham looked to threaten. Riccardo Calafiori and Jarrod Bowen had the early chances for their teams but couldn’t take advantage. It was the West Ham forward though who broke the deadlock just before the break with a diving header from an inviting Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross into the box from the right.
Leandro Trossard forced a superb low save from Alphonse Areola as Arsenal started to look dangerous. However, things got worse for the hosts as Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent-off for denying Mohammed Kudus a clear goal-scoring opportunity in the 73rd minute making it even more difficult for the Gunners. Arsenal did threaten briefly but West Ham defended well and held onto the three points under pressure after an eight-minutes long stoppage time.
The Gunners failed to take advantage of title rivals Liverpool dropping points at Aston Villa midweek while the Hammers gained a massive three points away from home after two straight defeats.
Fulham suffered a shock defeat to Crystal Palace at the Craven Cottage this weekend.
It was the visitors who took the early initiative with forward Jean-Phillipe Mateta and midfielder Eberechi Eze who forced saves from Fulham goalie Bernd Leno. The home side barely threatened as Palace surged forward and were rewarded with the opener from a corner routine with the last touch coming off Fulham defender Joachim Andersen in the 37th minute.
Crystal Palace had a goal chalked off for Jean-Phillipe Mateta in an offside position shortly after the break. However, Palace doubled their lead in the 66th minute through Daniel Munoz after Mateta’s driving run through the Fulham midfield and passing to Muñoz who rifled the ball into the roof of the net near post. Fulham couldn’t find a response. The only chance they managed came in stoppage time when Raúl Jiménez headed the ball straight into goalkeeper Dean Henderson’s hand from a set-piece.
While Fulham dropped to 10th place, Palace went 16 points clear of the relegation zone in 13th place.
Aston Villa came back from conceding an early goal to beat a struggling Chelsea side at home.
Eight minutes into the start, Enzo Fernández put Chelsea ahead with a tap-in from a very enterprising Pedro Neto’s pass into the box. Villa started to grow in the game with Ollie Watkins testing the Chelsea goalkeeper with a shot. Cole Palmer also scuffed a decent chance wide of the net.
Chelsea started the second half well too with Neto getting agonisingly close.to grabbing the Blues second goal of the evening. However, Villa equalised in the 57th minute through a Marco Asensio tap in from a Marcus Rashford pass. The goal was initially given offside but a VAR check deemed the goal as legit to the delight of the home fans. Cole Palmer missed two glorious opportunities at the other end and Chelsea paid the price as Villa went on to grab all three points in the 89th minute when Asensio’s shot was fumbled in by Filip Jörgensen in the Chelsea goal.
Chelsea’s top form ambition suffered another setback as they dropped down to seventh with two straight defeats while Villa is just a point behind them in eighth now.
A 10-man Cherries suffered an upset at home to a struggling Wolves at home.
In a frantic start to the game, Wolves threatened early on with Nélson Semedo’s shot hitting the post and a brilliant reaction save from Kepa Arrizabalaga off the rebound from Jean-Ricner Bellagarde. At the other end, Justin Kluivert’s shot was smothered by José Sá. It was an end-to-end encounter until Cherries defender Illia Zabarnyi was sent off for a reckless challenge on Rayan Aït-Nouri just after the half-an-hour mark which tilted the balance in Wolves’ favour. Five minutes later, Wolves forward Matheus Cunha broke the deadlock when a pass inside the box couldn’t be dealt by the Cherries defence, with the ball falling to him and he didn’t make a mistake from eight yards out.
The second half also saw Wolves attacking with intent and Marshall Munetsi squandering a golden opportunity in front of goal. Wolves youngster Pedro Lima also tested Kepa from distance. The Cherries couldn’t find a response and suffered a home defeat.
While Bournemouth’s top four chances suffered a blow, Wolves earned vital three points creating a five-point gap from the drop zone.
A woeful Saints look destined for the drop after suffering a thrashing from the Seagulls this weekend.
Three second half goals from the Seagulls put the game beyond the Saints who had a chance after conceding one in the first half. João Pedro opened the scoring for the visitors in the 23rd minute when he drove forward unchallenged and chipped it over an onrushing Aaron Ramsdale. The Seagulls went into the break with a 1-0 advantage.
A flurry of goals in a frantic second half saw the visitors pull away from the Saints. Seagulls second came from Georginio Rutter who was unselfishly squared up by Yankuba Minteh in the 56th minute for a close-range finish. Fifteen minutes later, Pedro laid off Kaoru Mitoma who drove forward and dinked the ball over Ramsdale for Brighton’s third goal. Defender Jack Hinshelwood completed the rout in the 82nd minute when he rifled home from a corner routine.
Brighton won a second consecutive PL encounter while the Saints continue to languish at the bottom.
The Magpies edged out Forest in an entertaining seven-goal affair at the St. James’s Stadium.
Forest opened the scoring through Callum-Hudson Odoi in the sixth minute when he capitalised on Jacob Murphy’s error and rifled the ball into the bottom left corner. But the Magpies took control from thereon with Lewis Miley equalising in the 23rd minute with a fine far post finish. Two minutes later, Newcastle had the lead through Jacob Murphy who touched the ball in near post from Lewis Hall’s deflected pass. Seven minutes later, the Magpies had a penalty for an Ola Aina handball which Alexander Isak converted from the penalty spot. A minute later, Isak put the game past Forest with a lobbed finish over Matz Sels.
It looked like a job done but Forest isn’t a team that gives up until the end. They cut the deficit to two goals from a Nikola Milenkovi? close-range finish in the 63rd minute. The Magpies had to endure a nervy final period when Ryan Yates scored Forest’s third in the 90th minute but held on to the three points.
A usually resolute Forest defence faltered in the first half while even if they won, Newcastle had its own defensive issues to resolve.
Liverpool beat Manchester City away from home in the league after a decade to boost their title credentials.
The hosts kept most of the possession but the Reds were a big threat on the counter. Phil Foden had an early chance but shot straight with Alisson Becker making a comfortable save. Liverpool started to threaten and scored the opener from a superbly crafted corner-routine in the 14th minute. Alexis Mac Allister’s near post kick was put into a dangerous area by Dominik Szoboszlai for Mohamed Salah whose shot went in off Rico Lewis. A few minutes later, Omar Marmoush thought he had equalised from a tight angle for City but he was offside in the buildup. Salah and Szoboszlai were involved again in the 37th minute when Trent-Alexander Arnold’s long ball forward was taken down by Salah and passed to Szoboszlai in the box who didn’t make a mistake, doubling Liverpool’s lead.
City kept most of the possession in the second half as well with Jérémy Doku a constant threat on that left wing but a resolute Liverpool defence kept them at bay. Pep Guardiola made several changes to affect the game but his team couldn’t create many goal scoring opportunities and lost at home yet again.
Liverpool stretched their lead to 11 points at the top while even after defeat, City stayed in fourth spot thanks to favourable results elsewhere in the league.
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