Premier League 2024/25: Gameweek 28 Recap

Gameweek 28 of the Premier League arrived with a lot of fanfare this weekend. Premier League action hardly disappoints. While Nottingham Forest grabbed a late winner against the Cityzens, Liverpool’s second half surge helped them beat the Saints. Wolves and Everton shared the spoils while Arsenal fell further behind in the title race after drawing away with the Red Devils. 

Let’s take a look at all that transpired in Gameweek 28 – 

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Manchester City 

Nottingham Forest grabbed a late winner against Manchester City at the City Ground this weekend. 

City dominated the first half and Erling Haaland almost made Forest pay in the 7th minute when Chris Wood lost the ball in a dangerous area but Haaland’s shot fizzed slightly wide of the far corner. Another long-range speculative strike from Nico González hit the outside of the post but apart from that no one had any clear-cut chances and both teams went goalless into the break. 

The hosts came charging in the second half and created a flurry of chances. A minute into the restart, Anthony Elanga’s cross from the left was hit on the half-volley by Nicolás Domínguez but Ederson made an easy save. 

Callum-Hudson Odoi’s strike in a crowded City box in the 66th minute almost gave Forest the lead but Ederson came to City’s rescue with a superb reflex save. However, Ederson couldn’t protect his near post in the 83rd minute when Hudson-Odoi struck a powerful shot from a tight angle giving Forest the lead. 

Pep Guardiola made a host of changes to turn the game around but a feisty Forest held on to the one-goal lead and the three points. 

Liverpool 3-1 Southampton 

Liverpool came back from a goal down to beat bottom of the table Saints in an inspired second half display. 

Liverpool kept most of the possession in the first half but apart from an early chance missed by Curtis Jones, the hosts looked toothless and they paid the price when Southampton took the shock lead in the first-half stoppage time through Will Smallbone who capitalised on the miscommunication between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.  

However, the league leaders came back roaring after the restart with Darwin Núñez slotting in the equaliser from a Luis Díaz assist five minutes into the second half. The Uruguayan forward was involved a few minutes later when he was fouled by Smallbone in the box and Liverpool were awarded a penalty. Mohamed Salah stepped forward to convert the spot-kick and gave the hosts the lead. A handball foul in the box from Yukinari Sugawara resulted in another penalty in the 88th minute and Salah converted again to seal the three points for Liverpool. 

The Saints are destined for the drop while Liverpool continue to edge away at the top of the table. 

Crystal Palace 1-0 Ipswich Town 

The Eagles grabbed a late winner against relegation strugglers Ipswich Town at Selhurst Park this weekend. 

It was an entertaining end-to-end affair with both teams having decent opportunities. Eddie Nketiah was in a 1v1 position in the 2nd minute but Ipswich goalie Alex Parmer rushed forward and smothered the shot. At the other end, Dean Henderson made a superb save to deny Julio Enciso at the near post. Enciso had another opportunity when he stole the ball from Eberechi Eze and drove into the box but his near-post strike was again saved by Henderson. The game was goalless at half-time. 

Eze’s shot was heavily deflected and looped beyond a scrambling Palmer but to Ipswich’s relief it struck the post. 

At the hour-mark, Ipswich failed to score from a corner in a goalmouth scramble and it seemed like it just wasn’t their day. The Senegalese forward Ismaïla Sarr then snatched a late winner from a chipped effort over Palmer in the 82nd minute to secure all three points. 

For all their attacking threat, Ipswich’s lack of finishing meant they left Selhurst Park empty handed. 

Brentford 0-1 Aston Villa 

Aston Villa secured a victory away at Brentford in a significant step towards European qualification. 

The hosts looked lacklustre in the first half with the visitors having the chances to score. Jacob Ramsey’s shot on goal was first headed away by Nathan Collins and then Villa defender Tyrone Mings had a great chance on a set-piece to take the lead but his shot was collected safely by Mark Flekken. The first half ended goalless. 

However, four minutes into the restart, Villa found their reward when Ollie Watkins’ near-post strike took a deflection and away from Flekken in the net. A minute later, Watkins then teed up Morgan Rogers for what could have been Villa’s second but the goal was chalked off for offside. 

Brentford hardly had a sight of goal till then but improved significantly after that Rogers chance. There were shouts for a  penalty for an Axel Disasi foul on Kevin Schade but it was waived off. Keane Lewis-Potter went really close with his strike from the edge of the box but it rebounded off the post. Watkins had a golden opportunity when he raced on goal late in the game but couldn’t dink it past an onrushing Flekken. 

Villa returned to winning ways after the loss last weekend while Brentford were poor at home where they are usually very competitive and difficult to beat. 

Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 Fulham 

Late drama ensued at the Amex Stadium with the Seagulls snatching all three points in a comeback victory. 

The first half didn’t have many clear-cut chances until after the half-an-hour mark when Alex Iwobi’s driving run from the right resulted in a cross to Raúl Jiménez in the box who took the ball on to his chest and then finished into the net to give Fulham the lead. However, the lead only lasted for six minutes with Jan Paul van Hecke scoring from a glancing header into the far post. The first half ended 1-1. 

The hosts then came out firing in the second half with the Cottagers having to defend for most of the period. João Pedro and Danny Welbeck spurned easy chances. The Seagulls delivered the telling blow with barely the last kick of the game when Pedro was fouled in the box and awarded a penalty. He stepped up to convert the spot-kick, giving Brighton three massive points. 

Brighton is in red-hot form having won all of their last four games while Fulham have now lost two out of their last three games. 

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Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Everton 

Wolves and the Toffees shared the spoils giving Wolves a slightly increased gap from the relegation zone.

Everton were the brighter side in the opening exchanges with Abdoulaye Doucouré’s near-post strike saved by José Sá’s outstretched foot and Beto missing a huge goal-scoring chance from close-range via a corner routine. Wolves then had a chance of their own but Jordan Pickford made a decent save. Everton did find the opener from Jack Harrison’s deflected shot into the far corner in the 33rd minute. Seven minutes later, Wolves equalised from a well-crafted team move with Marshall Munetsi scoring the goal.

The game opened up after the restart as both Wolves and Everton started to look for a winner. Jørgen Strand Larsen’s shot was saved by Pickford near post while Beto’s strike on the counter was saved well by José Sá late on to keep the game tied at 1-1. 

Everton have now drawn three of their last five encounters, Wolves finally have some breathing space with Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester all losing this weekend. 

Tottenham Hotspurs 2-2 Bournemouth 

Spurs came back from two goals down to salvage a point against a dangerous Cherries at home. 

The Cherries were the more attacking team in the first half with having a chance on goal inside the first minute due to a Spurs defensive error but Marcus Tavernier’s shot was thwarted by Guglielmo Vicario. The Cherries had another opportunity with Justin Kluivert but he was denied by a fine save from Vicario yet again. However, Bournemouth were beating down the door and found their opener in the 42nd minute from a teasing Milos Kerkez curling cross into the box that was lashed in by an onrushing Tavernier at the far post. 

The Cherries kept attacking in the second half and doubled their lead in the 65th minute from another well-worked goal – this time from Evanilson, thanks to a Kluivert assist. However, Spurs cut the deficit two minutes later from Pape Matar Sarr’s long-range looping shot past Kepa. Kluivert should have put Bournemouth ahead yet again when he had a chance on the counter but his shot missed narrowly, bouncing out, off the far post. 

The Cherries then paid the price when Spurs were awarded a penalty with Kepa Arizzabalaga fouling Son Heung-Min in the box in the 84th minute. Son executed a cheeky spot-kick giving Spurs a point at home. 

Spurs held on to the hard-earned point while the Cherries would have been disappointed dropping two points after being two goals up. 

Chelsea 1-0 Leicester City 

Chelsea huffed and puffed against a struggling Foxes but secured the three points with a solitary goal. 

The Blues dominated proceedings for much of the first half. Chelsea had a chance to score the opener when Jadon Sancho was fouled in the box midway through the first half but Cole Palmer’s spot-kick was saved by Mads Hermansen. The rest of the first half was fairly uneventful. 

Leicester continued to frustrate Chelsea in the second half but at the hour-mark, full-back Marc Cucurella found time and space and scored a 20-yards shot to put the Blues ahead. Without much effort from the visitors, the 1-0 lead proved enough for Chelsea to secure all three points.

Even though it was a struggling performance against a relegation team, Chelsea would have gained a bit of confidence with a derby game coming up against Arsenal at the Emirates next weekend. 

Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal 

Arsenal could only draw against a struggling Manchester United, dropping points in a must-win game, failing to put pressure on league leaders Liverpool. 

The first half was particularly uneventful with not many clear-cut chances with the visitors being wasteful in attack. Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard showed signs of coming close to breaking the deadlock. However, it was United who drew first blood when Bruno Fernandes scored from a free-kick at the cusp of half-time to give the hosts the lead. 

That goal gave United the impetus and Noussair Mazraoui almost doubled United’s lead early in the second half but for a superb save from David Raya who was guilty for the Fernandes goal. The Arsenal shot-stopper kept his side in the game again, saving Joshua Zirkzee’s goalward-bound flick from close-range. 

United then paid the price for the earlier chances when Declan Rice equalised in the 74th minute with a strike into the far top corner. However, neither of the two sides could find a winner and the game ended in a draw. 

With this game, Arsenal have now dropped seven points in the last three games, falling further in the title race while United continue to impress against the top sides.