Premier League 2024/25: Gameweek 29 Recap

Gameweek 29 of the 2024/25 Premier League season arrived last weekend with excitement and energy after European football in the midweek.

While Nottingham Forest continued their superb form with a win over the Tractor Boys, the Seagulls maintained their unbeaten run against Manchester City this season. The Toffees too continued their unbeaten streak with a late draw, while the Cherries lost a massive chance to get closer to the top four by losing to Brentford at home. Arsenal sunk Chelsea at the Emirates, while Fulham downed Spurs at Craven Cottage. 

Let’s take a look at all the action from Gameweek 29. 

Manchester City 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

The Cityzens’ poor defending continued to trouble them as they drew to an in-form Brighton side. 

The visitors thought they had opened the scoring through Kaoru Mitoma from a curling Jack Hinshelwood cross in the seventh minute, but the goal was disallowed for a foul on Man City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega by Mitoma. The hosts then opened the scoring in the 11th minute, with Erling Haaland converting the penalty City were awarded for a foul by Adam Webster on Omar Marmoush. However, the Seagulls levelled the proceedings ten minutes later with a Pervis Estupiñán free kick. The hosts kept attacking but couldn’t create clear-cut chances until the 39th minute, when Marmoush was given too much space and time on the edge of the box and fired in a powerful shot for City to retake the lead.

Gunning for a European spot, Brighton came out in the second half fired up and equalised within three minutes of the restart. From a corner routine, Hinshelwood found himself inches away from goal, and his shot was deflected in by City defender Abdukodir Khusanov. The game could have gone either way, with both sets of players missing golden opportunities to get a winner, especially Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, who blazed an easy chance into the stands from a counter-attacking move. 

A draw was arguably a fair result, but it has put Man City under immense pressure in their quest for Champions League qualification.

Ipswich Town 2-4 Nottingham Forest

Ipswich scored two late goals but couldn’t deny a dominant Nottingham Forest the three points. 

Forest scored three first-half goals to kill the game. The visitors broke the deadlock five minutes after the half-hour mark when Nikola Milenkovic found a loose ball in the box from a corner and lashed it into the net. An Anthony Elanga brace in the next five minutes all but ensured the three points. The Swede drove forward with the ball on the counter and placed it in the far corner for his first goal before capitalising on some poor defending from Ipswich to power the ball in from the edge of the box in the 41st minute. 

Ipswich came back with intent and reduced the deficit with a superb individual goal from Jens Cajuste in the 82nd minute. Looking for another, they left their defensive line too high, which gave Forest the chance to break on the counter and kill the game, with Morgan Gibbs-White assisting Jota Silva for Forest’s fourth. Ipswich did get a consolation goal with George Hirst’s header late in stoppage time, but it wasn’t enough to get any points from the game. 

Forest edge closer to European qualification with this win, while Ipswich remain looking destined for the drop. 

Everton 1-1 West Ham United

Everton left it late at Goodison Park to ensure a point against the Hammers this weekend. 

If not for Jordan Pickford’s top saves in the first half to deny Jarrod Bowen twice, Everton would have been in major trouble as West Ham dominated proceedings in the first half. The Toffees were also awarded a penalty for a foul on Beto in the box, but VAR overturned the call. Both teams went goalless into the break. 

However, midway through the second half, the enterprising Bowen drove forward with the ball and teed up Tomáš Soucek, who shot into the far corner to break the deadlock in the 67th minute. Everton kept trying to find an equaliser but couldn’t break through until the first minute of stoppage time, when poor defending from West Ham led to Jake O’Brien heading from close range to restore parity. Carlos Alcaraz had a late chance to find the winner, but his shot went wide to the relief of the away fans. 

Southampton 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

The Saints fell to a home loss against Wolves, with their relegation all but ensured at the end of what has been a dismal season. 

Two goals from Wolves striker Jørgen Strand Larsen, one in each half, gave Wolves a much-needed win. The hosts were the better side in the opening period, but Wolves opened the scoring against the run of play in the 19th minute when Larsen headed in from a pin-point Jean-Ricner Bellegarde cross. The visitors went into the break with a one-goal lead. 

Two minutes into the restart, Larsen and Bellegarde combined again to double Wolves’ advantage, with the Norway international shooting into the bottom-left corner for his brace. Southampton didn’t give up, though, and continued attacking. Their persistence paid off in the 75th minute, when Tyler Dibling’s shot deflected off the post and Paul Onuachu helped it into the net. However, Wolves defended well in the later stages to hold on to all three points and establish a nine-point gap between themselves and the bottom three. 

Bournemouth 1-2 Brentford

The Cherries’ home defeat to Brentford hampered their pursuit of European qualification, while the Bees responded well with a vital away win after last weekend’s loss

The hosts went ahead in the 17th minute through a Vitaly Janelt own goal as the ball looped off his back into the far corner from a Milos Kerkez cross into the box. Yoane Wissa restored parity in the 30th minute, rising highest to head home from a Bryan Mbuemo corner kick. The first half ended 1-1. 

Both teams came out looking for a winner. Bournemouth dominated proceedings and were unlucky not to score from an Antoine Semenyo header that hit the woodwork from close range. However, their defending left a lot to be desired when in the 81st minute Ryan Christie found Christian Nørgaard in the box for an easy finish. 

Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea

Arsenal returned to winning ways at home after a loss and two consecutive draws in their last three PL games. 

The hosts started with intent, putting early pressure on the Chelsea backline, and opened the scoring from a set-piece routine—something that has come to their rescue time and again this season. In the 20th minute, an unmarked Mikel Merino glanced a header from a Martin Ødegaard corner into the far corner. Arsenal also had a penalty shout denied for a Marc Cucurella handball in the box prior to their opener. They then had a scare when David Raya had a momentary lapse in concentration and almost spilled Cucurella’s volley into his own net; this was Chelsea’s only proper attacking move of the half. 

The second half started on a positive note for the Gunners, with Chelsea keeper Robert Sánchez coming into action to deny Merino a second goal before saving a shot from Ødegaard. Chelsea did frustrate Arsenal with possession but couldn’t create any significant chances as Merino’s first-half goal proved enough to hand Arsenal all three points.

Fulham 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Two second-half goals ensured a Fulham victory over local rivals Spurs this weekend. 

Fulham created the early chances but couldn’t really manage a shot on target. Timothy Castagne had a golden opportunity when Ben Davies’s tame clearance fell in his path in the box, but he shot straight in the hands of Guglielmo Vicario. Spurs hardly had a sniff at goal as the first half ended goalless. 

In the second half, Spurs looked more likely to break the deadlock, with Dominic Solanke spurning several chances, even missing an open goal from five yards. In the 65th minute, they had their first shot on target through Davies. The game started to stretch from this point and Fulham finally got the opener in the 75th minute from substitute Rodrigo Muniz, who fired into the bottom corner from an Andreas Pereira assist. Ten minutes later, former Spurs man Ryan Sessegnon curled one into the far post to give Fulham all three points. 

Leicester City 0-3 Manchester United

Manchester United piled more misery on relegation-bound Leicester as they comfortably beat them away at the King Power Stadium. 

The first half was particularly uneventful barring a Christian Eriksen shot that hit the post in the 24th minute and the opening goal from Rasmus Højlund four minutes later when he latched on to a Bruno Fernandes long ball and steered it into the far corner. Leicester barely threatened in the first half.

Even though the Foxes were better in the second half, they couldn’t find an equaliser. Alejandro Garnacho put the ball in the back of the net from a Højlund assist in the 56th minute, but the goal was ruled out for a marginal offside. However, he wasn’t to be denied ten minutes later when he scored from a Fernandes pass. Leicester had a golden opportunity to cut the deficit in the 76th minute when Jamie Vardy teed off Facundo Buonanotte in the box, but United defender Matthijs de Ligt made a great block to deny the Argentine. Fernandes then killed off the game in the 90th minute with a powerful right-footed strike from the edge of the box, ensuring all three points for his side.