As the 2024/25 Premier League season reaches its business end, the race for top five heats up.
In Gameweek 32, Manchester City showed a huge fight against the Eagles in a comeback win, while the Seagulls shared the spoils with the Foxes. Villa thrashed the already-relegated Saints, while Arsenal failed to cut the deficit to the top by drawing against the Bees.
Let’s take a look at all that transpired in Gameweek 32.
Manchester City 5-2 Crystal Palace
The Cityzens gave a massive boost to their Champions League qualification hopes with an impressive comeback win against Crystal Palace.
The visitors started brightly, cutting open the City defence with ease. Ismaïla Sarr on the right provided the assist for the first goal with a cross across the face of the goal, with Eberechi Eze tapping in from close range inside eight minutes. Palace doubled their lead in the 21st minute from a set piece, with Chris Richards heading home in a crowded box.
It felt like City were destined for a defeat, but they came back roaring. Kevin De Bruyne scored their first in the 33rd minute via a superb free kick. Three minutes later, the Sky Blues were back on level terms as Omar Marmoush converted when the ball fell into his path in the box.
With momentum on their side, City took the lead two minutes into the restart as De Bruyne turned provider for Mateo Kovacic, whose strike from the edge of the box found the far corner. City then killed the game with a fourth in the 56th minute thanks to a long ball forward from Ederson, which found James McAtee in an onside position. Nico O’Reilly then made it a five-star comeback by scoring his side’s fifth in the 79th minute.
This was a statement win from Pep Guardiola’s side, one that kept alive their hopes of a top-five finish.
Southampton 0-3 Aston Villa
Southampton were thrashed at home after a top-class second-half performance from Aston Villa.
The first half was fairly uneventful, with Cameron Archer missing a golden opportunity to put Southampton ahead in the 15th minute. A weakened Villa side weren’t able to break down the home defence in the first 45 minutes.
After the break, Villa brought on changes. Ollie Watkins made an instant impact as he forced Jan Bednarek into a foul in the box, winning a penalty. However, Aaron Ramsdale made a super save to deny Marco Asensio from the spot. The visitors weren’t to be denied, however, as Watkins got his foot on a Youri Tielemans long pass into the underside of the bar for the opener in the 73rd minute. Six minutes later, Donyell Malen added a second with a fine finish. Villa scored their third in stoppage time as John McGinn tapped in from the rebound after Ramsdale had saved the initial spot kick from Asensio.
With this win, Villa boosted their chances of a top-five finish ahead of a crucial second-leg UCL encounter against PSG at home.
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Leicester City
The Foxes finally ended their eight-game losing streak with a spirited effort against Brighton this weekend.
Brighton opened the scoring courtesy of a spot kick from João Pedro that took a lot of deliberation from the VAR after Simon Adingra’s shot was handled in the box by Leicester defender Conor Coady just after the half-hour mark. Adingra could have doubled the lead six minutes later as his effort hit the crossbar. Brighton were made to pay for the miss a minute later when Leicester equalised through Stephy Mavididi, whose shot was blocked, but the rebound from Bart Verbruggen’s parry fell fortuitously in his path and he didn’t miss a second time.
Ten minutes into the second half, Brighton regained the lead with another spot kick awarded for a foul by Luke Thomas, which Pedro converted. The Foxes weren’t to be denied, however, as Caleb Okoli made a darting run in behind the Brighton defence to head home from a free kick in the 74th minute. The visitors came close to a winner but had to be satisfied with a point.
Brighton’s hopes of European football next season were dealt a massive blow with this draw, while Leicester have only delayed their relegation a bit longer.
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Everton
Everton found a late winner to defeat Nottingham Forest away from home in a cagey affair at the City Ground.
The Toffees were the ones starting brightly. In the 23rd minute, a driving run from Iliman Ndiaye resulted in an easy save for Matz Sels. Two minutes later, Sels was called into action again to deny James Garner. Forest created a few decent chances of their own, with an effort from Jota Silva saved comfortably by Jordan Pickford at the other end. Just before the break, Callum Hudson-Odoi tested Pickford in the box, but the England No. 1 parried the shot and his defence cleared the ball.
The second half continued the same way, with both sides fighting and defending well. However, with 15 minutes left to play, Everton upped the ante and got rewarded in stoppage time with a late winner courtesy of Abdoulaye Doucouré.
Everton finally got three points after drawing three and losing one in their last four games, while Forest are in a spot of bother after losing two games on the trot.
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
The Gunners fell further behind in the title race with a draw against Brentford at home.
With one eye on the UCL second leg in the coming midweek, Arsenal fielded a weakened side. The away side looked more lively early on and almost took the lead when Kristoffer Ajer broke into the box, but he was denied by David Raya’s outstretched leg. Minutes later, Ethan Nwaneri’s inswinging cross was met by Kieran Tierney, who headed the ball into the net, but the goal was denied for offside. Brentford were lucky not to be down to ten men as Christian Nørgaard’s scissor tackle on Gabriel Martinelli was deemed only to be a yellow-card offence. The first half ended with a speculative strike from Leandro Trossard from 20 yards that was denied by Mark Flekken.
After the restart, Arsenal took the lead at the hour mark from a brilliant counter-attacking move that started with Raya quickly rolling the ball to Declan Rice, who drove forward for sixty yards and teed up Thomas Partey, who smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Mikel Arteta then made a triple change, bringing on Bukayo Saka, Miles Lewis-Skelly, and Martin Ødegaard. However, Brentford found the equaliser when Nathan Collins headed down to Yoane Wissa in the box, who swerved around to finish past Raya in the 73rd minute. Neither team could find a winner, and in the final ten minutes Arsenal had to play with ten men after Jorginho went off injured—they’d run out of substitutions.
Arsenal’s title challenge is most likely over with six games to play.
Chelsea 2-2 Ipswich Town
Chelsea saved themselves the blushes as they came back to draw against relegation-bound Ipswich at home this weekend.
The hosts had the opening chance but Nicolas Jackson could only rattle the near post with his shot. At the other end, though, Ben Johnson’s cross found Julio Enciso in the box for a simple tap-in to give Ipswich a shock lead inside 20 minutes. The Tractor Boys then doubled their lead in the 31st minute as Enciso turned provider for Johnson at the far post as he headed home. The goal had initially been denied for offside, but a VAR check deemed it legitimate.
Chelsea cut the deficit moments after the restart when Marc Cucurella darted into the box as the ball came from a corner and poked it home, though it was given as an own goal as the last touch came from Axel Tuanzebe. With the Blues in the ascendancy, the equaliser came just before the 80th minute when Jadon Sancho’s curling shot found the top right corner. Chelsea had several other goalscoring chances, but Alex Palmer in the Ipswich goal made some superb saves to deny them all three points.
With tough fixtures coming up, Chelsea would rue dropping two massive points in a fixture they should have won, while Ipswich’s days in the English top flight remain numbered.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Wolves outclassed a dismal Spurs at Molineux Stadium to further distance themselves from the bottom three.
The hosts opened the scoring within two minutes when Rayan Aït-Nouri got hold of a poor clearance from Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario and his bouncing drive found the net, giving Wolves a dream start. Spurs’ misery was further compounded before the break when Vicario parried a shot and it bounced off Spurs fullback Djed Spence into the net, ensuring Wolves went into the break with a two-goal lead.
The visitors cut the deficit just before the hour mark as Mathys Tel ghosted at the far post and his shot deflected off Nélson Semedo’s back into the net. However, their chances of a comeback were squashed five minutes later as a Cristian Romero mistake was capitalised upon by Aït-Nouri, who found a free Jørgen Strand Larsen at the far post for a simple tap-in. Spurs didn’t give up and Richarlison pulled one back in the 85th minute with a close-range header, though Wolves weren’t to be denied a well-fought win and killed the game when Matheus Cunha snapped up the ball from a sloppy Lucas Bergvall pass and finished beyond Vicario.
With this win, Wolves climbed above West Ham in the league table based on goal difference and are now right below Spurs themselves.
Liverpool 2-1 West Ham United
As Arsenal faltered against Brentford, Liverpool took advantage and beat the Hammers courtesy of a late Virgil van Dijk winner to go 13 points ahead in the title race.
After the shock loss against Fulham last week, the hosts came back with intent and dominated the early part of the first half, threatening to score while hogging most of the possession. In the 18th minute, Mohamed Salah’s cross found Luis Díaz in the box for a fine finish. At the other end, West Ham also had a decent opportunity to score, but Alisson Becker came to Liverpool’s rescue with a 1v1 save and then denied West Ham again, parrying a looping shot. Alexis Mac Allister then almost doubled the Reds’ advantage from a free kick as it rattled the crossbar. Liverpool went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
However, the visitors started to look better in the second half and caused Liverpool all sorts of trouble. Niclas Füllkrug came off the bench and almost scored for West Ham, but Alisson was up to the task again. West Ham did manage to equalise through an Andy Robertson own goal in the 86th minute when miscommunication occurred from a Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross into the box as Van Dijk’s clearance deflected off the unfortunate Scotsman. With ten minutes left on the clock, Liverpool charged forward as a shot from Díaz shot deflected off Wan-Bissaka for a corner. Van Dijk then rose highest to glance in a header into the net from the resulting corner kick to win the game for Liverpool in the 89th minute.
Liverpool now need just two more wins from the remaining six games to secure the league title—that is, if Arsenal don’t drop more points in the coming weeks. West Ham, meanwhile, are sitting just above the relegation zone, though their 14-point cushion with six games to go should be enough for their survival.
Newcastle United 4-1 Manchester United
Newcastle United thrashed a hapless Man United at St. James’ Park this weekend. Despite the absence of their manager, Eddie Howe, the Magpies produced an emphatic victory to boost their UCL qualification chances.
The hosts raced into a lead in the 24th minute when a crafty pass from Alexander Isak was volleyed into the net by Sandro Tonali. However, the Red Devils found a response in the 37th minute when Alejandro Garnacho equalised with a fine finish on the break.
The Magpies restored their lead four minutes into the second half as Harvey Barnes poked in from close range from a teasing Jacob Murphy cross. 15 minutes later, Barnes stole the ball from Noussair Mazraoui near the box and drove through to finish into the top corner. All hopes of a Man United comeback were killed when another error from their defence resulted in Newcastle’s fourth, with Bruno Guimarães ending up on the score sheet.
With this win, Newcastle completed a league double over Man United for the first time in 94 years, while the Red Devils’ dismal run sees them stuck in 14th, having lost as many games this season.
Bournemouth 1-0 Fulham
The Cherries returned to winning ways at home against Fulham after a dismal eight-game winless streak.
Antoine Semenyo fired Bournemouth into the lead within the first minute when Antonee Robinson failed to intercept him. The Ghanaian drove forward and delivered a precise strike that nestled into the bottom far corner. The hosts were particularly impressive and Evanilson could have doubled their lead in the 16th minute from a headed pass into the box from Alex Scott, but his shot rattled the crossbar from close range. At the other end, Rodrigo Muniz should have capitalised on an error at the back from the Bournemouth defence, but he pulled his shot wide. Fulham had an excellent chance to equalise when Alex Iwobi’s teasing cross found an unmarked Ryan Sessegnon in the box, but he headed straight into the hands of Bournemouth keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga with the entire goal gaping. The first half ended 1-0 to the hosts.
The second half didn’t see many decent scoring opportunities. Scott made a driving run forward and hit a low drilled shot that was saved by Bernd Leno at the near post. Iwobi also tested Kepa with a curling shot from distance but was denied. Later on, Evanilson latched on to a sloppy pass from Calvin Bassey, but Leno lunged forward to deny him a shot. There was a VAR check for a possible penalty, but Leno had clearly got the ball. Fulham couldn’t find an equaliser as the match ended with a narrow win for Bournemouth.
Newcastle United 5-0 Crystal Palace
The Magpies rose to third place in the table with a resounding win against Palace at home.
Jacob Murphy opened the scoring inside 15 minutes with a smashing strike into the roof of the net, beating Dean Henderson at the near post. Palace had a chance to equalise when they were given a contentious penalty, but Eberechi Eze’s weak shot from the spot was easily saved by Nick Pope. Minutes later, Palace were made to suffer for the miss as Harvey Barnes’ shot on the counter was deflected in by a diving Marc Guéhi to make it two for Newcastle, who then scored their third in first-half stoppage time as the in-form Barnes scored with a hard, low strike into the corner. Newcastle struck again before half-time when Fabian Schär poked in from a Murphy free kick.
After the break, Alexander Isak, who had been denied by Henderson in the first half, spurned another straightforward chance as the Palace keeper denied him again. However, the Swedish marksman made it a five-star performance by Newcastle when he latched on to a defensive error just before the hour mark and struck a powerful curling shot into the near post. Palace simply couldn’t find a riposte to the hosts’ emphatic performance, losing back-to-back games in the league.
Leave a Reply