The 2024/25 Premier League season returned last weekend with Gameweek 33 after some thrilling European fixtures in the midweek.
With the season drawing to a close, the race for the top five is heating up. Manchester City kept their Champions League hopes alive with a victory at Goodison Park, while the Bees thrashed a 10-man Brighton. As the Villans embarrassed an in-form Newcastle United, Liverpool inched closer to the league title with a solitary late goal to relegate the Foxes.
Let’s take a look at all the action from Gameweek 33.
Everton 0-2 Manchester City
The Cityzens got a major boost in their CL qualification chances with two late second-half goals at Goodison Park.
The first half was pretty uneventful, with only a few decent chances on either side. A Matheus Nunes strike from distance was saved by Jordan Pickford, while James Tarkowski got close at the other end as his header hit the post. Kevin De Bruyne also had his goal-bound shot headed off the line by Jake O’Brien.
Everton started the second half well as Stefan Ortega made a save from point-blank range from a Jarrad Branthwaite header. Abdoulaye Doucouré’s powerful shot on goal was then pushed over the bar by the veteran German keeper. City then started to threaten, with Omar Marmoush failing to take advantage from a Michael Keane error as Pickford came to Everton’s rescue again, smothering the Egyptian’s effort.
City broke the deadlock in the 84th minute, with Nico O’Reilly poking home from a low cross into the box from Nunes. City then confirmed the three points in stoppage time when an Ilkay Gündogan pass found Mateo Kovacic, whose sliding shot nestled into the far bottom corner.
Everton’s day was further worsened with the loss of captain James Tarkowski, who went off injured early in the second half.
Brentford 4-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
Brentford thrashed the Seagulls to earn three huge points at home, denting Brighton’s hope of European football for next season.
The hosts opened the scoring inside ten minutes through main man Bryan Mbuemo, who scored with a fine finish. Danny Welbeck equalised with a well-placed header at the cusp of half-time.
The hosts came back out with intent after the restart and reclaimed the lead with Mbuemo’s second—a curling effort into the far bottom corner in the 48th minute. Ten minutes later, Brentford scored the third as Mbuemo set up Yoane Wissa, whose smashing effort found the net. Chasing the game, Brighton were pegged further back two minutes later when forward João Pedro was sent off for a dangerous foul. More drama ensued as Kaoru Mitoma made the game interesting by reducing the deficit in the 81st minute. However, Christian Nørgaard ended their hopes of an equaliser with a stoppage-time header.
West Ham United 1-1 Southampton
Southampton snatched a late equaliser against the Hammers at London Stadium.
The first half was fairly uneventful with few chances on either end. West Ham had a great chance early on when Lucas Paquetá found Niclas Füllkrug in the box, but he was denied by Aaron Ramsdale at the near post. At the other end, Southampton saw a Kyle Walker-Peters shot fizz agonisingly past the far post.
West Ham came charging into the second half and broke the deadlock in the 47th minute on the counter—Füllkrug passed to Jarrod Bowen in a forward position, and the Englishman shot into the far corner with an unerring finish. However, Southampton started to dominate the game, with Tyler Dibling missing a gilt-edged chance in front of a gaping goal with eight minutes to go.
With West Ham backing away, Southampton saw an opportunity to grab a point. In stoppage time, a Walker-Peters cross in the box hit Max Kilman and looped to Lesley Ugochukwu, who lashed a powerful volley into the net, stopping West Ham from ending their five-match winless run.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Bournemouth
The Eagles and the Cherries shared the spoils in a goalless affair at Selhurst Park.
Apart from a Dean Huijsen chance, when the ball hit his thigh from a creative corner-kick routine, and an overhead effort from Evanilson, the first half remained devoid of opportunities. However, an already-booked Chris Richards was sent off in first-half stoppage time for a second yellow card offence for impeding Justin Kluivert on the counter.
Down to ten men, Palace sat back as Bournemouth remained wasteful in the final third despite the advantage. Limiting Bournemouth’s effort to the edge of the box, Palace defended stoutly to get a point.
Aston Villa 4-1 Newcastle United
Aston Villa crushed Newcastle United with three second-half goals, boosting their chances of CL qualification with a huge win.
Having almost made a comeback in the midweek against PSG, Villa showed no signs of fatigue as they started on the front foot against Newcastle. Ollie Watkins scored inside the first minute with a helpful deflection from Newcastle defender Fabian Schär. However, Schär made up for it with a near-post header from a tantalising Harvey Barnes cross in the 18th minute. The two teams went into the break tied at 1-1.
The hosts came back firing in the second half and looked to dominate from the outset. John McGinn missed a 1v1 opportunity, with the on-rushing Nick Pope making a superb save. Four minutes after the hour mark, Villa regained the lead as fullback Ian Maatsen linked up with Watkins and found a fine finish. Dan Burn then turned one into his own net from a Villa cross into the box in the 73rd minute before Amadou Onana completed the thrashing with a powerful strike into the top corner two minutes later.
Ipswich Town 0-4 Arsenal
Arsenal thrashed ten-man Ipswich in a great attacking display at Portman Road.
The visitors looked full of confidence from the outset. Fresh from the win at the Bernabéu, the Gunners started with intent and found the opener inside 15 minutes as forward Leandro Trossard poked the ball in from a Bukayo Saka cross into the box. Fourteen minutes later, Arsenal doubled their lead as Saka and Declan Rice combined exquisitely to provide an easy tap-in for Gabriel Martinelli at the far post. Things got even worse for the hosts as Leif Davis’ studs down challenge on Saka’s Achilles tendon in the 32nd minute was deemed a red card offence. Shortly afterwards, Saka missed an easy opportunity to make it three.
With the numerical advantage, Arsenal kept attacking the Ipswich goal and Trossard grabbed his brace in the 69th minute when he squeezed the ball in from a corner-kick routine. Ethan Nwaneri then added to Ipswich’s misery as his shot deflected into the net in the 88th minute.
Manchester United 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
After a huge comeback win in the Europa League, Manchester United returned to business as usual with a home defeat against Wolves.
Having rested Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot, United still managed to create the better chances in a cagey first half. Kobbie Mainoo went down in the box at one point, but United’s shouts for a penalty were denied by the on-field referee, Robert Jones. At the other end, Nélson Semedo blazed his effort over the bar from distance.
The hosts began the second half brightly as Rasmus Højlund was denied by a superb tackle when he found space in front of goal. Alejandro Garnacho then dished a teasing cross at the far post, but it ended up out of reach for the young Dane. Into the last quarter of the game, the deadlock was broken by Wolves as a stunning Pablo Sarabia free kick from 25 yards went into the top right corner. United’s search for a late goal amounted to nothing. Mason Mount fired his shot high over the bar from a great position before failing to direct a perfect cross from Christian Eriksen into the net.
This was United’s 15th loss of the season, while Wolves’ impressive run continued with a fifth win on the bounce.
Fulham 1-2 Chelsea
Chelsea made a dramatic late comeback to snatch all three points at Craven Cottage.
With Man City and Aston Villa winning their respective games, the onus was on Chelsea to beat Fulham in order to keep their hopes of a top-five finish alive. However, the start did not go according to plan as Fulham opened the scoring inside 20 minutes, with Alex Iwobi firing them ahead with a low left-footed shot. Though Chelsea had a decent chance to score first with Nicolas Jackson, his touch let him down as an on-rushing Bernd Leno grabbed the ball.
The visitors came out after the break looking to dominate proceedings and started to trouble the Fulham defence. Another chance went begging when Pedro Neto shot straight at Leno from a great position. However, the Blues couldn’t be denied when young Tyrique George scored on the turn to restore parity in the 83rd minute. Neto then completed the comeback in stoppage time with a thunderous strike.
Leicester City 0-1 Liverpool
Liverpool found the going difficult against a solid Leicester defence but managed to find a late goal to move closer to their 20th league title.
Looking to avoid relegation, the Foxes came into the game trying to take the game to Liverpool. However, the table toppers missed several chances to score in a first half they dominated, with Mohamed Salah being particularly off the mark. At the other end, Wilfred Ndidi had a shot that hit the post. The two teams went goalless into the break.
The second half saw Arne Slot bring in changes to affect the game. Liverpool started to dominate more, but Foxes keeper Mads Hermansen kept them at bay. Leicester then found the net through Conor Coady, but the goal was denied for Patson Daka’s intentional push on Alisson Becker.
Trent Alexander-Arnold then came off the bench for Conor Bradley and got Liverpool the much-needed winner in the 76th minute with a powerfully drilled finish on his weaker left foot. Leicester couldn’t find a response and went on to lose the game, which also sealed their relegation.
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest returned to winning ways with a hard-fought win against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night.
Elliot Anderson fired the visitors into the lead inside five minutes when the ball from a corner kick fell to him and his powerful drive deflected off Rodrigo Bentancur into the net. Forest’s in-form marksman Chris Wood then doubled their lead in the 16th minute from a glancing header off an Anthony Elanga cross. Spurs did manage to recover after the poor start and looked to create chances. Dejan Kulsevski was denied by Matz Sels in front of goal as Mathys Tel and Richarlison also fluffed decent chances.
The hosts continued to attack in the second period as well, but Forest remained threatening on the counter as Morgan Gibbs-White pulled his shot wide from a Wood flick. Spurs almost scored in the 63rd minute from a Kulsevski effort, but Harry Toffolo’s timely goal-line intervention saved the visitors. Richarlison had a superb opportunity when a Forest clearance fell to him with only the goalkeeper to beat, but Sels rushed out to smother his effort. However, the Brazil international couldn’t be denied when he headed from a Pedro Porro cross into the bottom corner in the 87th minute. But Spurs couldn’t find an equaliser as the Forest defence kept them at bay in the closing minutes.
Manchester City 2-1 Aston Villa
Manchester City kept their hopes of Champions League qualification alive with a dramatic late win against the Villans at the Etihad on Tuesday.
Villa could have opened the scoring inside the first minute, but Marcus Rashford struck the post. The hosts made them pay in the seventh minute when Omar Marmoush carried the ball near the byline and found Bernardo Silva in the box with a cutback for the opener. However, Villa drew level in the 18th minute when Jacob Ramsey was fouled in the box by Rúben Dias and a lengthy VAR review awarded Villa the penalty. Rashford converted the spot-kick to restore parity. Villa keeper Emi Martínez made a save from a Kevin De Bruyne header and also denied Mateo Kovacic from distance as the first half ended 1-1.
In the second period, the hosts dominated proceedings and James McAtee missed a glorious opportunity; De Bruyne’s over-the-defence pass had found him with precision, but his 20-yard lob over Martínez missed the target. Unai Emery then brought more attacking players to impact the cagey affair, with both sides looking to find the winner. However, it was the home side that finally found the net in stoppage time as Jérémy Doku, dribbling past the Villa defence, produced a fabulous teasing assist for Matheus Nunes, who struck in at the back post, invoking rapturous celebrations from the home fans.
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace snatched a late equaliser against Arsenal at the Emirates in the midweek.
The Gunners got off the blocks quickly, opening the scoring inside three minutes. A free kick was awarded to Gabriel Martinelli, which Arsenal capitalised on as Jakub Kiwior headed home. However, Palace returned the favour before the half-hour mark with an innovative set-piece routine of their own. A corner kick was sent towards the edge of the box and Eberechi Eze volleyed it into the near post. Arsenal regained the lead three minutes from half-time, however, with Leandro Trossard finding the near post.
Palace came back with intent in the second half and created a couple of decent chances, with Ismaïla Sarr missing a gilt-edged chance when he tipped a free header over the bar. A Bukayo Saka shot on goal was superbly saved by Dean Henderson. In the 83rd minute, the Eagles made Arsenal pay when William Saliba’s sloppy sideways pass was intercepted by Jean-Philippe Mateta and he lobbed it over David Raya with great precision to restore parity. Palace could have snatched the winner late on, but Sarr failed to make contact with a teasing Mateta cross from the right.
With two more dropped points, Arsenal have made the job further easier for Liverpool, who now only need a point to secure the Premier League title.
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