With both title and relegation finalised last weekend, the battle for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League qualification nears a thrilling conclusion as we approach the completion of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
In the weekend gone by, while Manchester City narrowly beat Wolves on Friday night, Aston Villa remained in UCL contention with a win over the Cottagers. Arsenal lost to the Cherries at home, while Chelsea boosted their chances of UCL qualification with an emphatic win over champions-elect Liverpool.
Let’s take a look at all the action from Gameweek 35 of the 2024/25 Premier League.
Manchester City 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Man City beat an in-form Wolves side courtesy of a solitary Kevin De Bruyne goal in the first half.
Wolves had the better chances in the first half. Marshall Munetsi failed to reach a Jean-Ricner Bellegarde pass when he had the goal at his mercy and Rayan Aït-Nouri was unlucky to hit the post on a separate occasion. The hosts broke the deadlock in the 35th minute when Jérémy Doku’s cutback pass in the box found De Bruyne, whose low finish found the near post.
Wolves were unlucky yet again in the second period when Matheus Cunha hit the post with a powerful strike. Omar Marmoush at the other end also fired his shot over the bar. Aït-Nouri escaped a potential red card for a dangerous foul on Bernardo Silva. Wolves could hardly trouble the Man City defence as the hosts kept control of both proceedings and possession.
With this win, City have managed to stay in touch with the UCL-chasing pack and kept up the pressure on the other teams, while also ending Wolves’ eight-game unbeaten run in the league.
Everton 2-2 Ipswich Town
Playing their penultimate game at the iconic Goodison Park, the Toffees let slip a two-goal advantage to draw the game against Ipswich.
In front of a capacity crowd, Everton started the first half brightly and opened the scoring in the 24th minute when a pinpoint cross from Carlos Alcaraz was glanced into the far corner by Beto. 11 minutes later, Dwight McNeil launched a swerving low strike from distance to double Everton’s advantage. Soon after, Ipswich’s Julio Enciso made a driving run in the box but pulled his shot wide off the near post, though the Paraguayan wasn’t to be denied just before half-time when his swerving shot swooped into the net from 35 yards out, beating a flailing Jordan Pickford.
The second half was a cagey affair, with Everton looking to defend their lead. However, Ipswich had the final say with ten minutes to go when George Hirst climbed the highest at the far post to sneak in a headed equaliser. Everton’s poor run of form continued with two dropped points, while the Tractor boys will take heart from gaining a point after being 2-0 down.
Leicester City 2-0 Southampton
The Foxes finally ended their poor run of form with a win over fellow relegated side Southampton this weekend.
With both teams already down, there wasn’t much to play for except pride. Leicester talisman Jamie Vardy opened the scoring in the 17th minute when he fired in on the half-volley from a Bilal El Khannouss cutback pass from the left. The second Leicester goal arrived at the cusp of half-time when Jordan Ayew smashed home from a rebound after his initial free-kick was blocked by the Saints wall.
El Khannouss had a glorious sight of goal in the second half but fired his shot way over the crossbar. Mateus Fernandes did put the ball in the net from a teasing cross from Kamaldeen Sulemana, but the goal was chalked off as the forward was offside. El Khannouss had another opportunity on the counter but pulled his shot wide yet again.
The win here must have given Leicester a sense of belief and positivity going into the Championship next season, while Southampton have a lot to do in the summer.
Aston Villa 1-0 Fulham
Aston Villa won by an early first-half goal against Fulham at Villa Park to keep alive their hopes of UCL qualification.
Youri Tielemans fired Villa into the lead with a thumping header from a John McGinn corner in the 12th minute. The Belgian had another chance saved with a curling shot from distance as Villa went into the break with a 1-0 advantage.
The visitors came back with intent into the second half. Ryan Sessegnon thought he had equalised with a low shot into the far corner, but the goal was disallowed for a handball in the build-up. Alex Iwobi then produced a superb long pass to Harry Wilson, but the Welshman couldn’t get his shot on target. Iwobi then found Wilson in the box again with a cross, but Wilson couldn’t put power on his goal-bound header, resulting in an easy save for Emi Martínez. Donyell Malen hit the underside of the crossbar in stoppage time before the game ended in a narrow win for the Villans.
Fulham’s promising start to the season has fizzled out, and it is looking increasingly likely that they miss out on European football next season. Villa, on the other hand, have boosted their chances of CL qualification with a massive win.
Arsenal 1-2 Bournemouth
The Cherries came back from a goal down to beat Arsenal at the Emirates this weekend. Despite the league title done and dusted and the second leg of the UCL semi-finals to play this midweek, Mikel Arteta played a surprisingly strong team in this game.
The match started on an even keel. A cross from Ben White flung at the far post and was read well by Illia Zabarnyi, with Declan Rice hovering behind him. At the other end, an inswinging cross from Milos Kerkez should have been headed in by Evanilson, but he headed it over the bar. Arsenal had a chance soon after as a Gabriel Martinelli cross found Leandro Trossard, but the Belgian’s low header was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga. The hosts started to dominate the proceedings and, in the 34th minute, Rice finally broke the deadlock after rounding off the keeper and slotting in an empty net from a reverse ball by Martin Ødegaard. Bukayo Saka had a chance to double the lead, but his curled shot sailed over the bar. Arsenal went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
However, Bournemouth haven’t given up all season and came back into the second half with intent. Arsenal got undone by a long throw into the box by Antoine Semenyo, which was glanced past David Raya into the far corner by Dean Huijsen in the 67th minute. Nine minutes later, Bournemouth took the lead as Evanilson poked in Marcus Tavernier’s cushioned header across the face of the goal, though it took a long time for the VAR to greenlight it. Arsenal couldn’t find a response and lost yet another game from a winning position.
With this win, Bournemouth remain in contention for European football, while the Gunners will look nervously over their shoulders as the other UCL-chasing sides close in on them.
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Newcastle United
The Magpies salvaged a late draw against the Seagulls this weekend.
The hosts dominated the early exchanges, with Newcastle looking sluggish. Just before the half-hour mark, Matts Wieffer found Yankuba Minteh in the box, who skipped past his marker and curled it into the far corner to give Brighton the lead. Newcastle then had two penalty opportunities—one on Anthony Gordon and one on Joe Willock—but the VAR denied them; the Gordon one turned out to be a foul outside the box, while Willock was booked for simulation as the defender hadn’t touched him.
In the second half, it was Brighton who felt hard done by as Matt O’Riley was fouled in the box by Sandro Tonali, but their complaints were waived off. In stoppage time, Newcastle got lucky as Yasin Ayari handled the ball from a free-kick and they were finally awarded a penalty. Alexander Isak coolly converted the spot-kick to level the game.
With this win, Newcastle kept their hopes of a top-five finish alive, while Brighton couldn’t build on their win from last weekend.
Brentford 4-3 Manchester United
The Bees came back from a goal down to defeat Manchester United in a seven-goal thriller.
The visitors started brightly in the opening period and were rewarded with the opener inside 15 minutes when a pass into the box from Alejandro Garnacho found Mason Mount, who tucked it into the net. However, Brentford responded with an equaliser just before the half-hour mark when Luke Shaw deflected a Mikkel Damsgaard shot into the net. Brentford then took the lead when Kevin Schade headed in at the far post from a Christian Nørgaard cross. The United players were upset, though, as Matthijs de Ligt had gone down outside the box and they were expecting the game to be stopped, but the on-field referee waived off their complaints. Brentford went into the break 2-1 up.
Brentford started the second period on the ascendancy and put daylight between them and their opponents as when a cross from Bryan Mbuemo at the far post was headed in by Schade in the 70th minute. The next Brentford goal was brilliant as they carved the United defence from a pass by Mathias Jensen into Michael Kayode, who unselfishly teed up an open Yoane Wissa for Brentford’s fourth. United did show a bit of fight late on as Garnacho made it 4-2 in the 82nd minute with a sublime curling effort into the top right corner before the returning Amad Diallo struck late on to make it 4-3, leaving the Brentford hearts fluttering, but the home side managed to hold on to all three points.
With the UEL semis in mind, Ruben Amorim played a changed side as the league results are of little consequence to his side now, while Brentford are keen on finishing the season on a high.
West Ham United 1-1 Tottenham
The Hammers shared the spoils with Spurs at London Stadium this weekend.
Spurs scored the opener inside 15 minutes thanks to a massive blunder by Max Kilman—the English defender made a mess of a long ball forward and Mathys Tel took advantage, passing to an open Wilson Odebert who slotted it into the net. However, the hosts began to create their own chances, and an exchange between Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jarrod Bowen led to the equaliser in the 28th minute. Wan-Bissaka laid the ball off to Bowen, who stroked it into the net, beating Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario from close range.
In the second half, there weren’t many clear-cut chances from either side except for a James Ward-Prowse inswinging free-kick that Bowen got a touch on, though Vicario produced a great reaction save. At the other end, Richarlison had a great chance but did not have another Spurs forward alongside him to tap in his cross across the goal. Ward-Prowse had another opportunity from a free-kick but curled it slightly wide of the post as the game ended in a draw.
Chelsea 3-1 Liverpool
Chelsea cleared a massive hurdle in their quest for UCL qualification as they beat the champions-elect at Stamford Bridge this Sunday.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot made six changes to his side, giving starts to squad players Wataru Endo, Jarell Quansah, and Harvey Elliott. The hosts started with blistering pace and opened the scoring inside three minutes as a Pedro Neto cross found an onrushing Enzo Fernández in the box, who didn’t miss the target. The visitors claimed the majority of possession and attacking play after that, though they couldn’t find an equaliser.
The Blues doubled their advantage in the 56th minute when Virgil van Dijk’s clearance from a Neto cross unfortunately struck Quansah and rebounded into the net. Slot brought on reinforcements and they made an immediate impact. A Kostas Tsimikas cross into the box was headed wide of the post by Mohamed Salah. Darwin Núñez also headed wide from a Salah cross. Jadon Sancho at the other end was denied by Alisson Becker late on after a driving run forward by Noni Madueke. Liverpool did cut the deficit in the 85th minute from a Van Dijk header from a corner kick. Chelsea looked unsettled as the visitors went looking for an equaliser, but Quansah conceded a late penalty for a foul on Moisés Caicedo in the box. Cole Palmer stepped up and converted it as Chelsea won the game 3-1.
The result didn’t matter much for Liverpool, but for Chelsea it was a massive win as it keeps alive their hopes of a top-five finish.
Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest shared the spoils with Crystal Palace away at Selhurst Park.
Both teams had decent chances to take the lead in the first half. While Daniel Muñoz’s effort was saved by Matz Sels at one end, Anthony Elanga should have scored on the counter at the other, but Dean Henderson in the Palace goal was equal to the task. The first half ended goalless.
Palace came back with intent after the restart. Eberechi Eze played Ismaïla Sarr through, but his low strike fell straight into the hands of Sels. Seconds later, Ola Aina—on the counter—created a great opportunity for Chris Wood when he beat the Palace press and drove forward, but Wood’s shot was deflected wide of the post by Maxence Lacroix. Palace did take the lead at the hour mark when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Tyrick Mitchell in the box—Eze stepped up and converted the spot-kick. Four minutes later, though, Forest equalised from a corner routine when the corner kick landed on the edge of the box and Neco Williams’ low shot was deflected goalwards by Murillo. Both teams tried to find a winner but ended up sharing a point each.
Forest’s poor run of form may deprive them of a Champions League spot after being superb for almost the entire season. It’s still possible, though, if they get three wins from their remaining three games and results elsewhere go in their favour, though it’s an uphill battle nonetheless.
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