The race for the top five spots is going right down to the wire this season, with as many as four teams separated by a single point.
While Chelsea beat Manchester United at home, Nottingham Forest kept their hopes alive with an away win against the Hammers. The Toffees won their last game at Goodison Park, while the Gunners sealed their spot in the UEFA Champions League next season.
Let’s take a look at all the action from the penultimate Gameweek of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
Chelsea beat Man United thanks to a solitary goal from Marc Cucurella at Stamford Bridge.
The hosts started brightly. Noni Madueke missed a gilt-edged opportunity when Cole Palmer found him with a cross into the box, but he blazed his effort over the bar. Then it was Reece James’ long range volleyed effort that rattled the upright. However, it was United who thought that they’d taken the lead from a Harry Maguire header in the 25th minute, but the defender was marginally offside. Chelsea were then awarded a penalty for a foul on Tyrique George by André Onana, but the decision was overturned after the VAR revealed that the United shot-stopper had touched the ball first.
The second half was a cagey affair, with both teams trying to break the deadlock. At last, in the 70th minute, it was the two Chelsea fullbacks who combined to provide the winner. James received a ball from Pedro Neto on the left, pirouetted to escape his marker, and sent in a teasing cross that was thumped in by Cucurella. Later on, Amad Diallo looked lively for United and forced a near-post save from Robert Sánchez, but the Blues held on to get a massive three points after last weekend’s defeat.
Aston Villa 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Aston Villa boosted their UCL qualification chances by beating Spurs at Villa Park.
John McGinn capitalised on Djed Spence’s slip outside the box and unleashed a left-footed strike, which blazed over the bar. In the 14th minute, Son Heung-min had a golden opportunity as he drove in from the left, but his shot curled inches above the bar. A minute later, Son’s long pass found Wilson Odebert, who passed the ball forward and tried a cute back-flick in the box, but Emi Martínez was alert to the danger and made a fine reaction save. Morgan Rogers at the other end tried to turn in a teasing cross from the left as Antonín Kinský made a fine diving save. A speculative long-range strike from Marco Asensio, meanwhile, curled slightly wide off the post in the 35th minute. The first half ended goalless.
Villa broke the deadlock from a set piece just before the hour mark as a corner was knocked down by Ollie Watkins at the far post and turned in by Ezri Konsa into the net. Two minutes later, Watkins almost doubled the lead, but Kinský came to Spurs’ rescue. In the 73rd minute, though, Boubacar Kamara doubled the advantage for Villa with a low strike into the far corner. McGinn and Rogers could have added more for Villa, but neither could find the target. With injuries to their creative players, Spurs could hardly find an appropriate response as Villa held on to the three points.
The Villans go into the final game of the season with a chance to qualify for a second consecutive UCL campaign, while Spurs will now be looking ahead to the UEFA Europa League final.
Everton 2-0 Southampton
Playing their last game at the historic Goodison Park in front of a packed crowd, Everton came out comfortable winners against the long-relegated Saints.
The hosts started on the front foot, with Beto forcing a reaction save from Aaron Ramsdale from close range. However, Everton didn’t have to wait long as Iliman Ndiaye’s curled effort found the back of the net in the sixth minute for a dream start. Ndiaye was a constant menace for the Southampton defence and grabbed his brace in the first-half stoppage time when Beto played him through and he went around an onrushing Ramsdale to tap the ball into an open goal.
Southampton did create a couple of decent chances in the second half, but Jordan Pickford and the Everton defence kept them at bay and managed to keep a clean sheet.
With this win, Everton closed their Goodison Park chapter and will host matches at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium from next season.
Leicester City 2-0 Ipswich Town
Leicester City were comfortable winners against fellow relegated side Ipswich Town at the King Power Stadium this weekend.
Jamie Vardy delivered the opening goal in his last home games in Leicester colours in the 28th minute with a clinical finish after James Justin drove forward with the ball and found him in the box. The Foxes had another chance as Jordan Ayew’s effort deflected away from the post.
Kasey McAteer was unfortunate as he struck the post from distance with a powerful strike with no one to capitalise from the rebound as Ipswich breathed a sigh of relief. However, McAteer got his goal in the 69th minute when Stephy Mavididi found him in the box—his near-post strike couldn’t be saved by Alex Palmer. Leicester held on to the three points, ending their last home game of the season with a win.
Vardy’s opening goal was his 200th for the club—his last game in front of the home fans.
West Ham United 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest kept their feeble UCL qualification hopes alive with a hard-fought victory away at London Stadium.
West Ham had a brilliant opportunity in the opening minutes when Tomáš Soucek headed the ball goalwards, but Matz Sels in the Forest goal made a full-stretch save to deny him. Morgan Gibbs-White made up for an earlier miss when he latched onto a poor pass from West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola and struck home to give Forest an early lead in the 11th minute. Vladimír Coufal then found a loose ball in the box, but his near-post effort was thwarted by Sels.
The second half started with Forest dominating proceedings, and they doubled their advantage when Anthony Elanga’s teasing free kick was glanced into the goal by Nikola Milenkovic at the hour mark. Jarrod Bowen halved the deficit in the 86th minute when a Forest clearance fell to him. The Hammers forward took a touch and lashed the ball into the net. West Ham had a chance to equalise in the later stages, but Niclas Füllkrug’s header was saved by Sels to give Forest a massive three points.
Brentford 2-3 Fulham
Fulham came back from a goal down to beat Brentford away at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The Cottagers opened the scoring in the 16th minute from a thumping Raúl Jiménez header that Mark Flekken couldn’t keep out. However, the Bees responded seven minutes later when Yoane Wissa played Bryan Mbuemo through and the winger produced a clinical finish into the far corner. Brentford were then awarded a penalty for a foul on Kevin Schade into the box, but Mbuemo failed to convert it as Bernd Leno saved his weak shot from the spot. Wissa tapped in the second from Christian Nørgaard’s goal-bound shot from a throw-in just before half-time.
However, the visitors came back strong in the second half. Tom Cairney’s powerful header in the 68th minute from a Kenny Tete cross levelled the game. Two minutes later, Fulham took the lead when Harry Wilson produced a left-footed curler from 25 yards out into the bottom-left corner. Schade and Nørgaard were denied by Leno in the later stages as the visitors secured all three points.
Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle United
Arsenal narrowly beat the Magpies to secure a second-place finish and Champions League qualification for next season.
Playing without main man Alexander Isak, Newcastle lacked the cutting-edge in front of goal. A sloppy David Raya back pass was intercepted by Sandro Tonali, who played in Callum Wilson before Bruno Guimarães barged in and took a shot, but Raya made the save. Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon then linked up on the left side to create an opportunity, but Livramento struck straight into Raya’s hands. Arsenal’s first opportunity came from a Bukayo Saka corner—Gabriel Martinelli’s glancing header was going in, but Nick Pope made a superb reaction save to keep the score 0-0. Raya again made a double save at the other end to deny the Magpies as they threatened to score.
It was Arsenal who broke the deadlock ten minutes after the restart. Martin Ødegaard found Declan Rice free on the edge of the box and the English midfielder’s powerful low strike found the bottom far corner. The Magpies couldn’t find a response as the Gunners clinched all three points.
The last game of the season against Everton now holds massive importance for Newcastle in their quest for UCL football next season.
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2 Liverpool
The Seagulls kept their chances of European football alive with a thrilling comeback win against Liverpool.
With the league title wrapped up, Arne Slot played a much changed lineup. The Reds started well and opened the scoring in the ninth minute: in a swift counter, Mohamed Salah found an overlapping Conor Bradley, who dribbled past his marker, got to the bylines, and found Harvey Elliott with the cutback for an easy tap-in. However, Brighton responded well after the initial shock and pushed Liverpool back. Yasin Ayari restored parity with a well-crafted goal in the 32nd minute when Adam Webster found him with an over-the-defence pass and he struck it into the bottom corner. However, the visitors retook the lead at the cusp of half-time: from a free kick, Elliott found Dominik Szoboszlai in the box and his looping shot went past Bart Verbruggen into the far corner.
The hosts came back and looked dangerous right from the start of the second half. However, it was the visitors who had a gilt-edged opportunity as Salah pulled his shot wide from point-blank range. Kaoru Mitoma then came off the bench at the hour mark and made an instant impact as he threaded a pass to Danny Welbeck, but his effort was saved by Alisson Becker. However, Mitoma managed to knock down the rebound into the net to level the score. Jack Hinshelwood then scored the winner in the 85th minute from Matt O’Riley’s cross at the far post. The goal was initially denied for offside but a lengthy VAR ultimately cleared it as Brighton fans erupted with joy.
Manchester City 3-1 Bournemouth
In a game that saw a red card for either side, Manchester City dominated the Cherries to climb to third place in the league table.
City’s January signing Omar Marmoush opened the scoring inside 15 minutes with a long-range curler into the top left corner. He then teed up an unmarked Kevin De Bruyne, whose strike rebounded from the underside of the crossbar—a chance he shouldn’t have missed. Bernardo Silva doubled the Cityzens’ advantage in the 36th minute when Ilkay Gündogan found him in the box and he tucked the ball into the net at the near post. Bournemouth hardly got to create chances in the first half.
The second half turned chaotic when Mateo Kovacic was sent off for a foul on Evanilson in the 67th minute, the on-field referee believing he had prevented a goalscoring opportunity. However, Bournemouth could not take advantage of their numerical superiority and Lewis Cook was sent off six minutes later for a dangerous foul on Nico González. The game looked stretched out in the later stages but City put the result to bed when González scored in the 89th minute. Bournemouth did manage to get a late consolation goal in stoppage time when Daniel Jebbison dispossessed Rúben Dias and drove into the box; his strike was deflected but landed into the net.
City have massively boosted their chances of UCL qualification with their recent form, while Bournemouth have lost two on the bounce.
Crystal Palace 4-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Buoyed by their FA Cup triumph last weekend, the Eagles thrashed Wolves at Selhurst Park on Tuesday.
It was the visitors who broke the deadlock in the 24th minute when Emmanuel Agbadou headed in. His shot was kicked out, but the goal-line tech confirmed that the ball had crossed the line. Palace responded just three minutes later, though, with Eddie Nketiah putting the ball into the far corner. Five minutes later, they took the lead as Nketiah scored his second with a simple tap-in from an Ismaïla Sarr cross.
Five minutes into the second half, a Ben Chilwell free kick was deflected into the far corner to give Palace a 3-1 lead. Jørgen Strand Larsen pulled one back for the Wolves with a glancing header from a corner-kick routine in the 62nd minute. Wolves started to look more dangerous as Dean Henderson palmed off a powerful strike from the Norwegian. However, Eberechi Eze killed the game when he danced around the Wolves defence in the box in the 86th minute to score past Dan Bentley.
It was an entertaining end-to-end encounter as Palace grabbed all three points.
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