2024/25 Premier League Roundup: Gameweek 31

Fulham 3-2 Liverpool

Fulham pulled out a terrific performance to hand Liverpool just their second Premier League defeat of the season! Fulham probably should’ve had a penalty early in the game, but the referee didn’t give it for either challenge before Liverpool had the lead after 14 minutes thanks to a great strike by Alexis Mac Allister! In the 23rd minute, the game was back on level terms as Ryan Sessegnon fired home after a small error by Curtis Jones! After 2 errors by Andy Roberston, Fulham had the lead in the 32nd minute as Alex Iwobi scored following a deflection off Robertson, and just 5 minutes later, and Fulham were 3-1 up courtesy of Rodrigo Muniz! Muniz did really well here, but neither Virgil van Dijk nor Caoimhin Kelleher should’ve let this goal happen! In the Second Half, Bernd Leno produced a really good save to deny Diogo Jota before Liverpool did have one back in the 72nd minute through Luis Diaz! Harvey Elliott then had the best chance to equalise for Liverpool late on, but he could only hit the crossbar! Overall, this is a great win for Fulham! The Cottagers rise to 8th in the table and they take on Bournemouth on next week’s Monday Night Football! As for Liverpool, they simply made too many mistakes here! The Reds remain top of the league and they host West Ham next time out!

Tottenham 3-1 Southampton

A loss at Tottenham Hotspur confirmed Relegation for Southampton! Pedro Porro pulled out a terrific block to knock Kamaldeen Sulemana’s effort onto the post before Tottenham had the lead after just 13 minutes through Brennan Johnson! Lucas Bergvall then thought he’d made it 2-0, but his goal was ruled out for offside before Tottenham did have their second in the 42nd minute as Johnson scored again! In the 90th minute, Southampton at least managed to get one back through Mateus Fernandes, but it didn’t matter for much as Spurs were then awarded a penalty after Brennan Johnson was brought down by Wellington! However, it was Mathys Tel who stepped up and scored to seal all 3 points for the hosts! Overall, this was a pretty simple win for Tottenham Hotspur! Spurs remain 14th in the table and they host Frankfurt in the Europa League on Thursday followed by an away trip to Wolves! As for Southampton, this result confirmed what we’ve known for almost the entire season! The Saints stay bottom of the league and they host Aston Villa next time out!

West Ham 2-2 Bournemouth

Evanilson had a decent opportunity to score which he headed wide before Evanilson did find the back of the net to give Bournemouth the lead after 38 minutes! The goalkeeping from Alphonse Areola was really poor here! Illia Zabarnyi then had a great chance to make it 2-0 which he could only head onto the crossbar before West Ham were level in the 61st minute through Niclas Fullkrug! Just 7 minutes later, and West Ham were ahead as Jarrod Bowen headed home brilliantly! Bowen then came close to scoring again with a close-range free kick before Bournemouth were back on level terms in the 79th minute courtesy of Evanilson (again)! In the end, this is an okay point for West Ham United, but nothing more! The Hammers remain 16th in the table and they head to Liverpool next time out! As for AFC Bournemouth, it’s another game without a win for them! The Cherries stay 10th in the league and their next game is a big one at home against Fulham!

Leicester 0-3 Newcastle

After less than 2 minutes, Newcastle already had the lead as Jacob Murphy was there to tap home from close range! In the 11th minute, it was 2-0 to Newcastle as Murphy scored again following Fabian Schar’s amazing effort hit the crossbar (and came back out)! Bilal El Khannouss then forced Nick Pope into making a save before Harvey Barnes made it 3-0 by scoring on the rebound! In the end, it’s another terrible day at the office for Leicester City! The Foxes remain inside the Relegation Zone (in 19th) and they head to Brighton next time out! As for Newcastle United, this was easy as you like for them! The Magpies rise to 5th in the league and their next game sees them host Manchester United!

Ipswich 1-2 Wolves

Ipswich Town’s hearts sank as Wolverhampton Wanderers picked up a massive victory in the “Fight for Survival”! Jorgen Stand Larsen had a decent chance early on which was saved by Alex Palmer before Ipswich had the lead after just 16 minutes through Liam Delap! After Palmer then made a shocking error (which almost resulted in an own goal), Wolves had a chance from just 6 yards out, but Ipswich managed to defend the situation well! In the Second Half, Joao Gomes came close as his effort came smashing back out off the post before Wolves were finally level in the 72nd minute thanks to Pablo Sarabia’s effort! And then, in the 84th minute, Wolves had their all-important winner courtesy of Jorgen Strand Larsen! In the end, this loss makes Survival seem almost impossible for Ipswich Town! The Tractor Boys remain inside the Relegation Zone (in 18th) and their next game sees them head to Chelsea! As for Wolverhampton Wanderers, this is a crucial win for them! Wolves stay 17th in the table and they host Tottenham next time out!

Aston Villa 2-1 Nottingham Forest

Aston Villa picked up a big win over Nottingham Forest to keep their Champions League hopes well and truly alive! After just 13 minutes, Aston Villa had the lead thanks to a great goal by Morgan Rogers! Less than 2 minutes later, and it was 2-0 to Aston Villa as Donyell Malen tapped home from close range! Anthony Elanga then went on another one of his solo runs which saw his effort fly just wide of the post before Callum Hudson-Odoi had a good opportunity which he too dragged wide! In the Second Half, Neco Williams had a great chance to score which he poorly blasted wide before finally, in the 57th minute, Nottingham Forest had a goal back thanks to Jota Silva! Morgan Rogers then had another good chance to score which was kept out by Matz Sels before Murillo’s terrific effort could only smash the crossbar! Marcus Rashford then had a great chance to finish the game off, but Sels once again stood tall! Overall, this is a really positive win for Aston Villa! Villa stay 7th in the table and they have a big game away at PSG tomorrow followed by an away trip to Southampton! As for Nottingham Forest, they had more than enough chances to get something from this game! Forest stay third in the league and they host Everton next time out!

Crystal Palace 2-1 Brighton

Crystal Palace managed to edge out Rivals Brighton and Hove Albion in a game that produced as many Red Cards as goals! After less than 3 minutes, Crystal Palace already had the lead as Jean-Philippe Mateta fired home a cracker! Dean Henderson then pulled out a good double save to keep the game at 1-0 before Brighton were back on level terms in the 31st minute through Danny Welbeck! In the 55th minute, Crystal Palace were back in front courtesy of a nice strike by Daniel Munoz (that was also helped by a deflection)! In the 78th minute, Eddie Nketiah was sent off for a second bookable offence before things got worse for Palace as Marc Guehi was also shown a Red Card! However, in the 96th minute, Brighton were now down to 10 men as Jan Paul van Hecke was sent off before Dean Henderson pulled out a great stop to deny Yasin Ayari! Overall, this is a positive win for Crystal Palace! The Eagles rise to 11th in the table and they head to Manchester City on Saturday! As for Brighton and Hove Albion, it’s another tough defeat for them! The Seagulls drop to 9th in the table and they host Leicester next time out!

Everton 1-1 Arsenal

Jake O’Brien had a golden chance at the back post which he just couldn’t guide on target before Arsenal had the lead in the 34th minute through Leandro Trossard! Jordan Pickford then pulled out a decent save to deny Trossard a second before Everton were awarded a penalty after an incident between Jack Harrison and Myles Lewis-Skelly! Iliman Ndiaye then stepped up and scored to get his side back on level terms! In the end, this is a solid point for Everton! The Toffees remain 15th in the table and they head to Nottingham Forest next time out! As for Arsenal, they’ll feel hard done by here! The Gunners stay second in the league and they host Real Madrid tonight followed by Brentford on Saturday!

Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City

There was nothing to separate United or City in a dull Manchester Derby! Alejandro Garnacho had a good opportunity which he made a bit of a mess of before Phil Foden had a great chance which he failed to hit the target with! Omar Marmoush then lashed one straight at Andre Onana before Ederson pulled out a good save to deny Joshua Zirkzee! In the end, this was a pretty terrible game, and Manchester United shouldn’t be happy with a point! United stay 13th in the table and they head to Lyon on Thursday followed by Newcastle on Sunday! As for Manchester City, they were poor here! City drop to 6th in the league and they host Crystal Palace next time out!

Brentford 0-0 Chelsea

Mikkel Damsgaard had a great chance to give Brentford the lead early on, but he somehow failed to connect with the ball before Bryan Mbeumo had a decent opportunity which he failed to hit the target with! Robert Sanchez then pulled out a decent save to keep Keane Lewis-Potter’s headed effort out before Mark Flekken pulled out a similar save to deny Reece James! Sanchez then pulled out another decent save, this time to stop Mbeumo from finding the net before Sepp van den Berg missed a sitter to give Brentford the lead! In the end, this was a massive missed opportunity for Brentford! The Bees drop to 12th in the table and they head to Arsenal next time out! As for Chelsea, they can be satisfied with a point! The Blues stay 4th in the league and they head to Legia Warszawa on Thursday followed by a home game against Ipswich!

Premier League Table at the End of Gameweek 31

1. Liverpool: 73pts (+42)

2. Arsenal: 62pts (+30)

3. Nottingham Forest: 57pts (+14)

4. Chelsea: 53pts (+17)

5. Newcastle: 53pts (+13)

6. Manchester City: 52pts (+17)

7. Aston Villa: 51pts (0)

8. Fulham: 48pts (+5)

9. Brighton: 47pts (+2)

10. Bournemouth: 45pts (+11)

11. Crystal Palace: 43pts (+4)

12. Brentford: 42pts (+4)

13. Manchester United: 38pts (-4)

14. Tottenham: 37pts (+13)

15. Everton: 35pts (-5)

16. West Ham: 35pts (-17)

17. Wolves: 32pts (-16)

18. Ipswich: 20pts (-34)

19. Leicester: 17pts (-45)

20. Southampton: 10pts (-51)