Two of this Premier League season’s top five teams were at Wembley on Sunday, leaving Matchweek 25 with just eight matches.
They delivered enough to talk about, anyway, thank you very much.
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Liverpool and Chelsea couldn’t figure out the goals, Leeds United and West Ham delivered huge wins, and Arsenal and Man City took different paths to finishing the weekend just as they started it.
Along the way we had gorgeous goals that counted — Hello, Declan Rice — gorgeous goals that didn’t — Hello, Leandro Trossard — and Man City doing its best to only score goals as close to the line as possible.
Again, what did we learn from the Premier League this weekend? Here’s where our writers are living, as Joe Prince-Wright (JPW), Andy Edwards (AE), and Nicholas Mendola (NM) share their observations from across the most recent PL games.
10 things we learned in the Premier League: Week 25
1. Chelsea’s attackers heaping pressure on everyone else in blue (Spurs 2-0 Chelsea):Chelsea not only lacks Harry Kane but right now the Blues would probably accept any number of finishers they’ve sold or watched walk away over the years. Because Chelsea… just… isn’t… scoring. Kai Havertz scored in the 64th minute of Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Palace on Jan. 15. He’s since scored zero goals in 493 minutes. Hakim Ziyech has a single assist in 10 Chelsea appearances since the calendar turned to 2023. Raheem Sterling hasn’t scored since New Year’s Day and Joao Felix has one goal. Both are on limited minutes but it bears repeating that Chelsea’s biggest problem — by far — is that their forwards aren’t scoring. And only Felix is showing glimpses that he may find his footing. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana… all nothing. So it doesn’t matter if Enzo Fernandez, Reece James, Thiago Silva, and Co. are all doing their jobs well if Graham Potter’s men are not getting goals. Simple game sometimes, this one (NM).
2. Jorginho – Just what Dr. Arteta ordered (Leicester 0-1 Arsenal): The Gunners only took 10 shots but did not register a full xG on the day and really struggled to find answers through anyone but Leandro Trossard, as even the mighty Martin Odegaard had an off day. What should resonate with Gooners from the day, however, is just how good Jorginho looked again, the right fit for a Mikel Arteta game in which the gaffer knew his men would have a lot of the ball. Granit Xhaka will be looking over his shoulder — he may already be given Arteta’s glowing praise of Fabio Vieira — as Thomas Partey is back in contention to start and a Partey-Jorginho pairing might just give the Gunners license to play the duo along with two center backs, a keeper, and six forwards against some sides. We’re barely kidding. (NM)
3. Bournemouth vs Man City is a really, really bad match-up for the Cherries (AFC Bournemouth 1-4 Man City): Bournemouth’s attack has looked a lot better of late, and Dango Ouattara is either going to help the Cherries stay up or he’s going to be on another Premier League team next season. But City came into the game overdue to finish plenty of the chances it produces, and the defending champiowas essentially rifling through Bournemouth’s pockets with its shots deep in the Cherries’ box. Yeah this does make for a short recap: If Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, and Ilkay Gundogan show up as lively as they did against a bottom-half Premier League side — home or away — it’s only going to go one way, 99 times out of 100. (NM)
4. Liverpool’s questions are many, answers are few (Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool): The Reds’ midfield of Jordan Henderson, James Milner, and Naby Keita has a collective veteran nature and was well-suited to play a “no letdowns” sort of game, but Cheick Doucoure would’ve shown Liverpool what it was missing in an all-action, nearing-his-prime midfielder. And while injuries can’t often be an excuse for a club that’s spent as much as Liverpool, especially when Palace was missing Wilfried Zaha, the Reds could not deploy Thiago Alcantara, Darwin Nunez, and Ibrahima Konate amongst others. That’s a big ask. Liverpool should get Nunez back soon and Arthur Melo is finally nearing a return. There’s still plenty of hope for a top-four finish, but Saturday was a big miss even given the loud, wild nature of Selhurst Park. (NM)
5. David Moyes back from the brink… again (West Ham 4-0 Nottingham Forest): Seemingly every time West Ham takes the field these days, David Moyes has perhaps picked the West Ham team for the final time. Heading into Matchweek 25, reports from all over hinted that Moyes could be fired if the Hammers lost again. They didn’t! West Ham remain the only side in the Premier League’s bottom-six yet to make a managerial change this season, as Moyes has once again tempted fate and escaped unemployment. From Crystal Palace (26 points) to Bournemouth in 19th (21 points), eight sides are currently separated by five points.(AE)
6. Spurs looking very Conte, even without Conte (Spurs 2-0 Chelsea): Antonio Conte’s men are not just without Rodrigo Betancur, they’re without Conte — in person — as the Italian continues to recover from an operation. But that has not stopped Spurs from playing in his image, as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Cristian Romero are among the players making sure Tottenham is taking the fight to opponents. The biggest difference between Spurs and their would-be rivals, like Chelsea, however, is that Tottenham has an absolute horse in Harry Kane and he’s putting the team on his back. Harry Kane has gone 90 minutes 14 times in Tottenham’s 14 games since returning from the World Cup break, scoring seven goals and an assist. Tottenham is unbeaten when he gets on the score sheet. If you can, keep a era-defining striker on your books, yeah? (NM)
7. Small margins determine relegation scrap as Everton falls at home (Everton 0-2 Aston Villa): The game sprang to life not long after the restart. Everton was denied an opening goal in truly spectacular fashion on 55 minutes when Alex Iwobi’s initial shot was headed well wide of goal but came back into play after hitting Ezri Konsa, who was laid flat on the ground on the end line. The ball found its way to Neal Maupay, who headed it goalward, only for Tyrone Mings to sprint across goal and boot it clear. Phew, right? Five minutes later, roles were reversed as Jordan Pickford went full-stretch (and then some) to get a fingernail on Ollie Watkins’ header, pushing it onto the inside of the post but by no means clear. As it bounced back across the face of goal, James Tarkowski rushed onto the scene and hoofed it away. Three minutes after that exchange of goal-line clearances, Idrissa Gueye needlessly slid in and cut down John McGinn to give Aston Villa a penalty, and that was that. (AE)
8. Javi Gracia outfoxes Ruben Selles to make all the difference in huge six-pointer (Leeds 1-0 Southampton): What a start for new Leeds boss Javi Gracia in a tight, tense game. His substitutes made the difference, but Southampton’s new boss had no such luck. Ruben Selles made a triple switch and it didn’t work out for Saints. This win feels like it can be the one to reignite Leeds’ season and keep them above the relegation zone. Leeds always looked the more likely to break through and Jack Harrison summed up their spirit and determination as he set up the winner and Leeds held on easily to grind out a massive win. Leeds were also solid defensively and that’s going to be key; The USMNT duo of Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams created a great shield in front of the back four and Brenden Aaronson was back buzzing around in attack as all three started in the PL together for the first time. Leeds have a 100 percent winning record when the USMNT trio start together in the Premier League… (JPW)
9. Wolves on the rise as Cottagers slip (Fulham 1-1 Wolves): Fulham has been quite good at finding results this season and entered this game on a nice run, but did they think Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves would be a walkover? The Cottagers didn’t find their footing for some time in this match, as Lopetegui and his club’s increasingly comfortable transfers have done like a nice area rug and really brought the room — or the Molineux — together. Raul Jimenez is looking a bit more like Raul Jimenez with Pablo Sarabia on his right, while Mario Lemina and Craig Dawson also put in shifts on that side of the pitch. Throw in a terrific late save from mainstay Jose Sa, and you’ve got a Wolves team feeling more confident of another season in the Premier League. (NM)
10. Selhurst rocking as Palace gets its point (Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool): Wilfried Zaha’s absence and Liverpool’s status as a Premier League power might’ve led to Patrick Vieira opting to keep Eberechi Eze and Odsonne Edouard on the bench. It looked early like Palace was happy to defend and chase a point from Moment No. 1, but Vieira clearly saw an opening in the early stages of the game. Albert Sambi Lokonga and Cheick Doucoure were super good and Michael Olise and Jeff Schlupp out wide were quite ready as well. What might this have looked like with Eze out there for more than the final 20 minutes? We won’t know, and Vieira will not likely think much about it. This is a solid point, and holding Liverpool under 1.0 expected goals is always impressive. (NM)
