New Delhi: Matchday 17 of the Premier League delivered yet another round of enthralling football, full of stunning results and individual brilliance. With the action now moving firmly into the Premier League’s festive period, teams battled it out with intensity, producing high-scoring thrillers, resilient defensive displays, and moments of magic that defined the weekend. This past gameweek provided us with all the thrills and some spills from teams across the board.
Manchester United’s struggles continued with a shocking loss at home, while Liverpool showcased their title credentials with a dominant win to extend their lead at the top. Elsewhere, Bournemouth stunned another big side to climb further up the table, and Wolves enjoyed a strong start under new management. With the halfway mark of the season fast approaching, let’s dive into the key takeaways from the latest round of fixtures.
5) New manager bounce is real
How about that new manager bounce for Wolves? 👀#LEIWOL pic.twitter.com/6KIOdOpMFM
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 22, 2024
Two of the league’s worst placed teams, Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, headed into the matchday with a new boss at the helm. After sacking both Russell Martin and Gary O’Neil on the same day, both clubs acted swiftly in announcing their successors. Wolves returned to their Portuguese connection and replaced O’Neil with former Al Shabab manager Vitor Pereira while Southampton went for the experience of ex-AS Roma boss Ivan Juric.
Both managers started their Premier League campaigns at the same time with both teams involved in last night’s fixtures and managed to achieve better results that what their predecessors had managed in the entire month. Vitor Pereira’s Wolves dismantled fellow strugglers Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, running out as 3-0 winners whereas Southampton managed to hold Fulham to a 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage. Their results instantly stopped both clubs’ losing streaking, once again proving that new manager bounce is a real thing in the league.
4) Manchester United hit new lows
Man Utd will spend Christmas in the bottom half of the table for the first time since 1989-90 📉 pic.twitter.com/0KqtMulQ3D
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 22, 2024
Oh how the mighty have fallen! This is the only phrase that one can think about when talking about the Red Devils from Manchester. Manchester United, once the pride and joy of English football, just seem to be a shadow of their former selves now. Since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013, they have been in utter turmoil and chaos, both behind the scenes and on the field. They have been in a constant state of transition that doesn’t seem to end.
Now, under the tutelage of Ruben Amorim, their seventh permanent manager since the legendary Scotsman left, the club have hit new lows. They once again suffered a humiliating defeat at home as Bournemouth ran out 3-0 winners against the hosts. This defeat meant that United will now head into Christmas in the bottom half of the Premier League table, something that they had never witnessed before.
3) Julen Lopetegui is hanging by a thread
“They showed me something I haven’t seen for a while at West Ham”
Thierry Henry discusses Julen Lopetegui future at West Ham 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/JQUFsuG4uk
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 16, 2024
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui is under immense pressure and it just seems to keep on increasing with each passing day. The Hammer spent heavily in the summer in hopes for a European challenge but have since then not able to produce the desired results, and that has seen Lopetegui come under fire. Their disappointing string of results continued this weekend as they failed to win at home against Brighton.
In the first 17 games of the season, the East London club have managed only five wins till now and have already suffered seven losses. Ever since the El Sackico earlier this month, the Hammers have put an end to their losing streak but haven’t won convincingly. They drew last week as well, despite taking the lead in the 87th minute and were lucky to come away with a draw against Brighton. Their boxing day clash against Southampton is going to be a make or break fixture for Lopetegui as he hangs on by a thread in the West Ham hotseat.
2) The fight for Europe is getting intense
As it stands for Christmas 🎄🎅 pic.twitter.com/y6EGUgs8tv
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 22, 2024
The fight for European spots this season looks to be tighter than ever with multiple so-called ‘smaller clubs’ punching above their weight. While the top three seem to have distanced themselves, the fourth UEFA Champions League spot is one that is being eyed by multiple clubs, along with the UEFA Europa and Conference League spots. Manchester City’s faltering form this season has only made this tussle even more interesting for the neutrals.
From Nottingham Forest in sixth to Brighton in tenth, only six points separate all the sides with Manchester City stuck in the middle of the chasing pack. Forest, Bournemouth and Aston Villa currently occupy the fourth, fifth and sixth spots respectively but Newcastle seem to have found their form at the right time and they are catching up pace as well. Additionally, it is still expected that Manchester City will rediscover their form in the second half of the season which makes this fight for Europe extremely intense.
1) Mo Salah continues to create new records
The only player in @premierleague history to have 🔟➕ goals and assists in six different seasons 🇪🇬👑 pic.twitter.com/49BZ6BECEW
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 22, 2024
Liverpool sit pretty at the top of the Premier League table, four points clear and with a game in hand. The Reds have been the champions elect for a while now given their red hot performances and they don’t look to be slowing down. Liverpool are unbeaten against the Premier League’s ‘big six’ this season, with their latest victims being Tottenham, who were blown away at home last night as Arne Slot’s men beat them 6-3.
Mo Salah once again proved to be the star man for his side as he scored twice and assisted twice to help his team win. With his contributions last night, Salah became the first person in Premier League history to reach double figures for goals and assists before Christmas. Not only that, he also became the first and only player to achieve double figures for goals and assists in six Premier League seasons, breaking Wayne Rooney’s record who did so in five. He might very well be the best attacker the league has ever witnessed.
The first round of festive fixtures for the 2024/25 season are now in the books as we saw a goal fest on Matchday 17. Let’s dive in to see what we learned from the latest matchday of the season. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
