New Delhi: Boxing Day in the Premier League never fails to deliver drama and excitement, and this year’s fixtures were no exception. Matchday 18 saw significant movement in the league standings as teams battled it out on the day after Christmas. Nottingham Forest stole the headlines with a stunning 1-0 victory over Tottenham, propelling them to third place, before Arsenal leapfrogged them with a win over Ipswich Town.
Newcastle United enjoyed a festive boost as a dominant 3-0 win over Aston Villa saw them break into the top five, with standout performances from Antony Gordon, Alexander Isak, and Joelinton. Wolves also had plenty to celebrate, with new manager Vítor Pereira marking his home debut with a crucial 2-0 victory over Manchester United, lifting them out of the relegation zone for the first time this season.
At the bottom of the table, it was another tough day for the promoted teams, all of whom remain rooted in the relegation zone. Southampton’s struggles deepened after a 1-0 defeat to West Ham widened the gap between them and safety to nine points. Meanwhile, Leicester City’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool dropped them to 18th, capping off a dramatic matchday 18 full of twists and turns.
5) Matheus Cunha finally finds a partner in Vitor Pereira
What a start to the Vitor Pereira era. 🐺
Two wins in two for Wolves under their new head coach. pic.twitter.com/RMImxCeBNq
— Premier League USA (@PLinUSA) December 26, 2024
For the longest time this season it looked like Matheus Cunha was fighting a lone battle to keep his side up in this relegation battle they’re in. While Gary O’Neil was in charge of the side, Cunha was the only one performing, and had scored eight goals and provided three more assists but wasn’t able to get Wolves out of this relegation dogfight. However, the arrival of Portuguese manager Vitor Pereira has uplifted the spirits at the club and it seems like Cunha has finally found a partner in this fight.
In the two games that he’s taken charge till now, Pereira has masterminded two wins with the latest of them being over Manchester United on boxing day. After the 3-0 win over Leicester City last weekend, Matheus Cunha inspired Wolves to another win as he scored one and assisted another as Wolves got out of the relegation zone for the first time this season. Pereira had vouched that his side will avoid relegation after the win over Leicester and he has an able ally in Cunha to try and do so.
4) Fabian Hürzeler’s feeling the heat of the Premier League
Brighton were booed off after their winless run was stretched to six Premier League games by a frustrating goalless draw against away-day strugglers Brentford. https://t.co/M9NLJpSBvX
— Irish Independent Sport (@IndoSport) December 27, 2024
Brighton made headlines in the summer when they appointed the youngest permanent manager in the league’s history as they replaced Roberto De Zerbi with Fabian Hürzeler. The 31-year-old German manager, appointed following his success with German side FC St. Pauli, got his first taste of top flight football in arguably the toughest league in the world and got his career off to a great start. He masterminded some great results in the early part of the season with wins over both Manchester clubs, Tottenham and Newcastle United.
However, since the end of November, he is finding out why this is considered as the toughest league in the world. As the fixture congestion increased, the results have started to dwindle for this side. The Seagulls are now winless in their last six league games and were once again held to draw at home to Brentford, a side that have the worst away record in the league. In these six games, they’ve only scored five goals till now and have been guilty of not finishing off chances. Hürzeler needs to figure out his side’s recent goalscoring problems to get out this rut.
3) Arsenal’s squad depth raises concerns
🤯 Mikel Arteta delivers a DEVASTATING update on Bukayo Saka’s injury. pic.twitter.com/K1crptAeO5
— Football Insider (@footyinsider247) December 28, 2024
Arsenal managed to jump ahead of both Nottingham Forest and Chelsea in the table following their narrow 1-0 win over Ipswich Town. The Gunners were without their star man Bukayo Saka after the Englishman suffered an injury in Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Crystal Palace and is now set to miss over two months of action at the very least. Arsenal utilized Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard on the flanks against the Tractor Boys but they failed to kill off the game against a team that’s involved in a relegation battle.
With Saka out injured for long and Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling struggling for both form and fitness, that leaves Mikel Arteta with only Trossard and Martinelli as recognized wingers in the squad. This comes at a crucial time for the club as the fixture congestion builds up and depth will play a huge part in their fortunes this season. It remains to be seen whether the club will dip into the January market for a winger but if they aren’t able to find one, their depth might stand in the way of another title charge.
2) Newcastle United finding form at the right time
In form at both ends of the pitch 👏
Following their win against Aston Villa, @NUFC have now won three matches in a row by three or more goals! pic.twitter.com/RXclEWJ00U
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 27, 2024
Newcastle United started the season on great form which included a win over Tottenham and a draw away to a Manchester City side that weren’t in this bad form that they’re in at this time. However, since October, they had been going through a rough patch starting with a loss to Brighton. They had since been in inconsistent form which included losses to Chelsea and West Ham but also saw wins over Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.
However, since the start of December, they have been in great form and barring a loss to Brentford, they have produced some great results. They’re currently on a three game winning streak in which they’ve scored 11 goals and haven’t conceded a single goal in this while. They are now hitting form at the right time as teams around them are struggling to cope with the festive schedule and this could be their chance to sneak into one of the European spots, having already broken into the top five.
1) Chelsea aren’t title contenders just yet
🔵🧘🏼♂️ Cole Palmer: “Everyone said from the start we aren’t title contenders. We are just learning”.
“It’s the first year under new coach, let us work on that”. pic.twitter.com/3Z8F5u6foc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 27, 2024
Much had been made of Chelsea’s form under Enzo Maresca this season. The Italian manager has transformed the club since his arrival which led to many pundits treating the Blues like Liverpool’s closest title contenders. All of Chelsea’s players and the manager himself had been claiming that the club aren’t in the title race this season despite their good form but the last two fixtures have shown Maresca to be proved right.
Chelsea struggled in their last two games against both Everton and Fulham and could only take one point from those two games. Everton frustrated them with a draw at Goodison while Fulham snatched a late win at Stamford Bridge, denting their supposed title challenge. The Blues could only score one goal in these two games and struggled to break down the low block set up by both teams. Questions arose over Enzo Maresca’s team selection and it shows that Chelsea are currently a work in progress and while they can be, they aren’t title contenders just yet.
Matchday 18 finally came to end last night with Arsenal’s victory over Ipswich Town having started on Boxing Day. Let’s dive in to find out what the key takeaways were from the latest round of Premier League action. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
