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Premier League 2024/25: 5 things we learned from Matchday 22 of the season

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Premier League 2024/25: 5 things we learned from Matchday 22 of the season
Premier League 2024/25: 5 things we learned from Matchday 22 of the season

New Delhi: As Chelsea ended their winless run with a comfortable victory over relegation threatened Wolves, the latest matchday of the Premier League season also came to an end. The latest round of fixtures provided a lot of goal mouth action with nine of ten away teams scoring more than two goals this weekend, with Vitor Pereira’s Wolves being the only exception. Liverpool managed to just avoid missing out on the fun as Darwin Nunez scored a brace in injury time to snatch three points from Brentford.

Arsenal were the only top five team to not get a win over the weekend as their were held at home by Aston Villa, marking a happy return to the Emirates for Unai Emery. Misery piled up for struggling Tottenham and Manchester United as they both fell to yet another defeat, to Everton and Brighton respectively. The Seagulls completed yet another double over United in the league as David Moyes made a winning return on his second Goodison Park debut. Let’s dive in to find out more about this weekend’s Premier League action!

5) Jamie Vardy’s record remains intact for another season

During Leicester City’s title winning 2015/16 season, Jamie Vardy created a little piece of history of his own as he broke his current manager, Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s Premier League scoring record. Vardy scored in 11 consecutive league games, breaking Nistelrooy’s record, who had scored in 10 consecutive league games for Manchester United. Vardy’s record is one that hasn’t yet been broken and it remains intact for yet another season following Newcastle’s defeat to Bournemouth.

The Magpies were on fire before this game week, having won their last nine games but were brought back down to Earth by a 4-1 thumping at the hands of the Cherries. Alexander Isak, who looked to threatened Vardy’s record had scored in eight consecutive league games for his side but drew a blank against Bournemouth, ending his run of scoring at eight games, level with Daniel Sturridge and joint third behind the current Leicester City duo of Vardy and Van Nistelrooy.

4) Four teams, three spots: Who will go down?

While the fight for Europe has been an intense one this season with their being no clear contenders for the top four still, things are a little different on the opposite end of the table. Following Everton’s win over Spurs, the Toffees have now created distance between themselves and the bottom four, especially considering they have a game in hand as well. With Everton moving four points clear of Wolves and with the potential of creating even more distance, the sides getting relegated will be from the current bottom four.

The current bottom four comprise of Southampton, Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Wolves, out of which Southampton seem destined for the drop as they sit bottom on six points. The race to get out of the remaining two places is on between Leicester, Ipswich and Wolves with the Foxes on 14 points and the other two level on 16. Ipswich’s 6-0 thrashing by Manchester City hurt their goal difference massively which might come to haunt them but they can still get out of this position. One thing for certain is that the relegated sides will be amongst these four.

3) Ruben Amorim partly to blame for Manchester United’s results

Manchester United faced yet another humiliating loss this season as Fabian Hürzeler Brighton completed a double over the Red Devils for the second time in the last three seasons. This was the club’s sixth home loss of the season, four of which have come under new manager Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese came to the club with a huge reputation but his tenure hasn’t been a joyous one yet and 11 points from 11 league games are now beginning to hurt the club and Amorim both.

While it’s clear that Amorim doesn’t have the kind of players that he wants to play his system, the manager has to take some blame for the results. He is the head coach for the club and he needs to get the best out of his side to have them perform better and get the best out of his players. If he feels the players he has aren’t suited to his system, then he needs to adapt it to the squad he has available to get the best possible results. Amorim has continued to be rigid in his system without having the players suited for it and that is one part he has played in Manchester United’s worrying form since November.

2) Trevoh Chalobah’s triumphant return to Chelsea

Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah was unceremoniously chucked out of the first team picture by the club’s board in the summer to get some ‘pure profit’ from the sale of their academy product. While the club wasn’t able to sell him on, they decided to loan him out to Crystal Palace but came crawling back for the defender when the Blues were in crisis. Chalobah slotted into the first team immediately, starting in his first game back against Wolves and made a triumphant return to the Blues.

Chalobah was absolutely solid at the back for the club and almost got a goal on his return only for Noni Madueke to steal it and turn it into an assist for the defender. He produced an excellent display, making seven clearances, three interceptions, winning six of his eight duels and maintaining a 96% passing accuracy that helped him win the man of the match award on his return to the club. His display helped the club to a first win in six games, which makes his unceremonious departure in the summer even more baffling.

1) Liverpool showing signs of a Champion team

Liverpool were struggling to break down a stubborn Brentford side away from home in their matchday 22 clash. The Reds were not able to break the low block that Brentford had set up and had frustrated the visitors for almost the entire match. They managed to keep Mo Salah quiet for only the fourth time this season and looked to have snatched vital draw at home from the league leaders. Liverpool were getting frustrated and had 37 shots at goal in the match but weren’t able to hit the back of the net before injury time. At times in the game, Brentford looked more likely of getting a goal than the Reds but that all changed after the initial 90 minutes had been played.

Up stepped Darwin Nunez from the bench and he side footed a neat finish from a Trent Alexander Arnold pass to send the away end into ruptures as he made it 1-0 to Liverpool in the first added minute. The Uruguayan then added another two minutes later to wrap up the three points as they won 2-0, breaking Brentford hearts. The Reds weren’t at their best during the game and were struggling against the Bees but they still managed to grind out a win and that’s exactly what champion sides have done. Getting three points even when not playing well is a trait that every champion team has and is one that is extremely important during a long tournament. If Arne Slot can have his team dig deep to grind out results, there’s no stopping this Liverpool side from lifting the title in May.

 The Premier League delivered another captivating round of action filled with drama, goals, and surprises. Let’s dive into the key talking points from an exhilarating weekend of Premier League action!  Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today

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