EPL Week 12 Review: Thriller at Stamford Bridge while Spurs Stumble

Shootout in Chelsea vs Manchester City match. Points lost by Tottenham and Newcastle. Unexpected draw at The Amex.

Wolverhampton 2 – 1 Tottenham

Spurs unexpectedly lose to Wolves in stoppage time. Tottenham opened the scoring in the 3rd minute. Brennan Johnson responded to a cross from the flank, beating the defender. On the 33rd minute, Mario Lemina went into the penalty area and shot into the far corner, but Vicario saved Tottenham.

The next defining moment came in the 72nd minute. Tottenham intercepted the ball and raced on a counterattack. The author of the first goal, Johnson, received the ball 20 meters from the goal and tried to punish the far advanced Sa, but missed the target. An alarming bell for Spurs rang in the 85th minute. Sasa Kalajdzic burst into the penalty area behind the defenders and headed from a cross, but did not hit the target. In the 88th minute, the Wolves defenders gifted the opponent a chance by losing the ball in their own half, but Son received the ball and failed to beat the last defender, but Spurs retained the ball.

Then they rolled it out to Giovani Lo Celso on the penalty line and he hit hard into the corner, but José Sa made a magnificent save. Wolves play the ball back. Pablo Sarabia scores in the 91st minute, running behind the defenders, receiving the ball and hitting with his first touch into the near corner. Mario Lemina puts the Wolves ahead in stoppage time on the 97th minute. Again running behind the defenders and scoring. 2-1 Wolverhampton wins and Tottenham loses second match in a row.

Manchester United 1 – 0 Luton Town

Our match forecast was fully justified, minimal victory for Manchester. United took control of the ball almost from the very beginning of the match and rarely gave it to the opponent. United could have scored already in the 10th minute of the meeting. Rasmus Hojlund failed to outplay Thomas Kaminski after hitting from the goalkeeper’s line. On the 41st minute, Granacho hesitated when going 1 on 1 and the defender took the ball away. In the second half, in the 59th minute, another United defender, Victor Lindelöf, scores for the team. Marcus Rashford took the ball in the penalty area in the 69th minute and hit it right at Kaminski, the score remained unchanged. Kaminski excelled in goal again, reflecting McTominay’s header into the corner in the 81st minute. 1 – 0, Manchester United’s victory. Again we can applaud the defenders and regret the attacking group of players.

Crystal Palace 2 – 3 Everton

The teams did not hesitate to exchange goals at the very beginning of the meeting. The Toffees scored first, thanks to Vitaliy Mykolenko, in the very first attack from the kick-off. In a counterattack, Everton gifted Palace a penalty. Eberechi Eze burst into the penalty area dribbling, where he was fouled. Eze took and scored the penalty himself. 1-1. After that, until the break, the teams fought in the middle of the field, Everton gave up control to Palace, and the latter do not really know how to build their attacks through ball control. Half-time.

As in the first half, the teams started without warm-up. Mykolenko, after a corner kick, hit hard on the fly and hit the post, but Abdoulaye Doucoure was there for the rebound and finished into the net. Everton led again, 1-2. Odsonne Édouard equalizes the score in the 73rd minute. After a header into the penalty area, Jordan Pickford and James Tarkowski did not figure it out between themselves, which Édouard took advantage of, calmly receiving the ball and shooting past the goalkeeper. Everton did not like this outcome and taking control of the ball, began to carry out their attacks.

Idrissa Gueye set the final score in Everton’s favor in the 86th minute, responding to a pass into the penalty area and rolling past the goalkeeper. 2-3 is the final score of the meeting. We did not expect such a lot of goals, but the final score justified our forecast of a minimal victory for one of the sides.

Arsenal 3 – 1 Burnley

The start of the match did not turn out to be spectacular as in the adjacent match. Arsenal rolled the ball, Burnley sat in defense. The first really dangerous moment occurred in the 19th minute. Burnley goalkeeper James Tarkowski pulled the ball out of the very corner, after Bukayo Saka’s shot. In the 31st minute, Gudmundsson went one on one with David Raya, and could put Burnley ahead, but failed to outplay the goalkeeper. Leandro Trossard puts the Gunners ahead in the 46th minute of the first half, after a header assist from Saka.

In the second half, Burnley began to attack more actively. Josh Brownhill scores for Arsenal in the 54th minute after confusion and a ricochet in the Gunners’ penalty area. But Burnley’s joy was short-lived. William Saliba heads into James Tarkowski’s goal, outjumping the goalkeeper in the air after a corner kick in the 57th minute. In the 74th minute, after a corner kick, the crossbar saved Burnley from another conceded goal, but only for a couple of seconds. Alexander Zinchenko was first on the rebound and with an overhead kick sent the ball into the net. 3-1. In the 83rd minute, Arsenal player Fabio Vieira received a straight red card for dangerous play, but it did not help Burnley at all. The forecast for this match was fully justified, the Gunners’ victory by 2 goals.

Bournemouth 2 – 0 Newcastle

In this match, Newcastle was a shadow of themselves, unable to oppose anything to the relegation zone team. The match took place in mutually sharp attacks. Moments arose at both goals. The defense failed on both sides. And all that saved the teams from conceded goals for a long time was the brilliant play of the goalkeepers, who together made about 15 saves. The first half did not please us with goals and ended in a draw.

Dominic Solanke opens the scoring for Bournemouth in the 60th minute. He also doubles in the 73rd minute after a corner kick, turning out to be nimbler after several bounces of the ball in the penalty area. Towards the end of the match, Bournemouth could have scored more goals, but the brilliant play of Nick Pope in goal prevented this from happening. 2-0 in favor of the hosts, whom we congratulate, with this victory they finally rise from the relegation zone. And Newcastle should prepare better for the game, and European Cup games during the week are no excuse for such a game against such an opponent.

Brighton 1 – 1 Sheffield United

And again Brighton cannot show their game. This draw goes into Sheffield’s piggy bank, who did nothing for it, because both goals in this match were scored by Brighton. Simon Adingra scores a goal at the very beginning of the meeting in the 5th minute, after a great Brighton combination. The Seagulls had a lot of possession and attacked sharply, but did not score more goals in the half. The second half continued under the onslaught of Brighton, who still could not increase their advantage in the score. The situation was complicated by the dismissal. Moisés Caicedo dangerously played against a Sheffield player and went to the locker room ahead of time. Sheffield began to take advantage of the numerical advantage. And they succeeded. Adam Webster deflects the ball into his own net after a cross in the 74th minute. 1 – 1 is how the match ended.

Liverpool 3 – 0 Brentford

Liverpool showed their strength by very confidently beating the Bees. The Reds, as hosts, began attacking and pressing from the first minutes. Darwin Núñez hit Brentford’s goal several times, but each time he was caught offside. The next time Núñez decided not to shoot but to play to the “Pharaoh”. Mohamed Salah opens the scoring in the 39th minute, taking the ball in the penalty area and shooting into the far corner.

In the second half, Salah scored for the second time in the 62nd minute, scoring with his head from close range. Diogo Jota scores Liverpool’s third goal in the 74th minute, shooting into the far corner from the penalty line. Brentford had two great chances to play back at least one goal in the 76th and 78th minutes from corner kicks, but Virgil van Dijk in the first case and Alisson in the second, saved the team by taking the ball off the line. 3-0 is the final score of the match and second place in the table for Liverpool.

West Ham 3 – 2 Nottingham Forest

Another match where Forest cannot withstand the end of the match to earn some points for themselves. Lukasz Fabianski opens the scoring in the match with a long shot in the 3rd minute of the meeting. Forest were cut off in their own half, which the Hammers immediately took advantage of. Taiwo Awoniyi equalizes the score in the 44th minute. Now West Ham was cut off in their own half and Forest capitalized on their mistake.

Forest played a great combination in the 63rd minute with a run down the flank and a cross into the penalty area. Anthony Elanga elegantly finishes off the combination with a billiard shot into the far corner. The Hammers did not fall apart and immediately equalized. Jarrod Bowen heads in from a corner kick in the 65th minute of the meeting. West Ham had no intention of losing and attacked Forest with great force, which led to mistakes in the guests’ defense.

Tomas Soucek failed to take advantage of the defender’s mistake by hitting the crossbar. Then he did not outplay the goalkeeper with a header after a free kick. But these moments did not teach Forest’s defenders anything, and they did not start covering him better. As a result, Souček scores with a header from a corner kick in the 89th minute of the meeting. 3-2, and our forecast was justified, West Ham narrowly beats Forest.

Aston Villa 3 – 1 Fulham

Aston Villa really pulled themselves together and confidently beat Fulham. There were no quick goals in the match. The scoring was opened only in the 27th minute. Anthony Robinson, in the opinion of the referees, deflected the ball into the goal after Mussa Diaby’s shot. John McGinn doubles Aston Villa’s advantage, taking the defender out with a dummy and shooting from the edge of the penalty area right into the corner of the goal in the 42nd minute.

In the second half, Fulham had a chance to play back one goal in the very first attack, but the post saved Villa. Ollie Watkins scores Aston Villa’s third goal in the 64th minute, after a beautiful ball play on the flank. In the 70th minute, Robinson broke away from Villa defenders, took a cross in the penalty area and passed to Raul Jimenez for an empty net. 3-1. In the 83-84th minute of the match, a miracle saved Fulham from a 4th conceded goal, when the crossbar, post and a miss did not allow the goal to happen. The final score no longer changed. The Lions confidently beat their opponent, as we predicted.

Chelsea 4 – 4 Manchester City

The “showcase” of the central match did not disappoint and it became the highlight of the whole round. Beautiful play of both teams, lots of goals, relentless fighting and dramatic climax, everything we love football for! Marc Cucurella held Erling Haaland in the penalty area in the 21st minute, for which a penalty was awarded. Haaland took it himself and calmly scored it. 0-1.

Ederson saves City in the 28th minute by pulling the ball out from under the crossbar after a free kick. But Thiago Silva equalizes with a header, from the subsequent corner in the 29th minute. Raheem Sterling puts Chelsea ahead in the 37th minute from a pass by Reece James. Haaland hits hard past the goalkeeper from the penalty area in the 42nd minute, but Robert Sánchez showed great reflexes and was able to reach for that ball. And it seemed that Chelsea would go into the break with the advantage in the score, but City upset them. Manuel Akanji heads into the very corner after a corner kick in the 46th minute of the first half. The teams go into the break with the score tied.

Second Half

Erling Haaland upsets Chelsea, rolling into goal with the ball right at the start of the second half in the 46th minute. 2-3 and City is ahead. Sánchez again demonstrates magnificent reflexes by catching Rodri’s volley shot in the 52nd minute. On the 59th minute, Cole Palmer dribbled past City’s entire defense, entered the penalty area and failed to beat Ederson.

Conor Gallagher hits hard from outside the penalty area, Ederson parries. Hero of the previous match Nicholas Jackson is first on the rebound and scores. 3 – 3 again a draw on the scoreboard. Rodri scores a goal against Sanchez’s goal in the 86th minute with the help of a ricochet off Thiago Silva and puts City ahead again. 3 – 4. In the 92nd minute, Ruben Dias brings down Armando Broja in the penalty area and a penalty is awarded against City. Cole Palmer scores the penalty in the 95th minute and sets the final score in the match 4 – 4.

Conclusion

The match turned out to be insane in terms of passion and we can congratulate Chelsea on such a game. And let’s hope that the “Blues” have finally returned to the elite of English football.

Archi Fernando

Archi is our passionate football expert.