Review of Premier League GameWeek 37

Premier League GameWeek 37 witnessed some drama as Brighton claimed victory over Manchester City and Liverpool finally entered the top four.

Chelsea 2 – 1 Leicester City

The Blues boosted their Champions League qualification hope by beating Leicester City at Stamford Bridge. They got into the lead after Antonio Rudiger – who has scored half of his Premier League goals against Leicester (three out of six) – nodded in a header from a corner.

Jorghino doubled their lead from the spot before Kelechi Iheanacho reduced the deficit to raise the Foxes’ hope. However they were unable to secure the draw they badly needed.

Chelsea’s victory comes just three days after Leicester beat them by a lone goal in the FA Cup final. The win sees the Blues in third place on the table.

Brighton & Hove Albion 3 – 2 Manchester City

The Seagulls earned a hard-fought victory at the Amex Stadium. The Citizens lost the game in dramatic fashion as they blew a two-goal lead on England’s south coast in front of 7,495 fans.

Ilkay Gundogan needed just two minutes to silence the supporters, but City was a man down after nine minutes. Joao Cancelo was given marching orders after he brought down Danny Welbeck.

Phil Foden doubled City’s lead through a superb solo effort. But Leandro Trossard gave Brighton hope with a cool close-range finish, and the home side then put intense pressure on the champions.

The pressure paid off as Adam Webster leveled, rising highest in the box to head home Pascal Gross’s delivery. With 14 minutes left, Dan Burn sent the fans into a frenzy with the winner. He followed up his own blocked shot to steer the rebound into the corner of the net.

The win moves Brighton to 41 points and 15th on the Premier League table. This is their first win over City since April 1989.

Southampton 0 – 2 Leeds United

Leeds United continued their winning run with goals from Patrick Bamford and Tyler Roberts at St. Mary’s. The victory means that the Lancashire club has secured a top-half finish.

Bamford, who is hoping to be included in the England squad for the Euros netted his 16th Premier League goal of the season to devastate 8,000 Southampton fans who were hoping to record a win on their return to the stand.

In scoring the goal after missing a chance earlier, Bamford only had goalkeeper Alex McCarthy to beat. He flicked the ball into the net following Rodrigo’s ball over the Saints’ defence. Leeds sealed the win in added time through Roberts, who came in as a substitute. The Welshman got the goal from a rebound after Bamford’s strike was parried by McCarthy.

Southampton’s best chance was early in the game through Che Adams’ header, which was tipped over by Leeds goalkeeper Kiko Casilla.

The victory takes Leeds up above Arsenal and guarantees Marcelo Bielsa’s side a top-10 finish. Leeds are in 10th place, while Southampton remains 14th.

Manchester United 1 – 1 Fulham

United were held to a draw in their final home game of the season by Fulham. Edinson Cavani, who is only the third United player to reach 10+ goals in a single Premier League season, welcomed the return of fans back to the Premier League with a brilliant 40-yard lobbed goal. However, the Red Devils were unable to mark the occasion with a victory.

It looked like a win for United until Joe Bryan was allowed to ghost in at the far post unchallenged. He converted Bobby Decordova-Reid’s deep cross from the right.

West Bromwich Albion 1 -3 West Ham United

West Ham boosted their hope of qualifying for Europe next season after coming from behind to secure a 3-1 win at the Hawthorns against West Bromwich Albion.

With this result, they will need to secure a draw in their last game against Southampton to guarantee at least 6th place and a spot in the new Europa League. A defeat will guarantee a playoff spot. Finishing sixth would mark their highest position since 1999.

The Hammers got a win after Declan Rice missed a first-half penalty before Matheus Pereira gave West Brom the lead. Tomas Soucek drew them level before half-time with his 10th goal of the season.

As the hosts continued to carry a threat, Angelo Ogbonna nodded West Ham in front eight minutes from time. Michail Antonio finished the Baggies off at the end.

Burnley 0 – 3 Liverpool

Liverpool got into 4th position on the table after a win over impressive Burnley on Wednesday night.

Roberto Firmino, who has scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances at Turf Moor opened the goals account for the Reds. Nathaniel Phillips scored his first club goal and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s late effort secured the all-important win for them.

This is a huge step forward for the Reds. Liverpool are also expected to score a lot of goals when they host Crystal Palace at Anfield.

Crystal Palace 1 – 3 Arsenal

Arsenal recorded their 4th Premier League victory in a row to boost their chance of qualifying for the Europa Conference League.

The Gunners will be hoping that at least Everton and Tottenham lose their final games against Manchester City and Leicester City respectively while they beat Brighton on the final day in order to secure the 7th spot that guarantees them a playoff in the Europa League.

Arsenal got the all-important win to spoil the farewell party of veteran manager Roy Hodgson, who got a warm reception from the returning home supporters through last gap efforts from Gabriel Martinelli.

Martinelli latched on to fellow substitute Martin Odegaard’s cross to convert from close range on 91 minutes before Nicolas Pepe coolly rolled in Arsenal’s third four minutes later.

Christian Benteke’s diving header from Andros Townsend’s free-kick had canceled out Pepe’s earlier volley from a neat Arsenal move in the first half.

The win leaves Arsenal 9th on the log, a point adrift of Spurs and Everton. All that is needed to keep their Europa League alive is to beat Brighton at the Emirate while monitoring other results.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 2 Aston Villa

Spurs’ dream of securing a Europa League spot suffered a further blow when they lost in front of their fans on Wednesday. Tottenham were in the driving seat through Steven Bergwijn’s thumping eighth-minute opener after stealing possession from Marvellous Nakamba.

Villa responded a few minutes later, thanks to an own goal from Sergio Reguilon, who sliced Nakamba’s cross into the top corner of Hugo Lloris’ goal. Ollie Watkins completed the turnaround before half-time. The English striker got his 14th of the season after collecting Reguilon’s weak clearance and holding off the challenge of Eric Dier before finding the bottom corner.

Watkins would have got a brace but his chances were thwarted by Lloris on either side of half-time. After the restart, Spurs tested Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez more regularly through Bergwijn and Kane but failed to find an equalizer. The defeat leaves them 7th, the final European spot, level on points with Everton.

Newcastle United 1 – 0 Sheffield United

The Magpies secured another win over relegated Sheffield United to continue their impressive form in the league. In Premier League Gameweek 37 action, Joe Willock scored for the sixth successive game as the Tyneside club welcomed 10,000 fans back to St James’ Park.

The 21-year-old on-loan Arsenal midfielder headed home Jacob Murphy’s cross to secure the maximum points. He is now the youngest-ever player to net in six straight Premier League games.

Everton 1 – 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Everton kept alive their hopes of being a part of next season’s Europa League with a win over Wolves. Richarlison’s header sealed victory for the home side in front of their fans at Goodison Park.

After a goalless first half, Richarlison rose highest to power home a header early in the second half. The Brazilian had earlier forced a good save out of John Ruddy in the first half before firing wide from close range.

Wolves also had an opportunity to score through Adama Traore, whose powerful first-half drive was tipped over superbly by Jordan Pickford. The Everton goalkeeper also kept out a Morgan Gibbs-White volley as the visitors had the better of the opening 45 minutes.

But Everton finished the game stronger with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison going close to adding to the scoreline. The victory means they go into the final round of Premier League fixtures with a chance of a top-seven finish. However, they will have to defeat Man City to have a chance.