Review of Premier League GameWeek 35

Premier League GameWeek 35 saw brought about the confirmation of relegated teams and a further postponement of Manchester City’s confirmation coronation.

The Citizens lost their home game against Chelsea, while Leicester also suffered a huge defeat. Oladipupo Mojeed brings us a recap of the highlights of Premier League GameWeek 35.

READ: Preview of Premier League Matchday 35

Leicester City 2 – 4 Newcastle United

Leicester City’s top-four bid suffered a major blow after losing against a rejuvenated Newcastle United last Friday.

The win took the Tyneside club to within one point of Premier League safety. They got the lead through impressive loan signing, Joe Willock. He scored with a cool finish after pouncing on an error from Foxes defender, Caglar Soyuncu.

Paul Dummett doubled the Magpies’ lead after rising above Wesley Fofana to head past Kasper Schmeichel from Matt Ritchie’s corner. Callum Wilson’s second-half double wrapped up the three points.

Leicester then reduced the deficit from 4-0 down with two goals inside the last 10 minutes through Marc Albrighton and Kelechi Iheanacho, giving the Magpies a late scare.

The win moved Steve Bruce’s side to 13th and 12 points ahead of 18th-placed Fulham who have four games left. However Leicester found themselves in third position, five points ahead of fifth-placed West Ham but have now played a game more.

Leeds United 3 – 1 Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur’s European chance suffered another blow after losing 3-1 to Leeds United at Elland Road.

Patrick Bamford continued his goal scoring form in front of watching England boss Gareth Southgate, as he aims to join the squad for the Euros.

Stuart Dallas put Leeds ahead with his eighth league goal of the season, when he pounced from close range after Hugo Lloris’ terrific reaction save to prevent Sergio Reguilon putting through his own net.

Spurs restored parity 12 minutes later through Son Heung-Min, who scored from a clinical finish after Dele Alli was allowed to run unchallenged before releasing a clever pass into the South Korea forward’s path.

Bamford again restored their lead when he tapped in Ezgjan Alioski’s cross before substitute Rodrigo confirmed Spurs’ first league defeat in three games under interim manager Ryan Mason.

It was a frustrating day for Spurs, as Harry Kane had two goals ruled out for offside. The captain later hit the bar from a free-kick, while Illan Meslier produced an excellent save to keep out Serge Aurier’s deflected attempt.

The defeat left Spurs in the 7th place, two points behind West Ham and occupying the first Europa League spot.

The win for Leeds moved them above Arsenal and Aston Vila into ninth with 50 points.

Sheffield United 0 – 2 Crystal Palace

As Sheffield United begins their preparation for life in the Championship, they recorded another loss against Crystal Palace. Their loss helped the Eagles secure Premier League status for another season with a comfortable victory at Bramall Lane.

Christian Benteke needed only 66 seconds to scored with a deflected shot; his fourth goal in 10 games for Palace.

The 30-year-old Belgian striker’s point-blank header was saved by Aaron Ramsdale before firing against a post in the second half.

Sheffield would have restored parity but captain John Egan spurned their best chance shortly after the interval, slicing over from a corner from six yards out.

Manchester City 1 – 2 Chelsea

Chelsea halted the title coronation of Manchester City after coming from a goal down to win at the Etihad.

The win took the Blues to third on the log after Leicester suffered a loss at home against Newcastle United the previous day.

A win would have confirmed City as the Premier League champions after taking the lead just before half-time through Raheem Sterling’s close-range strike.

Aguero had a glorious chance to double their lead , but made a mess of it after Billy Gilmour fouled Gabriel Jesus, giving the referee no other option than to point to the penalty spot. The Argentina striker opted for a dinked effort that was easily saved by Edouard Mendy.

They were then punished as Chelsea improved after the break and equalized. Cesar Azpilicueta set up Hakim Ziyech to fire home from the edge of the area to restore parity.

Marcus Alonso won it for the visitors in injury time, meeting Timo Werner’s pull-back and sending the ball looping over Ederson.

Liverpool 2 – 0 Southampton

The Reds boosted their top four chances with victory over Southampton, while also hoping that Chelsea and Leicester City falter along the way.

The win leaves Jurgen Klopp’s men six points behind Leicester who are occupying the final Champions League spot, while Southampton hopes to avoid relegation.

With a game in hand against the Foxes, the fight for the top four could go down to the wire.

Sadio Mane put the hosts in the lead with a header from Mohamed Salah’s cross moments after Alisson had made two saves in quick succession.

Thiago Alacantara sealed the win when he scored his first goal for the Reds in added time to hand Klopp his 100th win at Anfield in all competitions.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 – 1 Brighton & Hove Albion

Wolves returned to winning ways with a home win over Brighton as they wrap up their season, with most of the games played without their talisman, Raul Jimenez.

They came from a goal down to beat the visitors, who finished the game with 10 men.

All thanks to a dramatic late strike from 21-year-old Morgan Gibbs-White. Having trailed at the break, Wolves benefited from Lewis Dunk’s sending-off early in the second half to take control of the game.

Dunk had put the visitors in front from a corner, but was punished for pulling back Fabio Silva.

Adama Traore came in to make a big impact on the game, providing a threat and scoring the equaliser after a one-two in the box with Silva before Gibbs-White’s first Premier League goal sealed the points.

Aston Villa 1 – 3 Manchester United

Manchester United came from a goal down to record victory at Aston Villa. Bertrand Traore put the hosts in front through an emphatic finish into the top corner midway through the first half.

The Red Devils began the comeback through Bruno Fernandes, who scored his 27th goal of the season for Manchester United in all competitions with a penalty after Douglas Luiz needlessly fouled Paul Pogba.

They got back in front through Mason Greenwood with a low strike that found the bottom corner, before substitute Edinson Cavani, who has been given a new deal sealed it with a clean header from Rashford’s cross.

West Ham United 0 – 1 Everton

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s first half strike was enough to secure an important victory for Everton as they continue their push for a top four spot.

The win moved the Toffees to 55 points with a game in hand and 5 points behind Leicester. They slipped out of the top four after recording just six wins from 18.

Ben Godfrey’s slide-rule pass allowed Calvert-Lewin to score his 16th league goal of the season in the first half at London Stadium.

This is however a big blow for the Hammers as they are now two pints behind the Foxes.

Arsenal 3 – 1 West Bromwich Albion

Arsenal kept their slim hope of European football alive with victory over West Bromwich Albion.

The win confirmed the relegation of the Baggies for the fifth time, few hours before Fulham joined them.

Arsenal opened the score chart through Emile Smith Rowe, who volleyed a smart opener from Bukayo Saka‘s cross in the 29th minute to stem the visitors’ promising start.

A few minutes later, Nicolas Pepe made it two, making West Brom’s task even more difficult when he cut in from the right and curled into the top corner to score a curler.

The Baggies got a ray of hope through Matheus Pereira. The Brazilian ran from his own half to score a superb individual goal with 23 minutes remaining.

Willian added a late third for Arsenal from a free-kick to confirm West Brom’s relegation to the second tier.

Fulham 0 – 2 Burnley

To avoid running into relegation battles themselves, Burnley were clinical against Fulham. Their effort sent the Cottagers to the Championship just one season after their promotion.

Burnley began the game knowing fully well that a win will confine their hosts to the second tier, while guaranteeing their own stay in the top flight. Sean Dyche’s men did the business through clinical striker from Ashley Westwood and Chris Wood in the last ten minutes of the first half.

Fulham started brightly, but were unlucky at goal.

Westwood opened the account with his seventh Premier League goal since joining Burnley in 2017, after being picked out by Matej Vydra to roll the ball into an empty net.

Chris Wood doubled their lead by lashing the shot from the edge of the area to score his 50th goal for Burnley.

For the first time in Premier League history, three teams are confirmed for relegation with three games still to go. With the exception of the the teams still hoping for the top four spots, all others can now relax and enjoy their remaining games with no pressure.