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Tuesday, December 24, 2024 at 1:52 PM

Saturday Premier League Report

Saturday’s Premier League action saw Chelsea go top of the league. Southampton, Burnley, Newcastle, and Norwich are all still without wins this season.

Author: Courtesy: Chris Lee/Getty Images

Manchester United vs Everton:

Manchester United did not start Cristiano Ronaldo or Paul Pogba. Instead, they chose to rest them after a difficult run of games. The Red Devils were desperate for a home win after the disappointment of losing to Aston Villa last weekend. 

Edinson Cavani had the best chance with a header that was saved by Jordan Pickford. After a wave of pressure, Anthony Martial was the man to finally open the scoring for Manchester United. Everton continued to hang around and create chances and they would get their equalizer through Andros Townsend, who would finish a brilliant counter attack for the visitors. 

Ronaldo and Pogba would eventually make their way onto the pitch, but it did not improve the result for Manchester United. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. 

Chelsea vs Southampton:

One may have thought this would be an easy win for title hopefuls at Chelsea, facing off against the winless Southampton. It began well for the home side with unlikely scorer, Trevoh Chalobah scoring off a flick on from a corner. 

Romelu Lukaku thought he made it 2-0 after a brilliant run and pass from Antonio Rudiger, but the flag came up for offside. A controversial moment of the game came after Timo Werner scored for Chelsea. A foul by Cesar Azpilicueta on Kyle Walker-Peters saw the goal disallowed. 

A sloppy tackle from Ben Chilwell on Valentino Livramento gave Southampton a penalty. James Ward-Prowse sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, levelling the game at 1-1. Things would take a turn for the worse for Ward-Prowse after a tackle on Jorginho was upgraded from a yellow to a red card. 

Chelsea would take advantage of playing with 10 men. Azpilicueta’s pass across the box to Werner made it 2-1. Chilwell then made it 3-1 with a fantastic volley. The score would remain that way.

Wolverhampton vs Newcastle:

The misery continued for Newcastle as Wolves notched their second straight Premier League victory. Hee-Chan Hwang opened the scoring for Wolves after timing his run perfectly to link onto Raul Jimenez’s through ball.

Trincao really should have made it 2-0 after being set up by Hwang, but he rattled the cross bar. This would prove costly because Newcastle scored a minute later. Jeff Hendrick scored from long range and took advantage of Wolves goalkeeper, Jose Sa, who appeared to be hurt. 

The second half began and again it was Hwang causing trouble for Newcastle and scoring the second for Wolves. Newcastle would try for an equalizer, but they would not get one. The Wolves won the game 2-1. 

Burnley vs Norwich:

At Turf Moor, the two sides with only two league points between them met. Burnley began with the most pressure. 

There were strong claims for a penalty after Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul collided with Matej Vydra.  From the replay it was clear that Krul made contact with the ball as well. Burnley made another claim for a penalty due to a handball this time by Grant Hanley. It was clear the defender had no time to react though, so that was also rejected. 

Burnley continued the forward pressure in the second half but lacked goal scoring instincts. Norwich’s best chance came from a free kick on the edge of the box from Mathias Normann. Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope pulled off a fine save to keep the game scoreless. The game ended 0-0.

Leeds vs Watford:

Leeds would finally get the league win they had been waiting for. Watford could not deal with a corner which allowed Leeds to get the opening goal. Diego Llorente giving Leeds a well-deserved lead. 

As Watford pushed for an equalizer, Leeds goalkeeper, Illan Meslier was extremely fortunate. Meslier dropped the ball in the penalty box, which led to Watford scoring. The goal was ruled out thanks to a foul by Christian Kabasele on Liam Cooper.

Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster then dropped the ball in the box but was also fortunate as Leeds could only hit the crossbar. It was Leeds’s night in the end as they won the game 1-0.   

Brighton vs Arsenal:

Brighton and Arsenal would finish off the games on Saturday. Brighton had several chances to score early. Lewis Dunk missed the best one when Aaron Ramsdale spilled the ball after a collision with Shane Duffy, but it was called as a foul. 

It was a sensational first half from Brighton. Only thing missing was a goal to show for their efforts. 

Arsenal would at last pick it up in the second half. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got through on goal and rounded Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez only to be tackled by Duffy before he got the shot off. Aubameyang was ruled offside in the end. 

Emile Smith-Rowe could have put the Gunners ahead when he was put through on goal by Thomas Partey, but Sanchez pulled off the save. Brighton tried to the very end and were unable to break the deadlock. The game ended 0-0.   


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