With the title and relegation settled in the Premier League, there’s still plenty to play for in the middle of the table. The Champions League places look set to go down to the wire, and we’ll have all the action here.
Premier League winners from Matchday 35
Chelsea
The Blues gave Liverpool a guard of honor at Stamford Bridge to mark the visitors’ clinching of the title last week, and the Reds reciprocated by only deciding to play the last half-hour of the game. How nice of them, though Newcastle and Forest in particular won’t appreciate Liverpool’s generosity that resulted in the rather anxiety-free 3-1 victory for Chelsea. Some players don’t like participating in this English tradition that acknowledges an opponent’s title, but winning the game afterwards probably takes the sting out of it.
Manchester City
They withstood a furious assault on their goal during the first 30 minutes against Wolves, then made Kevin de Bruyne’s goal hold up for their 1-0 victory at the Etihad. The win cements their position in third place and their prospects for Champions League play next season.
Youri Tielemans
The Belgian midfielder headed home John McGinn’s corner kick in the 12th minute, and although Fulham made things dodgy for Aston Villa at times, that goal stood up to give Villa a huge win.
Bournemouth
A great comeback win for the Cherries at the Emirates, as Dean Huijsen headed in Antoine Semenyo’s long throw and then Evanilson touched in a loose ball off a corner kick. Have they found a second wind?
Brentford
The Bees’ own recklessness turned what would have been an easy win over Manchester United into a 4-3 squeaker, but they were easily the better team at the Brentford Community Stadium, as Kevin Schade scored two goals for them. They also beat Nottingham in the middle of the week, so the Bees are buzzing.
Premier League losers from Matchday 35
Nuno Espírito Santo
Really bad stuff from Nottingham Forest lately. Since their win over Manchester United at the beginning of April, they’ve picked up four points out of a possible 15, and they’re currently out of the Champions League places. I’m not sure about the stuff written elsewhere that the squad is exhausted. It’s true that they’ve used 23 players this season, fewer than any other Premier League outfit, but Liverpool and Newcastle have used 24, and they’re doing all right. Maybe the problem is their conditioning? Something made Nikola Milenković pull up and force a woefully overmatched Ola Aina to be overpowered by Kevin Schade for Brentford’s opening goal in Thursday’s loss. Whatever it is, the Trees are fading like the Philadelphia Eagles did at the end of 2023. There’s still ways they can get into the top five, especially if they beat Chelsea on the last day, but they’ll need Ayurvedic medicine, hydration therapy, or something to rejuvenate them.
Everton
With Ipswich already relegated and down 2-0 at Goodison Park, you could have understood if they just packed it in. To their credit, the Blues came back for a draw through a 25-yard long-range shot from Julio Enciso and a close-range header by George Hirst off Omari Hutchinson’s cross. The home fans booed the Toffees off the pitch as the final whistle blew.
Southampton
In a battle of relegated teams, the Saints were comprehensively outplayed by Leicester at the King Power Stadium, with the Foxes scoring two to break their streak of nine home games without a goal. The fans were calling the game “El Crapico,” and while the match didn’t quite live down to that nickname, the visitors from the south coast were terrible. Southampton’s three remaining games include hosting Manchester City and Arsenal, so things figure to get even grimmer for them.
David Webb
The referee for the Leicester-Southampton game suffered a concussion after Jordan Ayew ran through him to reach a loose ball, and Jamie Vardy had to blow the ref’s whistle to stop play. Webb managed to walk off the pitch under his own power, but he needed to be replaced by fourth official Sam Barrott. It was Webb’s Premier League debut as a referee, and it only lasted 22 minutes. Let’s hope his second match goes better.