Almanac EPL: The Title Run In – Match Week 38

 

Ollie Wade is an enthusiastic and very capable Year 11 student who, after an impressive junior football career, is playing for Barossa United’s men’s team. Ollie is also an emerging sports writer who penned a match report for each of his Under 15 games last season. They were published in the local Barossa newspaper, The Leader. Given his love for the English Premier League, and European football too, he’s been tapping out some pieces which he has published on his blog Kickoff Chronicles. We’ll also publish some of them here. 

 

 

It had all come down to this, the final weekend of the Premier League 2023/24 season with most eyes drawn to Manchester City v West Ham United. This game was huge. If City won, they would be presented with the Premier League trophy. If they drew or lost, and Arsenal beat Everton, Arsenal would win for the first time in 20 years.

 

Straight from the kick off at the Etihad Stadium, Phil Foden found a spectacular opener inside two minutes. He had just been named the Premier League player of the season and the amazing strike justified why. The Englishman received the ball outside the West Ham penalty area from Bernardo Silva and replicated what he had been doing all year. Foden leant back and cracked a shot, watching it soar into the top left corner and leaving West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola with no chance. It was a wonderful goal but also a goal that made Arsenal hearts sink. 

 

Sixteen minutes later, the Premier League player of the season scored his 2nd of the game and 19th of the season. Jeremy Doku made a dancing run down the left wing and played the perfect pass into the middle of the West Ham penalty area. Phil Foden brilliantly wrapped his foot around the ball to find the side netting and all but confirm their eighth Premier League trophy and fourth on the bounce, a new record. 

 

The title race then went from one extreme to the other. Over at The Emirates, Everton shocked all Premier League fans by going ahead in the 40th minute through Idrissia Gueye. It came from a free kick which the Senegalese international drilled towards the far top corner, watching it catch a huge deflection off Declan Rice and bulge the Arsenal net, sinking their title hopes. 

 

Back over at the Etihad, West Ham gave Arsenal fans belief again when Mohammed Kudus scored his eighth Premier League goal of the season to make it 2-1. The Ghanaian has a knack of scoring out of this world goals, already converting a bicycle kick this season and a 60-metre solo run in the Europa League. A James Ward-Prowse corner was floated in, travelling all the way to the back post. Konstantinos Mavropanos brought it down for Kudus who then flicked it back up and acrobatically bicycle kicked the ball into the back of the City net.

 

Moments later, Arsenal drew Everton level when Takehiro Tomiyasu scored. Martin Odegaard made a powerful run from the right wing and cut the ball back into a dangerous area. The ball wasn’t met by any players and it ended up falling nicely to the Japanese international who was unmarked and free to smash the ball into the bottom corner. The title race was back on. At half time the scores were:

 

Manchester City 2-1 West Ham United

 

Arsenal 1-1 Everton

 

Fourteen minutes into the second half, Manchester City made it 3-1, regaining their cushion and all but confirming the title. Kevin De Bruyne found Bernardo Silva inside the West Ham area who poked it back to Rodri. The Spanish international proved once again why he was such a big game player, drilling the ball at the bottom corner with West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola disappointed he couldn’t make a stronger connection with the ball as it found the back of the net.

 

Arsenal then thought their title hopes were still alive when 2 events happened in the space of 2 minutes. In the 88th minute at the Etihad, West Ham’s Tomas Soucek thought he had scored off another James Ward-Prowse to Mavropanos corner combination. Meanwhile, while VAR was checking West Ham’s second goal, Kai Havertz scored in the 89th minute at the Emirates, winning the game late on for Arsenal. After dispossessing Everton with barely any defenders back, Gabriel Jesus played the ball to Odegaard. The Norwegian took it with him and looked destined to score but accidentally scuffed the ball. It ended up as a perfect unintentional pass to Kai Havetz who smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Unfortunately for the Gunners, Soucek’s goal back at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester was chalked off as it hit his thigh and then his wrist on its way into the back of the net, with the game ending 1-3 at the Etihad. Arsenal held out for the 3 points in London but it wasn’t enough as they finished on 89 points with Manchester City on 91.

 

That was the last action of the final day with Manchester City crowned champions for the 8th time in Premier League history and it was also their 4th in a row, never done before. It was heartbreak for the Gunners, doing almost everything in their power to stop the City charge. Ultimately, they lost the league in match week 34 when they dropped all 3 points to Villa, losing 0-2 when the title was in their hands.

 

It was a brilliant season overall with records being broken everywhere you looked with the main one being goal scored in a single season: 1246.

 

Here were some of the individual awards:

 

Golden Boot: Erling Haaland 27 goals

 

Golden Playmaker: Ollie Watkins 13 assists

 

Golden Glove: David Raya 16 clean sheets

 

Premier League Player of the Year: Phil Foden

 

Premier League Young Player of the Year: Cole Palmer

 

 

Read more from Ollie on his blog:   Kickoff Chronicles – Latest Football News

 

 

 

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