Almanac Soccer: English Premier League – Matchweek 22 Highlights

 

Premier League Matchweek 22 Highlights

 

Premier League Matchweek 22 saw goals galore with this the first Matchweek ever in the Premier League with 9 out of 10 away sides scoring more than 2 goals. Arsenal hosted Aston Villa in what was a very entertaining fixture, Everton hosted Tottenham with both sides in need of 3 points and high flying Forest took on rock bottom Southampton.

 

 

Arsenal v Aston Villa

 

The final game of Matchweek 22 played on Saturday evening saw Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal host Unai Emery’s Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners made a positive start to the game, with the hosts drawing some acrobatic saves from Emiliano Martinez early on. Arsenal finally broke down the resilient Villa defence when Leandro Trossard received the ball down the left side of the penalty area. Trossard crossed the ball in from the left wing where Gabriel Martinelli lunged in to poke the ball at goal. Martinez parried the ball upwards initially before falling backwards. The Argentine then punched the ball away from the goal but it was unfortunately too late, with referee Chris Kavanagh checking his watch before awarding the goal. The first half finished 1-0 with Arsenal punishing a very slow start to the tie by Emery’s side.

 

Arsenal found themselves a 2 goal cushion 10 minutes into the 2nd period when Kai Havertz notched his 8th goal of the season. The best player on the pitch so far, Trossard, whipped in the ball from the left wing where Havertz directed his cross at goal, watching as his effort flicked off the heel of Martinez and into the bottom right corner. After a terrible game so far for the away end, Villa finally gave their fans something to cheer about 5 minutes later and on the hour mark. Lucas Digne whipped in a peach of a cross from the left wing where Youri Tielemens jumped down low to head the ball into the bottom corner and past Arsenal keeper David Raya. Just moments after Tielemans had hit the post to make it 2-2, Ollie Watkins levelled the game in the 68th minute when he scored his 10th of the season. Matty Cash crossed the ball in from the right wing where Watkins found himself isolated at the back post. Watkins’ finish was world class, smashing the ball into the roof of the net. The Gunners then thought they’d clinched all 3 points late on after Mikel Merino’s volley in the 87th minute flicked off Havertz and into the Villa goal but it was later ruled out due to the ball striking the arm of Havertz. Arsenal were unlucky in the final minutes, hitting the post and drawing multiple brilliant saves from Martinez. The full time score finished 2-2 with Arsenal dropping more points at home again. The Gunners remain 2nd in the table on 44 points. Villa remain 8th in the league on 36 points but showed great spirit and fight to come back and then hold out for a draw.

 

 

Everton v Tottenham Hotspur

 

The first game of Matchweek 22 played on Sunday afternoon saw two teams in desperate need of a win face off at Goodison park in David Moyes’ Everton and Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur. Everton made a great start to the game in the 13th minute when they finally put an end to their recent goal drought. Idrissa Gueye played a neat ball into the path of Dominic Calvert-Lewin who was inside the Spurs’ penalty area. Calvert-Lewin brilliantly danced his way through all the Tottenham challenges before slotting the ball away into the bottom right corner, scoring a needed 3rd goal of the season in wonderful style. After Everton had clipped the post just 5 minutes prior, they then deservedly doubled their advantage on the half hour mark when Iliman Ndiaye scored his 4th of the season. Ndiaye played a brilliant 1-2 with Gueye inside his own half which really opened up the midfield for him to run into. Ndiaye ate up the Goodison turf, progressing into the penalty area and dancing away from the challenge of Radu Dragusin with ease. Nidyae then rifled a shot at Spurs keeper Antonin Kinsky making for another superb Toffee’s goal. Everton all but wrapped up the 3 points just before the interval when they scored in first half stoppage time. James Tarkowski headed the ball across goal from Jesper Lindstrom’s cross where Calvert-Lewin flicked the ball into a dangerous area. The unfortunate man on the end of his header was young Spurs player Archie Gray who unintentionally poked the ball into the back of his own net. The first half finished 3-0 with Tottenham offering up absolutely nothing from an attacking sense in the first 45 minutes.

 

After an actionless first half an hour in the 2nd period, Tottenham scored a consolation goal in the 77th minute. Son Heung-Min played a brilliant ball into the penalty area where James Maddison was successful in receiving the pass before the outcoming Jordan Pickford could claim it. Maddison squared the ball to young Mikey Moore who had an unguarded goal to aim at but his effort was blocked by defender Vitalii Mykolenko. The ball then fell to Dejan Kulusevski who brilliantly chipped the ball over all the Everton defenders and into the empty net. Spurs gave the Toffees something to think about in stoppage time when Richarlison scored yet again against his former employers. Moore whipped the ball in from the left wing where the Brazilian put his body on the line, sliding in to tap the ball past Pickford at the back post. Moyes would have been disappointed his side shipped 2 late goals, but there was a huge sigh of relief from the home fans after the full time whistle was blown, the result finishing 3-2. Everton stay 16th but are now 4 points clear of the drop zone, with Moyes claiming his first win as Everton gaffer since 2013. Tottenham now sit in the bottom quarter of the table in 15th, with Ange’s time at Tottenham surely running out.

 

 

Nottingham Forest v Southampton

 

The following game of Matchweek 22 saw Nuno Espirito’s high flying Nottingham Forest host Ivan Juric’s rock bottom Southampton at the City Ground. Forest made a routine start to the game, taking the lead early on like they so often do. Morgan Gibbs-White played the ball to Elliot Anderson who immediately drove towards the Saint’s goal. Just before the Scotsman entered the penalty area, he fired a shot perfectly through the crowd of Southampton players and into the bottom left corner, scoring his first ever Premier League goal in some style. Just before the half hour mark, Forest doubled their advantage when Callum Hudson-Odoi got his name on the score sheet. Chris Wood forced the defensive error from Jan Bednarek just outside the Saint’s penalty area before playing the ball back to Hudson-Odoi. With no one present to shut him down, Hudson-Odoi fired the ball into the bottom left corner to score his 3rd goal of the campaign. It was all becoming too easy for Forest as they made it 3 just before the interval. Ola Aina whipped the ball in from the right wing where Wood jumped up and directed his cross into the bottom left corner with a wonderful header, scoring his 14th of the season, equalling his best ever campaign. The half time score finished 3-0 with there surely no route left back for Juric’s Saints.

 

Southampton did give the hosts something to think about in the 60th minute when Bednarek made amends for his earlier error. The ball was cleared out of the penalty area by the Forest defenders after a free kick but only as far as Lesley Ugochukwu. Ugochukwu drilled the ball at goal where his volley flicked off the heel of Bednarek and into the top right corner. Nikola Milenkovic thought he’d made it 4-1 just minutes later after his header somehow went in after a horror error from keeper Aaron Ramsdale but Ramsdale was later saved by an offside decision by VAR. With 12 minutes of extra time added on, Southampton made it 3-2 with there still time to play. Matues Fernandes’ corner delivery was brilliantly headed past Forest keeper Matz Sels by centre forward Paul Onuachu. Only minutes later, Southampton thought they’d levelled the game through another corner after Bednarek’s header was expertly cleared off the line by Aina, with his intervention as good as a goal the way the game was finishing. The full time score ended 3-2 with Forest just about seeing off Southampton with a very dramatic end to the game. Forest stay 3rd in the table but they are now level on points with 2nd placed Arsenal. Although they finished the game strongly, it is yet another terrible performance from Southampton as they still remain on track to become the worst ever side in the Premier League.

 

 

Written by Ollie Wade – Read the rest of Matchweek 22 at Premier League Matchweek 22 24/25 – Kickoff chronicles

 

 

To read more by Ollie Wade click HERE.

 

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Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

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