Almanac Soccer: English Premier League Matchweek 32 Highlights 24/25

English Premier League Matchweek 32 Highlights 24/5

 

Matchweek 32 saw lots of entertaining encounters as the race for European places in the Premier League is heating up.

 

 

Manchester City v Crystal Palace

 

The opening fixture of Matchweek 32 on Saturday afternoon saw Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City host Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium. Glasner’s side threw an early spanner in Pep’s plans when Eberechi Eze scored inside 10 minutes. Daniel Munoz played a sharp through ball down the right wing to Ismaila Sarr where the Senegalese international drilled the ball across the penalty area. With the Manchester City defenders left sleeping, Eze was able to run onto the end of Sarr’s pass at the back post and tap it in from a yard out. Palace then further silenced the Etihad when Chris Richards scored his 1st goal of the season. Adam Wharton whipped in Palace’s latest corner where the American centre half rose high to head the ball past City keeper Ederson. The Eagles then came centimetres away from making it 0-3 after Eze put the ball past Ederson again, only to be met by the assistant’s flag as he wheeled away in celebration. Manchester City captain Kevin De Bruyne then halved the deficit in the 33rd minute with a wonder goal. The Belgian had a free kick 25 yards away from Dean Henderson’s goal where he picked out the bottom left corner with perfection, Henderson a statue. Just three minutes later, City’s star winter signing Omar Marmoush completed the comeback. James McAtee crossed the ball in from the left wing where De Bruyne headed the ball back across goal to Ilkay Gundogan. Gundogan’s finish went horribly wrong, but it fortunately fell right to Marmoush who rifled the ball into the back of the net to grab his 6th Premier League goal. The half time score finished 2-2, the full time score when the two sides met earlier in the season at Selhurst Park.

 

Two minutes into the 2nd half, Manchester City completed the turnaround. Nico O’Reilly cut the ball back from the left wing where De Bruyne unselfishly knocked the ball behind him to Mateo Kovacic. The Croatian midfielder then fired a shot at goal, slipping in the process which helped his effort nestle into the bottom left corner. The Citizens then all but sealed the three points in the 56th minute when goalkeeper Ederson claimed his 7th assist in the Premier League, a ridiculously good stat for a keeper. The Brazilian played a ball over the Palace backline and into the path of McAtee who rounded Henderson before passing the ball into the vacant Palace net. The hosts made it 5-2 in the 79th minute when O’Reilly scored his first ever Premier League goal. McAtee crossed the ball in from the right wing where Richards temporarily cleared it. O’Reilly then met the clearance with a technically brilliant side footed volley into the bottom corner. The full time score finished 5-2, with Pep’s men dismantling one of the best defensive sides in the Premier League. Manchester City move into 4th on 55 points while Crystal Palace drop to 12th on 43 points.

 

 

Chelsea v Ipswich Town

 

The first game of Matchweek 32 to be played on Sunday afternoon saw Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea host Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea dominated the opening quarter of an hour, with Nicholas Jackson and Noni Madueke both rattling the woodwork with their efforts before Levi Colwill’s headed drew a brilliant save from Ipswich keeper Alex Palmer. In the 19th minute, Ipswich silenced the Bridge when Julio Enciso scored a shock goal. Ben Johnson made a brilliant run down the right wing before threading the ball through to the Brighton loanee. Enciso then lunged in to poke the ball into the bottom right corner, giving the Tractor Boys an advantage. Just 12 minutes later, the same duo for Ipswich combined to further dampen Chelsea’s top four aspirations. Enciso received the ball inside the Chelsea penalty area from Jack Clark where he chipped the ball over to the back post. Ben Johnson had made a brilliant run around full back Marc Cucurella where he rose superbly to head the ball into the far corner of Robert Sanchez’s net. The half time score finished 0-2 with McKenna’s side looking to complete a league double over Chelsea.

 

Maresca’s side made the best possible start to the 2nd period, scoring inside 30 seconds. Noni Madueke made a darting run down the right wing and into the penalty area where he drilled the ball across the 6-yard box. Ipswich defender Axel Tuanzebe was the unfortunate man to poke the ball into the back of his own net, coming at the cost of trying to hold off Cucurella who was there to pounce if Tuanzebe hadn’t interfered himself. The next half an hour was very even, with George Hirst coming so close to making it 1-3 before his teammate Conor Townsend made a brilliant last ditch interception to prevent Enzo Fernandez from scoring a tap-in for Chelsea. The Blues then finally equalised in the 79th minute, with Jadon Sancho scoring a goal he’d been craving for some time. He received the ball just inside the Ipswich penalty area after Cole Palmer decided to play Chelsea’s latest corner short. Sancho then took one look up before curling the ball perfectly into the top right corner. With Chelsea pushing for a 3rd, which would win them the game in stoppage time, Ipswich’s keeper Alex Palmer made two amazing saves, denying Chelsea’s Palmer from outside the penalty area before he threw a strong wrist at Fernandez’s effort to earn Ipswich a brilliant point away from home. The full time score finished 2-2, on paper a solid result for Ipswich, but unfortunately the damage has already been done as they still look destined for relegation. McKenna’s side sit 18th in the league on 21 points, 14 away from West Ham in 17th. Chelsea were unlucky not to come away with all three points in the end as they drop down to 6th on 54 points, only three shy of 3rd placed Nottingham Forest.

 

 

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur

 

The following fixture of Matchweek 32 saw Vitor Pereira’s Wolves host Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs at the Molineux Stadium. Tottenham yet again made a woeful start to another Premier League fixture, conceding inside 90 seconds. Jean-Ricer Bellegarde’s initial free kick delivery into the Tottenham penalty area was punched away from danger by keeper Guglielmo Vicario, only for Rayan Ait-Nouri to smash the ball back at the Italian’s goal, watching as it bounced off the Molineux turf before finding the bottom right corner. Both sides then had huge chances to make it 2-0 and 1-1 respectively before Wolves scored their 2nd just before the interval. Ait-Nouri chipped the ball into the penalty area where Marshall Munetsi did well to get a header on target. Vicario then jumped out of his goal to punch the ball away from Wolves striker Jorgan Strand Larsen, only for the ball to fire off his teammate Djed Spence and into the bottom corner. The score at half time stood at 2-0 with Tottenham staring down the barrel of back-to-back defeats at the Molineux.

 

Tottenham made an unconvincing start to the 2nd period, coming close to going down 3-0 before halving the deficit and making it 2-1 in the 59th minute. Brennan Johnson played a ball across the Wolves penalty area where defender Nelson Semendo failed to clear his cross, allowing Mathys Tel to score a tap-in, the Frenchman’s 2nd goal in as many games. It only took Wolves five minutes to reassert their dominance, pouncing off yet another Tottenham defensive error. Christian Romero received the ball just outside his own penalty area where he was lazy, taking multiple poor touches and allowing Ait-Nouri to pick his pocket and advance into the 18-yard box. The Algerian then played the ball across the penalty area to Strand Larsen who was unmarked and free to score his 12th goal of the season. With just five minutes to play in normal time, Spurs halved the deficit again from a Lucas Bergvall corner. His delivery floated all the way over to the back post where Ben Davies headed the ball back into the danger area allowing Romero to get his head on the ball. Romero’s effort rattled the crossbar but substitute Richarlison was free to nod the ball into the back of the net and make it 3-2. Seconds after Tottenham had dragged their way back into the game, Wolves sealed all three points after Bergvall was dispossessed by the returning Mathues Cunha, leaving Spurs in a vulnerable position. Davies was then unsuccessful in tackling the Brazilian, allowing him to run through into the penalty area before slotting the ball into the bottom right corner to score his 14th of the season. The full time score finished 4-2, with Wolves extending their brilliant run of form to five games unbeaten, four wins in that period. Pereira’s side move into 16th on 35 points, 14 clear of the drop zone. Tottenham drop to 15th on 37 points, although it’s fair to say all of their attention is on the Europa League as they hope to claim a big win against Eintracht Frankfurt in the coming week to reach the semi-finals.

 

Written by Ollie Wade – Read the rest of Matchweek 32 at Premier League Matchweek 32 24/5 – Kickoff chronicles

 

 

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