Matchweek 8 Highlights 24/25
After the international break, the Premier League saw yet another weekend filled with drama, excitement and goals. Here are the three games that stood out for me.
Tottenham vs West Ham
The 8th week of the 24/25 Premier League season kicked off at The Tottenham Hotspur stadium with Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs hosting Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham United. As usual, Tottenham came out of the blocks quickly but, to the shock of the home crowd, West Ham found an early opener. After defending resiliently for the first 10 minutes, the Hammers then created chances to progress further up the pitch. Jarrod Bowen punished a Destiny Udogie mistake inside the Spurs penalty area before making a dashing run towards the goal line. The West Ham skipper then cut the ball back, watching as Mohammed Kudus smashed the ball into the top left corner. It was a perfect start to the showings for Lopetegui’s side but the lead didn’t last for long. 18 minutes later and Tottenham finally had something to show for all their efforts. Dejan Kulusevski, arguably Spurs’ most dangerous player at the time, received the ball inside the penalty area from James Maddison and cut back onto his favoured left foot. The Swede then got a shot away, gaining a spot of luck as West Ham keeper, Alphonse Areola, saved the ball into the post before it spun across the line and in off the opposite. At half time the game was tightly poised at 1.1 with the game up for grabs.
Ange made a controversial decision at half time to bring off Maddison and sub on Pape Sarr but after just 7 minutes in the 2nd period, his call was already paying dividends. The returning Son Hueng-Min played a smart pass into the path of Udogie deep inside the Hammers penalty area. The Italian cut the ball back to Yves Bissomma who rifled the ball into the bottom left corner giving Spurs the lead for the first time in the afternoon. After a promising first half showing from West Ham, they then fully imploded after Tottenham found a two goal cushion. Son’s shot from inside the penalty was saved by Areola but the unfortunate Jean Clear-Todibo got in the way of the French shot stopper as the ball ricocheted off them both and into the back of their own net. Three became four as Tottenham scored their 3rd goal in just 7 minutes. Sarr played a brilliant ball down the left wing to Son who was isolated with acres to run into. The South Korean dribbled into the penalty area before drilling the ball past Areola and into the bottom left corner. Things went from bad to worse for West Ham when, arguably their best player, Mohammed Kudus was shown a red card. The Ghanaian firstly fouled Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven before he shoved the Dutchman in the face and then went onto shove Sarr as well. It was a blatant red card which VAR alerted referee Andy Madley to. When Madley blew his full time whistle, the score finished 4-1 with Tottenham bouncing back brilliantly after their poor performance at Brighton last week. It is yet another dreadful performance from Lopetegui, with West Ham fans getting fed up with the Spanish manager. Tottenham sit in 7th place while West Ham languish in 15th.
Fulham vs Aston Villa
The next game of the matchweek saw two very exciting teams playoff at Craven Cottage in Marco Silva’s Fulham and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. The Cottagers got off to a dream start in the 5th minute when they found the opener via route 1. Keeper Bernd Leno drilled the ball almost the full length of the pitch where Fulham’s no.7, Raul Jimenez, outmuscled Pau Torres leaving him with a golden opportunity to strike ahead. The Mexican took a touch before slicing the ball into the bottom right corner. Fulham’s celebrations didn’t last long as Villa struck back just 3 minutes later. Villa’s most exciting player, Morgan Rodgers, dribbled at the Fulham defenders before firing a shot at the hosts’ goal. Unfortunately for Leno, Rodgers’ shot caught a huge deflection, leading the ball into the opposite corner. Fifteen minutes later, Fulham found the perfect opportunity to restore their lead when Jimenez won a penalty after his header struck the hand of Matty Cash inside the Villa penalty area. Andreas Pereira stepped up to take the spot kick and, unfortunately for the home fans, his effort was weak making for an easy save for shot stopper Emiliano Martinez. At half time, the score was 1.1 with Marco Silva left furious that his team had passed up such a glorious opportunity to regain their lead.
Thirteen minutes into the 2nd period, Villa completed the turnaround when Ollie Watkins notched his 4th of the Premier League season. Youri Tielemans’ corner was perfect, with Watkins using all the power and whip from the Belgian’s ball to guide it into the roof of the net. The game was then all but sealed in the 64th minute when Joachim Andersen for Fulham was shown red after denying Watkins a clear goal scoring opportunity. It was a sublime pass from Rodgers which saw Watkins get goalside of the Dane, leaving him with no choice but to bring him down. Two became three just minutes after the red card when Issa Diop, brought on to cover the centre half position which had been deserted by Andersen, diverted the ball into the back of his own net. Lucas Digne’s cross was dangerous with miscommunication from Diop and his keeper Leno resulting in the Frenchman tapping it over the line. Villa then comfortably saw out the game for the remaining minutes but with just moments to go, they saw a red card themselves. Substitute Jaden Philogene saw a 2nd yellow card after he fouled Harry Wilson before complaining to referee Darren England. It was an unnecessary end to the game for Unai Emery’s side but was still a very positive win on the road. At full time the score finished 1-3 with Villa climbing into 4th on the table. Fulham sit 9th but will still feel positive as their last 2 games have been against 2 of last season’s top 4 sides.
Southampton vs Leicester
The next game of the matchweek saw 2 promoted teams playoff at St. Mary’s stadium with Russell Martin’s Saints taking on Steve Cooper’s Leicester City. After hitting the upright with just 3 minutes played, Southampton found a deserved opener in the 8th minute. Ryan Manning played a dangerous ball into the 6-yard area from Kyle Walker-Peters’ driving run. On the end of Manning’s ball was Cameroon Archer who finally put the ball into the back of the net for the first time at St. Mary’s to score his 2nd of the season. Southampton doubled their advantage 19 minutes later, with Walker-Peters the architect of the move again. The full back made a dancing run down the left wing before taking it to the goal-line and crossing the ball in. Archer showed his brilliant vision, stepping over the ball and leaving Joe Aribo with time and space to tap the ball past Mads Hermansen in the Leicester goal. The Foxes offered up nothing much and it was fair to say Southampton deserved their 2 goal lead at the break.
Leicester found themselves a lifeline in the 64th minute when, arguably their star player all season, Brighton loanee Facundo Buonanotte found the back of the net for the 3rd time this season. Abdul Fatawu made a dangerous run down the right wing before drilling a ball across the 6-yard area. On the end of his cross was Buonanotte who lunged in to poke the ball past Aaron Ramsdale in the sticks for Southampton. The whole game was then completely flipped on its head in the 72nd minute when the Saints’ fans thought Ramsdae had made a spectacular save after a Fatawu header. After VAR had a look at the whole incident, it was picked up that Southampton midfielder, Ryan Fraser, had a firm grasp of Jamie Vardy’s shirt, halting him from tapping the ball over the line with Ramsdale still recovering from his initial save. Referee Anthony Taylor was left with no choice but to award Leicester a penalty and send Fraser off. Vardy, who won the spot kick, stepped up and dispatched it perfectly, thrashing the ball into the top left. After continuing to put pressure on the Saints’ backline, Leicester had 1 more chance to complete the turnaround with a corner in what would turn out to be the last kick of the game. Harry Winks took it and played a pass along the deck to Jordan Ayew who was on the edge of the penalty area. The Ghanaian’s strike was far from perfect, but it somehow travelled through the crowd of players and bobbled into the bottom right corner, winning the game for the Foxes. Ayew even wrote his name in the history books for Leicester as the Foxes have never won from a 2 goal deficit in the Premier League before. Steve Cooper’s side sit 14th in the table as they start to find some good form. It gets even worse for Southampton as they stay 19th with 1 point after 8 games. They will travel to the Etihad next week in what will be their hardest game of the season so far.
Written by Ollie Wade – Read the rest of Matchweek 8 at Premier League matchweek 8 24/25 – Kickoff chronicles
Ollie Wade is a Grade 11 student who dabbles in sports writing, He plays for the Barossa United Senior Men’s Team.
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