Football's Weekly Roundup #9

The Premier League

Chelsea and Manchester City were involved in an extraordinary 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge, in what was the greatest game of the 2023-24 Premier League season. 

Man City took the lead after Erling Haaland scored a controversial penalty, but a header from Thiago Silva and Raheem Sterling’s close-range effort gave the advantage back to the home side.

Manuel Akanji’s header on the stroke of halftime drew the sides level at 2-2, before Haaland slid in to retake a 3-2 lead.

It looked like Rodri’s long-range drive had won the game for the away side when it cancelled out Nicolas Jackson’s goal that made it 3-3, but a late challenge from Ruben Dias on Armando Broja gave Cole Palmer the chance to equalise from the penalty spot in the 95th minute, which he dispatched under extreme pressure. 

The draw puts Manchester City one point above Liverpool, before they clash at the Etihad after the international break, whereas Chelsea sit in tenth place, one point behind West Ham United. 

Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to Molineux in Saturday’s early kickoff ended in heartbreak late on, with substitute Pablo Sarabia scoring and assisting to make it a 2-1 to Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers’ side. 

Mario Lemina’s 97th minute winner consigned Ange Postecoglou’s team to their second consecutive loss in the Premier League, which leaves Spurs in fourth place.

Arsenal took full advantage in their bitter rival’s demise, beating Burnley 3-1 at the Emirates stadium. Leandro Trossard’s opener was cancelled out by Josh Brownhill’s equaliser, before goals from William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko restored the home side’s lead.

This result left Burnley just above Sheffield United, but the Blades got a 1-1 draw against eighth-placed Brighton, pushing Vincent Kompany’s Clarets to the very bottom of the table. 

Simon Adringa’s opener gave Roberto De Zerbi’s team an early lead, but a red card for Mahmoud Dahoud gave Paul Heckingbottom’s side the confidence to get forward, forcing Adam Webster to score an unfortunate own goal.

Back at the top of the Premier League table, Liverpool faced Brentford at Anfield on Sunday. The Reds had drawn their last Premier League game to Luton Town, and a lacklustre performance in the Europa League saw Toulouse storm to a 3-2 win in midweek. 

This was nothing like the side’s last two games, however, as a brace from Mohamed Salah and a strike from Diogo Jota saw Liverpool get back to winning ways in the Premier League, pushing into second place, only above Arsenal on goal difference. 

Manchester United bounced back from an embarrassing 4-3 loss to Copenhagen in midweek with a 1-0 over Luton Town at Old Trafford. A goal from Victor Lindelof was enough to relieve the pressure off their manager, Erik Ten Hag, for now.

Bournemouth earned only their second win of the season, beating Newcastle United 2-0 on the South Coast. A second half brace from Dominic Solanke highlighted their opponents’ injury crisis, with Kieran Trippier going over to speak to the home fans about the match. 

Aston Villa continued their winning start to the Premier League at home against Fulham with a 3-1 win at Villa Park. Antonee Robinson’s own goal gave the home side the lead, before John McGinn made it 2-0 before the halftime whistle. A third goal was scored by Ollie Watkins, and a 70th minute goal from Raul Jiminez was not enough for the visitors to mount a late comeback. 

The Premier League saw two 3-2 score lines this weekend, with Everton beating Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park and West Ham winning at home against Nottingham Forest. 

Everton took the lead through Vitaliy Mykolenko, but an Eberechi Eze penalty cancelled it out within the first five minutes. Doucoure retook the lead but Palace came back with an Odsonne Eduoard strike, before Idrissa Gueye popped up with the match winner for the away side to bring all three points to Goodison Park. 

West Ham took the lead after three minutes courtesy of a Lucas Paqueta drive but it was cancelled out just before halftime by Taiwo Anoniyi, with the away side going ahead after Anthony Elanga’s effort in the second half.

James Ward-Prowse stepped up for West Ham, after not being included in the England squad, and grabbed two assists for Jarrod Bowen and Thomas Soucek, which moved the side into ninth place in the Premier League table.  

Player of the weekend - Pablo Sarabia (Wolves) 

This could have gone to a couple of players this weekend, truly highlighting what a brilliant weekend of Premier League football we have just had. 

It could have gone to Dominic Solanke for his excellent brace against Newcastle to earn them their second win of the season, or it could have gone to Mohamed Salah after his two goals helped carry Liverpool past Brentford at Anfield. 

James Ward-Prowse showed his impressive passing skills with two assists to help West Ham United get past Nottingham Forest, whereas Haaland’s brace and assist could’ve made him the player of the weekend, if it wasn’t for the performance of half of the Chelsea players pushing to make sure that they grabbed that late equaliser. 

However, I believe that Pablo Sarabia’s substitute performance off the bench earns him the coveted player of the weekend award. 

The Spanish footballer had managed only one assist this season in six matches, but he came off the bench with bundles of energy, scoring the equaliser and a late assist to hand Ange Postecoglou only his second loss in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur. 

The Championship

Liam Lindsay’s 90th minute winner for Preston gave them a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers in the Lancashire derby, with Sammie Szmodics' tenth goal of the season proving to be not enough for the visitors.

The pressure heaped on Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City after losing 3-1 to Sunderland, leaving the English manager with four losses in five games.

Former player, Jobe Bellingham, led the charge, with the Black Cats sitting in sixth place in the playoffs, while the Blues drifted slowly towards the relegation zone in 18th. 

Sam Greenwood’s amazing freekick for Middlesborough was enough to hand Leicester City their second loss in a row, which moved the home side into 10th with a 1-0 win. 

Second-placed Ipswich Town moved level on points with Leicester City after a 3-2 win at Portman Road over Swansea City  

Norwich City’s late fightback also saw David Wagner’s side win 3-2 at Cardiff City. With the club being 2-1 down after 81 minutes, an own goal from Ryan Wintle drew the sides level, before Adam Idah scored the winner two minutes later.

Leeds United narrowly beat Plymouth Argyle 2-1 at Elland Road, with Southampton also beating West Brom 2-1 in a heavily contested promotion clash.

Hull City’s 92nd minute winner courtesy of Liam Delap left Huddersfield Town hovering dangerously above the relegation spots, but Watford’s 5-0 win over Rotherham United and Milwall’s 4-0 win at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday means that the Terriers are safe for the time being.  

Only two games finished 0-0 this gameweek, with Coventry City ending their run of four consecutive defeats against Stoke City, alongside Liam Manning securing his first point as Bristol City manager with a draw at Loftus Road against Queens’ Park Rangers. 

Player of the weekend - Sam Greenwood (Middlesbrough)

The 21 year old forward on loan from Leeds United showed his quality against Championship leaders Leicester City with a stunning freekick to snatch all three points at the Riverside. 

“There are not many people who can pull that off, but he’s got that in his locker consistently”, said manager Michael Carrick, delighted with his striker’s goal. 

League One

Oxford United’s 3-2 away win at Leyton Orient closed the gap to a point as league leaders Portsmouth could only come away with a 2-2 draw against Charlton Athletic.

Bolton Wanderers are also level on points with Oxford United, after a 1-0 win over eighth-placed Blackpool saw the home side secure their sixth consecutive win in all competitions.

Peterborough United fired five goals past local rivals Cambridge United in the lunchtime game, with Stevenage also cementing their place in the playoffs with a 1-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park. 

Derby County drew level on points with sixth-placed Barnsley after a 3-0 win at Pride Park, with ninth-placed Lincoln City failing to close the gap with a 1-1 draw against Port Vale. 

Ten-man Bristol Rovers extended their unbeaten run in all competition to five games after a 1-0 win against Carlisle United. 

Northampton Town pulled away from the relegation pack with a 2-0 win at Sixfields against Burton Albion, whilst Reading couldn’t move off rock bottom in the league, after they blew a 2-0 lead against Shrewsbury Town to lose 3-2. 

Fleetwood Town’s 3-0 win over Exeter City cut the gap between them and the visitors, with only a point separating the two sides from the relegation places, whilst Wigan Athletic drew 1-1 with Cheltenham Town, in a result that doesn’t do either side any favours. 

Player of the weekend - James Collins (Derby County)

Striker James Collins scored twice against promotion hopefuls Barnsley this weekend in a 3-0 win, and he also scored a perfect hattrick in the 4-1 win over Wolves U21s in the newly named Bristol Street Motors Cup. 

Safe to say he will be happy with his goal contributions this week.

League Two

Stockport County carried on their brilliant form in League Two with a 4-2 away win against Swindon Town, while 2nd placed Wrexham got a 2-0 win over Gillingham at the Racecourse.

Mansfield Town recorded a 2-1 win away at Salford City, but it was the clash against Crewe Alexandra and Notts County that grabbed the headlines. 

Crewe Alexandra scored a 98th minute penalty to win 1-0 over Notts County, after winger Jodi Jones was penalised for a controversial handball. It appeared that the referee’s assistant had been hit by something thrown from the crowd, brought on by the penalty decision and a lengthy delay after the referee pulled his hamstring, leaving the away fans heavily frustrated. 

Barrow inflicted a 2-1 loss on Graham Alexander’s Bradford City, with the manager losing his first game in charge of the club.

Morecambe and Accrington Stanley both fell to away defeats, with the latter losing 3-1 to Crawley Town, before Morecambe lost 3-2 to Grimsby Town. 

Nine-man AFC Wimbledon won their first game in six games to beat 19th-placed Doncaster Rovers 2-0, whilst Tranmere Rovers also won 3-0 at home against relegation-threatened Forest Green Rovers. 

Harrogate Town scored an 84th minute winner to beat Walsall 1-0 to claim their fourth consecutive EFL away win for the first time in the club’s history. 

Sutton United gained a valuable point at the bottom of the EFL, with a 95th minute equaliser away at Colchester United to draw 1-1, which means that Newport County’s 0-0 draw against Milton Keynes Dons was the only stalemate in their division. 

Player of the weekend - Ali Al-Hamadi (AFC Wimbledon) 

Al-Hamadi stepped up for his side this weekend, scoring a brace to end his side’s run of no wins in five games in League Two.

His two goals put Doncaster Rovers two-nil down, and despite losing two players to red cards, these strikes were enough to give AFC Wimbledon all three points.

It truly was a great weekend in the Premier League, with some amazing results strewn throughout the EFL, with the international break giving football fans across England the chance to have a breather after what was a very impressive game week.

By Callum Burgess - https://twitter.com/Calstagram123