A weekend of role reversal in the Premier League, where none of the top five going into Matchweek 22 were victorious, but all occupants of the bottom five avoided defeat.
Manchester City’s derby defeat at Manchester United, and Aston Villa’s loss to Everton, meant Arsenal extended their lead at the summit to seven points despite only managing a goalless draw at Nottingham Forest.
West Ham United ended their 10-game winless streak with victory against under-performing Tottenham Hotspur, while fellow relegation zone occupants Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers earned draws against Liverpool and Newcastle United respectively.
Here is everything you need to know about the weekend’s action.
There is no better way to start a Man Utd managerial reign than a derby victory over Man City. Interim head coach Michael Carrick may only be at the helm until the end of the season, but he will always have the memory of this rip-roaring win.
Second-half goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu proved the difference, but the hosts were totally dominant throughout, seeing three goals disallowed for offside and hitting the woodwork twice, taking their total for the season to a league-leading 17 times.
“The boys were fantastic, in so many ways,” said Carrick. “To manage it emotionally with the information we’ve given them, and pulling it together, it was pretty good. That’s the challenge ultimately – it needs to be a version of normal. Consistency is the key to any success.”
The result dealt a hefty blow to Man City’s title aspirations, extending their winless run in the league to four games at the start of the calendar year.
Pep Guardiola’s side had 68 per cent possession, but their Expected Goals (xG) of 0.45 was the second-lowest of the his entire 364-game Premier League career.
City’s leading scorer Erling Haaland, who was substituted before the end, managed just 14 touches all match and has now gone seven consecutive appearances without a non-penalty goal in all competitions – his longest City run.
“The better team won,” said Guardiola. “It’s my 27th derby, I came here many times and [today] we were not at the required level to win this type of game.”
Liam Rosenior admitted his Chelsea side left plenty to be desired in his first Premier League match in charge, but a win is a win, and the new head coach is off to a promising start.
The hosts attempted only six shots – their fewest in a Premier League home win for more than a decade – and hit the target just twice. But they scored both of those efforts, courtesy of a powerful Joao Pedro strike and Cole Palmer’s penalty.
Brentford had more possession, more shots, and more efforts on target, but they departed with nothing to show for their troubles.
“If you want to be a winning team then you have to find a way to win when you’re not at your best,” said Rosenior. “We didn’t play the free-flowing football that I want us to in the end, but we got the job done and that’s a really, really pleasing result for the players to give them and myself more confidence moving forward.”
His counterpart, Keith Andrews was forced to rue what might have been. “We deserved at least a point on the balance of play, but sometimes the game isn’t fair,” he said. “You have to take opportunities when they come, and we didn’t do that.”
The Leeds United resurgence continues. This win means they have now lost just once in their last nine league outings, and that came courtesy of a Newcastle winner in the 12th minute of stoppage time.
Saturday’s match was also settled in added time, when Leeds substitute Lukas Nmecha turned home the only goal, but victory was no more than the hosts deserved.
Nmecha was only on the pitch for nine minutes but had a big impact as the table below shows.
Nmecha's impact after coming on
| Statistic | Total | Match rank |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes | 9 | - |
| Shots | 3 | 1st |
| Shots on target | 2 | 1st |
| Touches in opp. box | 3 | =1st |
“The best win of the season,” said head coach Daniel Farke. “We played an in-form Fulham side. Important three points and a fantastic win. We were relentless until the end. For me the best win of the season so far.”
Fulham were unbeaten in seven heading into this match, but were flat throughout, managing only seven touches inside the Leeds box – their fewest in a Premier League game for more than a year.
“This was not a good performance at all,” said Fulham boss Marco Silva. “We lost the game. We have to congratulate Leeds and move on.”
Following three consecutive draws, Arne Slot demanded more intensity, more creativity and more fire from his Liverpool side on Saturday. He got it. The trouble was that it was only good enough for another single point.
The hosts attempted 32 shots – their most in a Premier League game for a year – had 11 on target and created an xG of 2.96. But they found the net just once, thanks to Florian Wirtz’s fourth goal in six games.
Dominik Szoboszlai had earlier crashed a penalty against the crossbar, a miss that proved crucial when Marcus Edwards equalised for relegation-threatened Burnley.
For the first time in more than 45 years, Liverpool have failed to win any of their three home league games against promoted sides.
“You have to give credit to Burnley for doing everything to prevent us scoring,” said Slot. “But if, as Liverpool, you are not disappointed by drawing at home to Burnley then something is wrong.”
Only two points separated these two teams at kick-off, but the mood in both camps could not be more different right now.
While Sunderland are exceeding all expectations and remain unbeaten at home, Crystal Palace are on a wretched run of 10 matches without a win in all competitions.
The visitors were without captain Marc Guehi, who was not involved in this match ahead of his move to Man City on Monday, while manager Oliver Glasner confirmed last week that he will leave the club at the end of the season. This loss was not what they needed after their FA Cup defence ended in a shock defeat at non-league Macclesfield the previous weekend.
Glasner’s side actually took the lead at the Stadium of Light, courtesy of Yeremy Pino’s classy finish. But Sunderland have discovered a healthy habit of coming from behind, and secured victory through Enzo Le Fee and Brian Brobbey. They remain one of only two teams (alongside Arsenal) yet to lose at home in the Premier League this season.
With a bench consisting of almost entirely inexperienced young players, Glasner chose not to make a single substitution.
“I’ve seen a team that is leaving their heart on the pitch,” said the disappointed Palace manager. “As you have seen, we couldn’t make a sub, we had no one on the bench. We have 12, 13 players from the squad available.”
Spurs’ final 50 defeats at their old White Hart Lane stadium took 295 games to arrive; this loss against fierce local rivals West Ham means they have reached the same tally in just 176 matches at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Their struggles to perform to their best at home have never been more acute than this season, when they have repeatedly fallen short in front of their own fans, repeatedly prompting boos at the final whistle.
This was no different, with West Ham substitute Callum Wilson scoring a stoppage-time winner with virtually the last kick of the game. Before that, it looked as though the points would be shared after goals from Crysencio Summerville and Cristian Romero.
Spurs, who immediately started new signing Conor Gallagher in central midfield, have now won just four of their last 18 matches.
“At this moment this is a disaster for us,” said Romero. His head coach Thomas Frank added: “It seems to be the perfect storm at the moment in many ways. You get a sucker punch in injury time and it’s unbelievably tough to take. You have to keep going. You can’t feel sorry for yourself.”
Victory was West Ham’s first in 11 matches as they moved within five points of escaping the relegation zone.
Try as they might, Arsenal’s attack were simply unable to break down Forest’s defence.
The league leaders finished with an xG of 2.07 and did not face a single shot on target for the fifth time in the Premier League this season. But a rejected penalty appeal and a Bukayo Saka header brilliantly saved by Matz Sels were as close as they came to scoring. They have now played out consecutive goalless draws in the Premier League for the first time since 2012/13.
While Forest offered very little going forward – failing to score for the 11th time in the league this season – they defended brilliantly to record only their fifth clean sheet of the season.
Unsurprisingly, it came when Sean Dyche was able to field his preferred back five of Sels, Ola Aina, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic and Neco Williams, as well as defensive midfielder Ibrahim Sangare, for the first time since August.
“It’s not easy playing these sides, the commitment is different,” said Dyche. “There’s the commitment to score a goal, of course, but what about the commitment to the shape, the basics, the hard yards of the game? And I thought we did that fantastically well as a group. To get a clean sheet against them is amazing. We had a couple of chances ourselves, but it’s hard to open them up, as they’ve shown all season.”
Still 14 points from safety with just 16 matches to play, Premier League safety appears a highly improbable prospect for Wolves. But Rob Edwards’ side are no longer playing like the top-flight pushovers they have been for the majority of this campaign.
This goalless draw took their unbeaten run to five games across all competitions, further easing fears that they might not reach Derby County’s all-time Premier League low tally of 11 points – a mark that is now just three away.
Despite having two-thirds of possession at Molineux, it took 85 minutes for Newcastle to muster their first shot on target. A largely drab game suited the hosts.
“I think [with] the quality of the team that we’re up against, the quality of the players that they’ve got, it was a really solid, spirited performance,” said Edwards. “It’s another step forward. It’s a clean sheet against the top team. It’s a couple of clean sheets in a row in the league. We look more resilient. I think there’s more belief there.”
His counterpart Eddie Howe rued a lack of attacking cutting edge, with striker Nick Woltemade only managing three goals in his last 19 outings.
“In games like that, you’re looking for one moment of individual brilliance that wins us a game or a set play,” said Howe. “All the way through, I thought it could come, even to the very last kick, but it wasn’t to be.”
Given their strong home form in recent times, this visit of Everton presented a prime opportunity for Villa to capitalise on earlier dropped points from Arsenal and Man City in their quest to insert themselves into the title shake-up. It was a chance that went begging.
A lone Thierno Barry goal inflicted only a second defeat in their last 29 Premier League home games, with this loss ending an eight-game winning streak at Villa Park in the league.
The hosts had plenty of chances – their 18 shots were Villa’s most without scoring in a Premier League game since October 2022 – but they came no closer than Evann Guessand heading against the crossbar.
“We lost the opportunity to be second in the league, something really fantastic,” said Unai Emery. “But after feeling our frustration at losing this match, we must try and recover our good, positive way.”
Worryingly, their injury problems continue to grow. Villa captain John McGinn was forced off after 18 minutes with a knee problem, while Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana were also both missing.
Barry’s goal, scored just before the hour, was his third in four Premier League appearances.
Brighton & Hove Albion host AFC Bournemouth in the final fixture of Matchweek 22 on Monday 19 January at 20:00 GMT.