Football writer Adrian Kajumba picks out the best performance, celebration, surprise and more from Matchweek 28.
Best performance - Nottingham Forest
Thanks to another tactical masterclass, Nottingham Forest nullified Manchester City and edged their top-four tussle 1-0 to leave the City Ground rocking.
Third-placed Forest had just 31 per cent possession, a division-high 10th time in the Premier League they have had less than 35 per cent in a match.
But not having the ball is no problem for Forest whose display against Man City was typical of many they have produced in their unexpected push for UEFA Champions League football this season.
It was built on solid defensive foundations and a league-leading 12th Premier League clean sheet for goalkeeper Matz Sels.
Forest's centre-backs Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo helped to limit Man City to zero big chances; it's the seventh time Nuno Espirito Santo's side have had no big chances in a match against them in the Premier League in 2024/25. Only Arsenal have done that more often, on eight occasions.
No. times teams have limited opponents to zero big chances in 2024/25
| Club | Total |
|---|---|
| Arsenal | 8 |
| Nott'm Forest | 7 |
| Aston Villa | 6 |
| Fulham | 5 |
| Man Utd | 5 |
Their full-backs Ola Aina and Neco Williams were excellent too, cancelling out Jeremy Doku and Savinho with help from their tireless midfield team-mates doubling up.
So often this season, Forest have also proven their ability to counter-attack so effectively, with Morgan Gibbs-White's passing range, the quality they possess out wide, and their prolific striker, Chris Wood.
That threat was showcased by their winning goal on Saturday, scored by winger Callum Hudson-Odoi from Gibbs-White’s stunning cross field pass, to earn Forest their first Premier League win over Man City since 1995.
Best celebration - Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace)
In the absence of the injured Jean-Philippe Mateta against Ipswich Town, Ismaila Sarr did his best impression of Crystal Palace’s talismanic striker to secure a 1-0 success.
Sarr was firstly the hero for in-form Palace, as Mateta has been so often, producing a 82nd-minute chip to secure a fourth successive victory.
The scorer then followed his third goal in his last two Premier League matches with a nice touch.
Sarr's goal against Ipswich - and celebration
Sarr marked his goal in the same way Mateta would, recreating the Frenchman's trademark corner flag-kicking celebration as a tribute to his team-mate while he recovers from the head injury suffered against Millwall in the FA Cup.
Palace could kick off against Ipswich confident they would still have a cutting edge, largely thanks to their seven-goal, second-top scorer Sarr.
Of all Palace players to have had more than 10 Premier League shots this season, he has the best shooting accuracy, with 56 per cent of his attempts on target.
That is the seventh-highest percentage in the whole division.
Sarr is also third among Palace players for shots, with 43, and second for shots on target, with 24.
He scored his one shot on target against Ipswich and, with Mateta missing, Sarr’s eye for goal was especially valuable.
How Sarr's shooting stats rank at Palace 24/25
| Ismaila Sarr | Total | Club rank |
|---|---|---|
| Total shots (inc. blocks) | 43 | 3rd |
| Shots on target | 24 | 2nd |
| Shooting accuracy | 56% | 1st |
*Minimum 10 shots
Most accurate shooters in Premier League 24/25*
| Player | Total shots (on target) | Shot conversion rate % | Shooting accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strand Larsen | 37 (25) | 18.92% | 68% |
| Calafiori | 10 (6) | 20% | 60% |
| Wood | 51 (30) | 35.29% | 59% |
| Beto | 29 (17) | 20.69% | 59% |
| Haaland | 99 (57) | 20.2% | 58% |
| Szmodics | 21 (12) | 19.05% | 57% |
| Sarr | 43 (24) | 16.28% | 56% |
*Minimum 10 shots
Best half-time team talk - Arne Slot (Liverpool)
Only those who were inside the home dressing room at half-time know exactly what was said.
But there were enough hints that Arne Slot had some strong, game-changing words with his players during the interval against Southampton when they trailed 1-0.
“The manager was gone, his head was going for us but it’s something you need sometimes,” Mohamed Salah said with a smile.
Head coach Slot added: “I didn’t give compliments at half-time, I can tell you.”
Liverpool’s first-half energy and work-rate were the issues for Slot. “Sloppy” and “slow” were two words Salah used to describe their performance.
With a triple substitution also helping change the dynamic along with his words, and sending a warning to those he kept on according to Slot, Liverpool were instantly transformed and blew Southampton away after the break.
“Second half they accelerated,” Southampton manager Ivan Juric said, referencing the clear change in Liverpool’s tempo.
That was also reflected in the increase in their direct speed - the metres per second they progressed upfield in open play moves - from 1.3 in the first half to 1.8 in the second.
Within nine minutes of the restart, they turned the match around to lead 2-1 before Salah’s second penalty of the afternoon late on sealed a 3-1 win which took Liverpool another big step towards the title.
Biggest surprise - Mads Hermansen (Leicester City)
Previously when Cole Palmer stepped up to take a penalty, there was only one outcome - a Chelsea goal.
That was true until Matchweek 28 when Leicester City’s Mads Hermansen became the first goalkeeper to save a Palmer spot-kick in the Premier League.
Hermansen's penalty save v Chelsea
The Chelsea star did have the best 100-per-cent record in competition history with 12 out of 12 conversions before he was denied by Hermansen.
The shame for Hermansen, who made a joint-high seven saves this weekend, was that his heroics were not the platform for a positive Leicester result.
Marc Cucurella’s second-half strike earned Chelsea a narrow 1-0 win and continued a recurring theme of Leicester’s season - Hermansen’s individual efforts going unrewarded.
A 13-save performance at Arsenal, the most made in a Premier League match this season, is among Hermansen’s 2024/25 highlights. However, it was another match that ended in defeat, 4-2, after two late goals for the Gunners.
Hermansen has made the fourth-most saves this season, with 82, and has been nominated for the Premier League Save of the Month award three times out of a possible seven.
Leicester’s league position is lowly - only one above the bottom - though it has not been for a want of trying on Hermansen’s part.
Most saves in MW28 (before West Ham v Newcastle)
| Player | Team | Opponent | Total saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hermansen | Leicester | Chelsea | 7 |
| Henderson | Crystal Palace | Ipswich | 7 |
| Vicario | Spurs | Bournemouth | 6 |
| Onana | Man Utd | Arsenal | 5 |
| Raya | Arsenal | Man Utd | 5 |
Best assist - Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth)
Milos Kerkez produced one of the crosses of the season to set up Bournemouth’s first goal in their 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur, in the latest display of the impressive improvement in that area of his game.
The left-back intercepted Pedro Porro’s pass, charged forward and swung in a cross on the run that just cleared Kevin Danso but dropped perfectly for Marcus Tavernier to slide in and convert it without having to break his stride.
No team has scored more open-play goals from crosses in the Premier League this season than Bournemouth’s eight with Kerkez creating three of them.
Kerkez's delivery from wide areas is clearly something he has worked on and a major factor in why he has leapt from one Premier League assist last season to five this campaign, with 10 fixtures still to go.
Last season, Kerkez had the 34th-highest total of attempted open-play crosses, with 55, and was joint-18th for successful open-play crosses, with 11.
In both categories this season, he is now fifth, with 83 attempted and 21 successful. His delightful delivery against Spurs was the best of the lot so far.
An honourable mention to Gibbs-White for a brilliant Matchweek 28 assist too, with his pass to Hudson-Odoi for Forest’s winning goal against Man City.
Most successful open-play crosses 24/25
| Player | Successful crosses (total attempted) |
|---|---|
| Robinson | 36 (135) |
| Porro | 28 (109) |
| Alexander-Arnold | 23 (87) |
| Traore | 22 (81) |
| Kerkez | 21 (83 |
Best save - David Raya (Arsenal)
Not for the first time this season, Arsenal were indebted to the remarkable reactions of David Raya.
They were the dominant side in their 1-1 draw against Manchester United but still needed two crucial pieces of second-half goalkeeping to avoid defeat.
Raya’s first save, when Man Utd were leading 1-0, was the most impressive.
Noussair Mazraoui looked certain to score from Diogo Dalot’s cross but Raya stuck out a leg to brilliantly divert the ball behind.
During a weekend in which Man City's Ederson made a stunning stop against Forest and Hermansen kept out Palmer's penalty, Raya's save to deny Mazraoui was voted as the best by fans on our Premier League WhatsApp channel.
Raya followed that with another standout stoppage-time save when the score was 1-1.
He firstly prevented Bruno Fernandes adding to the superb free-kick he netted in the first half. Raya then sprung up to claw the ball away as it spun back towards his goal.
Watch Raya's double-save in stoppage time
It was a double stop that had hallmarks of Raya's recovery saves against Aston Villa, which won Premier League Save of the Month for August, and Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League in September.
And his vital interventions at Old Trafford were also endorsed by goalkeeping royalty, former Man Utd No.1 Peter Schmeichel, who made a point of acknowledging Raya as he made his way off the pitch at the end.