Football writer Ben Bloom analyses the Matchweek 29 action in the Premier League, including important victories for Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
With Liverpool busy elsewhere on EFL Cup final duty, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest took their chance to head into the international break with wins to close what remains a large gap to the Premier League leaders.
Meanwhile Chelsea, Manchester City, Brighton & Hove Albion and AFC Bournemouth all dropped points in their hunt for European football next season.
Wolves' victory over Southampton deepened the relegation woes of the bottom three clubs as Ipswich Town and Leicester City also failed to win again.
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In his second spell as Everton manager, against a West Ham United side that he also managed twice, David Moyes watched his side grab a dramatic late equaliser to extend their Premier League unbeaten run to nine matches – their longest spell without defeat since February 2017 under Ronald Koeman.
Moyes has worked wonders since returning to Goodison Park, but his team looked to be heading for a home defeat after West Ham's dominance was rewarded with Tomas Soucek’s opener soon after the hour.
All 17 of Soucek’s away Premier League goals have either put West Ham in the lead or drawn them level.
However, Jake O’Brien scored a stoppage-time equaliser for Everton to maintain an unbeaten league run that stretches back to 15 January.
It meant a fond reunion for Moyes with a club that he guided to UEFA Conference League glory in 2023.
"West Ham have got a terrific team," he said after the match. "I should know, I spent most of the money there!"
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It would take a bold prediction to suggest that Forest will not be playing UEFA Champions League football next season.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side made light work of struggling Ipswich to take their Premier League points tally to 54 after 29 matches. In the competition’s history, only four teams have failed to finish in the top five having won as many points at the same stage (Newcastle in 1994/95, Liverpool in 2014/15 and Manchester United in 2016/17 and 2018/19). There are few suggestions Forest will join them.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
29 | +14 | 54 |
| 4 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
29 | +16 | 49 |
| 5 |
Man City
MCI
|
29 | +15 | 48 |
| 6 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
28 | +9 | 47 |
| 7 |
Brighton
BHA
|
29 | +6 | 47 |
| 8 |
Fulham
FUL
|
29 | +5 | 45 |
| 9 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
29 | -4 | 45 |
The visitors struck in a devastating seven-minute burst through Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga's double to put them three goals ahead at half-time for the third time this season.
Among defenders, only Man City’s Josko Gvardiol, with five goals, has scored more times in the Premier League this season than Milenkovic's four.
A couple of late goals were no consolation for an Ipswich side fighting relegation. They remain the only team across the top four tiers of English football without a league win in 2025, after drawing two and losing eight of their 10 Premier League matches since the turn of the year.
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The abundance of clubs hoping to grab what is likely to be a fifth Champions League place remain as tightly packed as they were before the weekend, with neither Man City nor Brighton able to gain an edge at the Etihad Stadium. A draw sees them remain fifth and seventh respectively, separated by just one point.
Erling Haaland gave the hosts an early lead from the penalty spot to become the first player ever to reach 100 Premier League goal involvements (84 goals, 16 assists) in fewer than 100 matches, this coming in his 94th Man City appearance.
However, the two sides then traded goals before ending the match level at 2-2, meaning City have dropped nine points from winning positions in Premier League home matches this season – their most in a single season since 2008/09 (12 points).
Pep Guardiola’s side have taken only four points from their last four league matches. But six of their nine remaining fixtures are against teams currently in the bottom half of the table.
Brighton stay winless in their 15 league visits to Man City, but this draw was the first time they have avoided defeat since December 1982.
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The Premier League relegation situation could be resolved as early as mid-March.
Saturday's win over bottom-placed Southampton has enabled Wolves to open up a nine-point gap over the third-bottom team, Ipswich. Meanwhile, Saints are now 17 points from safety – a huge margin that prompted head coach Ivan Juric to concede his side will be playing Championship football next season.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
29 | -18 | 26 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
29 | -34 | 17 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
29 | -40 | 17 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
29 | -49 | 9 |
It looks highly likely that Ipswich and Leicester City will join them in returning to the second tier.
Jorgen Strand Larsen struck twice to open up a two-goal lead for Wolves. Seven of his nine Premier League goals have either put the club ahead or drawn them level.
However, this was the first time Wolves have won a league fixture in which the Norwegian has scored.
It also meant Wolves have won consecutive Premier League away matches for the first time in more than a year, as Paul Onuachu’s goal for Southampton was in vain.
Juric’s side remain two points off Derby County’s record Premier League low of 11, and are the fourth team to lose nine consecutive top-flight matches in a single season, after Birmingham City in 1985/86 (10), Wolves in 2011/12 (nine) and Watford (six) in 2021/22.
Wolves had only five attempts in the match – the fewest shots by a winning team to score 2+ goals in a Premier League away game since November 2023 – only adding to Southampton's frustrations.
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A season of extremes continues for Brentford. Having failed to win any of their first nine away matches in the Premier League this season, Thomas Frank’s side have now triumphed in their last five after this comeback victory at Bournemouth – their longest winning run on the road since December 2010 in League One.
In contrast, they were unbeaten at home until losing to Forest on 21 December but have not won a single match at the Gtech Community Stadium since.
At Bournemouth, Brentford fell behind to Vitaly Janelt’s own goal, before Yoane Wissa and Christian Norgaard turned things around.
Wissa has now been directly involved in 16 goals (14 goals, two assists) in the Premier League this season, his most in a single season. He is also the first Brentford player to score 40 goals in the competition.
Bournemouth should have scored more, with Antoine Semenyo heading against the crossbar early in the second half. Semenyo became the fourth player to record 100+ shots in the Premier League this season, scoring from just 6.9 per cent of them (7/101) – the worst shot-conversion rate among players to score 5+ goals in single campaign since Richarlison, for Watford, in 2017/18 (5.3 per cent, 5/95).
Andoni Iraola's side have now lost their last three Premier League home matches.
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Mikel Merino won the battle of the makeshift strikers at Emirates Stadium, with his header proving the difference in Arsenal's victory against Chelsea.
It was the 11th time since the start of last season that Arsenal have opened the scoring with a goal from a corner, while their 27 goals from corners during that period are 10 more than any other team.
The win takes the Gunners 12 points off Liverpool, who were not in Premier League action due to EFL Cup final duties.
Chelsea struggled to create in the absence of Cole Palmer, whose injury ruled him out of a league match for the first time since a 5-0 defeat at Arsenal in April 2024.
Enzo Maresca’s side attempted only eight shots and had only eight touches in Arsenal’s box – both their fewest in a Premier League match this season. Their Expected Goals (xG) total of 0.35 was their lowest in a match in any competition under Maresca.
Chelsea remain fourth despite the defeat, but they are now without a win in their last seven Premier League away matches.
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While focus shifts onto the UEFA Europa League, Tottenham Hotspur increasingly look likely to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League for the first time in 17 years.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have now lost 15 of their 29 league matches this season – their joint-most at this stage of a campaign in the competition.
Both sides failed to create for the bulk of the game, with Fulham managing only one shot on target in the first half and Spurs none – the ninth time in the first half of a Premier League match under Postecoglou that they have failed to hit the target. This stat is more than Spurs’ last two permanent managers combined (six under Antonio Conte and two under Nuno).
Fulham’s substitutes, once again, proved decisive.
Rodrigo Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon both came off the bench to score, taking Fulham’s goal tally to a competition-high 13 from their subs in 2024/25.
Muniz’s goal was his fifth as a sub in the Premier League this season, the most by a Fulham player in a single season in the division.
The win saw Fulham climb to eighth and keeps them firmly in the hunt for European football next season.
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The end of two significant goal droughts, and an imperious captain’s performance from Bruno Fernandes, ensured Man Utd head into the international break unbeaten in seven matches across all competitions – their joint-longest run of the season.
Rasmus Hojlund scored for the first time in 21 matches, while Alejandro Garnacho’s goal ended a 23-game barren run.
Both were set up by Fernandes who, since making his Man Utd debut in February 2020, sits behind only Kevin De Bruyne (90) for assists across all competitions for a side in Europe’s big five leagues.
Fernandes, who added a goal of his own in the 90th minute, also became the sixth United player to reach 50 Premier League assists after Ryan Giggs (162), Wayne Rooney (93), David Beckham (80), Paul Scholes (55) and Eric Cantona (51).
Defeat marked some unwanted history for Leicester, who became the first team in English top-flight history to lose seven home matches in succession while failing to score in each.
