Premier League Match Week 23 Results: Manchester United Defeats Arsenal As Interim Manager Carrick Delivers Another Shocker; Gunners Lead Down To Four Points Over Manchester City and Aston Villa; Liverpool Nicked By Bournemouth; Crystal Palace Swoon Continues In Loss To Chelsea; Forest and West Ham Both Win In Their Battle for Premier League Survival

He may not be the permanent solution, but Michael Carrick is delivering results in the short term as Manchester United’s interim manager. One week after knocking off rival Manchester City, Carrick’s Red Devils toppled league leading Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates. Including his prior 2021 interim stint in charge of the team, Carrick is now an unbeaten 4-1-0 managing Manchester United. It was not just the Red Devil fans who were thrilled with Sunday’s results. Both Manchester City and Aston Villa won their matches over the weekend so the lead in the Premier League title chase is now down to four points, far too narrow for the nerves of Arsenal supporters who thought this to be their year after three consecutive second place finishes in the league. Goals by summer signings Bryan Mbuemo and Matheus Cunha bookended a goal by Patrick Dorgu to provide the firepower for Manchester United which took advantage of an uncharacteristically lax Arsenal defense. Cunha was unmarked for his dramatic winner in the 87th minute. The goal by the former Wolves player came three minutes after Arsenal’s Mikel Merino had tied the score and seemingly salvaged a point for the league leaders. It was not to be, and the three-way title chase is on after Arsenal lost at home for the first time this season.

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Matheus Cunha appreciation tweet ❤️ pic.twitter.com/O1NMRJnFJn

— Wealth (@wealth_united_) January 25, 2026

Manchester City were easy 2-0 winners over Wolves in a match that was spectated by Erling Haaland and Phil Foden as Manager Pep Guardiola rested his stars. Aston Villa won by the same 2-0 scoreline at Newcastle, the club’s first victory at St. James’s Park since 2005.

Liverpool, meanwhile, lost for the first time in 14 Premier League matches when Bournemouth’s Amine Adli scored in the final moments of stoppage time in a thriller at Vitality Stadium. Liverpool’s unbeaten run had masked some mediocre play as the Reds drew six different times during their 13-match run. The dropped points during that run had already doomed a title chase well before Adli’s heroics. Bournemouth had been on an 11-match winless run before a victory over Tottenham Hotspur two weeks ago. Saturday’s win extended a three-match unbeaten run for the rejuvenated Cherries.

New Chelsea Manager Liam Rosenior has won back-to-back Premier League matches after the Blues 3-1 victory at Crystal Palace. The Eagles are clearly in deep trouble. Crystal Palace has not won in 11 matches across all competitions and are being managed by an arsonist who has put the match to their season. Disgruntled Manager Oliver Glasner has declared he is leaving after the season and claims ownership has abandoned the manager and players with a transfer policy which has purportedly left the roster unable to compete. An unthinkable relegation battle could beckon for the Eagles who are currently eight points above the drop line.

West Ham is beginning to make some noise as the Hammers try to claw free of the relegation places. The Hammers made it two league wins in a row with their 3-1 thrashing of Sunderland on Saturday. Jarred Bowen had a goal and an assist to overtake Michail Antoinio as the all-time West Ham leader in Premier League goal involvements.

Nottingham Forest, however, has responded both last week and this past Sunday to keep the Hammers at bay. The Tricky Trees won their own second consecutive league match with a surprising 2-0 away win at Brentford, marking only the second time this season that Brentford lost a home Premier League match. Strikers Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi scored the goals which kept Nottingham Forest unbeaten in their last three matches and, most importantly, five points above West Ham in the battle for a Premier League return next season.

The reason Burnley will not be returning was evident on Saturday when the Claret defense faltered and allowed a late 90th minute equalizer in a 2-2 draw with struggling Tottenham Hotspur. With the lead in the closing minutes, Burnley repeatedly left opposing players unmarked, allowing multiple chances that included Xavi Simons’ booming blast which caromed off the top crossbar shortly before Romero’s header found the net. The Clarets are now ten points removed from safety. Tottenham Hotspur, despite Saturday’s dramatic point, is still without a  2026 Premier League victory.

Leeds are six points clear of the drop line after a 1-1 draw at Everton. Thierno Barry scored his fourth goal in his last five league games to bring the Toffees level with a 76th minute goal. The dropped points by Leeds keeps the Whites at risk of falling into a three-way battle with Nottingham Forest and West Ham for the final safe position in the league.

Everton’s Barry is not the only Premier League player on a current tear. Fulham’s Harry Wilson scored the winner in the 92nd minute of a 2-1 defeat of Brighton to continue his run of brilliant form for the Cottagers. Wilson’s Premier League goal involvements since the beginning of November are exceeded only by Erling Haaland and Saturday’s victory by Fulham has the London side up to seventh in the table.

Premier League: Match Week 23 Preview

Michael Carrick faces another formidable challenge just one week after defeating Manchester City in his interim manager role for Manchester United. Having knocked off second place Manchester City, Carrick now travels to north London for a matchup with table leading Arsenal. It may be a good time to face the Gunners who have lacked pop in their attack in their last two Premier League matches. Arsenal has failed to score a goal in two successive goalless draws, the second of which was to lowly Nottingham Forest. Gabriel Jesus revived Arsenal’s attack with two goals in a 3-1 Champions League defeat of Inter during the week. Can that spark carry over Saturday against Carrick and the Red Devils? Manchester United is riding the high of its Manchester derby conquest and still has opportunity to qualify for next year’s Champions League competition. Can Carrick lead them there or was last weekend’s victory nothing more than a new manager bounce?

Manchester City should be wary of Wolves this weekend. The Citizens added an embarrassing Champions League flop during the week to their recent spate of poor Premier League play. A 2-1 loss in Norway to Bodo/Glimt resulted in the club offering to refund the ticket cost to poor supporters who had made the icy trek to witness nothing but dreck. Wolverhampton visits the Etihad riding a four-match unbeaten run in the league and is playing much better football under Manager Rob Edwards.

Newcastle, presently eight in the Premier League table, is only three points from a top four position in the congested league table. The Magpies will have a chance to show their mettle and Champions League worthiness when Aston Villa visits St. James’ Park this weekend. Villa will be anxious to put a damaging loss to Everton last week behind them. The home loss at Villa Park ruined an opportunity for the Villans to move within four points of Arsenal in the title chase.

Liam Rosenior will be managing his second Premier League match for Chelsea on Saturday. Opposing manager Oliver Glasner seemingly cannot wait to manage his last match, whenever that may be, with Crystal Palace. The Palace manager destroyed his relationship with club ownership with scathing commentary that followed public announcement that he will not return to the club next season. Glasner is now not just the lamest of ducks but a volatile problem for the Eagles who are riding a ten-match winless run under their petulant leader. Everything would seem to point towards a Chelsea victory over an unsettled Palace squad which also sold cornerstone captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City last week and is reportedly also shopping striker JP Mateta. Rosenior’s side was impressive last week in stopping a Brentford squad which had been on a six-match  unbeaten run.

Are you enjoying this Liam Rosenior ball ? 👀 pic.twitter.com/O9H9r4VHKV

— Dennoh (@CFC_dennoh) January 21, 2026

The Bees return to their home G-Tech Community Stadium this weekend to host Nottingham Forest. The battle at the bottom of the table between Nottingham Forest and West Ham, for the final safe position ensuring a Premier League return next season, is made more interesting by Hammer Manager Nuno Espirito Santo having started the season in charge of Forest. Santo rebounded quickly from his sacking by the Tricky Trees to land the West Ham gig, at the expense of Graham Potter, in a move which looked like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

West Ham raised some eyebrows last weekend, however, by grabbing a rare win, only its fourth of the season, at Tottenham Hotspur. To its’ credit, Nottingham Forest mitigated that body blow by drawing with Arsenal. This Saturday’s match at London Stadium could be pivotal when West Ham hosts Sunderland. Can Nuno build some momentum for the Hammers to escape the zone at the expense of his former team? The current gap to safety is now five points.

Sunderland, meanwhile, has been one of this season’s feel-good stories as the Black Cats have returned with every intention of staying for a while. The Black Cats are in the top half of the table, far from the relegation rumble.

Leeds is also surprising observers with a recent run of form which has seen the Whites lose only one of its last nine Premier League matches. The Whites go to Everton on Monday to face a Toffee side which took some of the starch out of Aston Villa with a 1-0 win at Villa Park last week.

Things look grim for Burnley, but the relegation side has not yet rolled over, drawing three of its past five league matches. The Clarets are home to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Spurs Manager Thomas Frank may have bought some time with a Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund during the week but his chair heats up again if he falters versus relegation bound Burnley.

Liverpool, out of the running for a Premier League title, remains a threat in the Champions League after a 3-0 win at Marseilles. The Reds are currently fourth out of 36 Champions League clubs, having secured their place in the tournament’s playoff phase. The Reds are also fourth in the Premier League standings but trail Arsenal by an insurmountable14 points. Liverpool heads to the south coast o face Bournemouth Saturday.

A tasty mid table match features Brighton on the road at Fulham. The two clubs are separated by just one point as they try to keep hope alive for a European place. The congested table sees ninth place Fulham just three points below sixth place Chelsea, though four clubs reside between the two. Everything is still on the table for a Conference League or even a Europa League spot for all those clubs.

Premier League Match Week 22 Results: Red Devils Prevail In Derby Shocker; Toffees Defeat Aston Villa; Arsenal Draws At Forest; Frank Assessment Required After Another Spurs Home Loss; Glasner Explodes At Crystal Palace Ownership; Liverpool Bumbles To Home Point; Chelsea Wins Rosenior Prem Debut

Manchester United overwhelmed Manchester City in Michael Carrick’s latest turn as interim manager. The Red Devils scored twice and had three other goals disallowed for offside in an aggressive performance seldom seen under former manager Ruben Amorim. Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu had the goals that counted in the 2-0 victory which extended Manchester City’s winless run in the Premier League to four matches. A drab performance by the visitors did damage to City’s title hopes and brought attention to the drought which continues for Golden Boot leader Erling Haaland. Haaland has but one goal in his last seven matches after finding the net 24 times in his first 23 contests this season. Fatigue could be showing as Haaland has logged more than 200 minutes more than any other Manchester City player. Helping to stymie the Norwegian striker on Sunday were outstanding performances by Manchester United center backs Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez. Defensive midfielder Kobbie Maino, freed from Amorim’s doghouse, aligned alongside Casemiro to provide further protection in delivering the team’s third clean sheet of the season.

While the loss was far from helpful, the damage to Manchester City’s title chances was mitigated somewhat when Arsenal was held to a goalless draw at Nottingham Forest. Additional pressure was levelled on the Tricky trees when West Ham grabbed a surprise victory at Tottenham Hotspur, narrowing the distance to Nottingham Forest and the final safe space in the table. Forest responded with a defensive focus which left the Trees without a shot on goal but enabled them to shut down the Gunners.

Aston Villa had a golden opportunity to make strides in the three-team title race but failed its test at Villa Park versus Everton. Victory would have brought Villa to within four points of Arsenal. The 1-0 defeat, however, leaves both Aston Villa and Manchester City seven points behind the Gunners. Thierno Barry capitalized on a fumbled save by Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez to deposit the game’s winner in the 59th minute for the Toffees.

Liverpool drew for a fourth consecutive league match as Anfield supporters saw their hometown heroes drop more points in a 1-1 draw with Burnley. Liverpool is unbeaten in 12 matches across all competitions but the inability to claim all three points in their league matches has become maddening. Thirty-two shots and 11 shots on target were unable to deliver a winning result for wasteful Liverpool versus a team headed for relegation. Saturday’s draw means that Liverpool were unable to defeat any of the newly promoted sides at Anfield this season, the first time that has ever happened to Liverpool in a Premier League season.

Happier home supporters could be found at Stamford Bridge where Liam Rosenior led Chelsea to a 2-0 victory over Brentford in his Premier League managerial debut. Joao Pedro scored the first half opener and Cole Palmer’s second half penalty kick sealed the deal as Chelsea put an end to Brentford’s six-match unbeaten run in the league.

A different London derby made headlines as Tottenham Hotspur Manager Thomas Frank would seem all but done after Spurs were 2-1 home losers to wretched West Ham. The Hammers had been unable to defeat any other Premier League foes in their last ten attempts before ruining Frank’s day on Saturday. It was the sixth home defeat for Spurs this season against only two wins in 11 Premier League matches contested at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Overall, the club has lost eight of its last 14 matches and the Danish manager has lost the supporters and likely his locker room. While he is expected to remain in charge for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, the former Brentford manager is on the thinnest of ice.

There is no uncertainty regarding the future of Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace. The Austrian manager ripped his team’s ownership after Saturday’s loss to Sunderland, claiming that it “abandoned” him and the players by selling off key players such as Eberechi Eze and, most recently, Marc Guehi. The sale of Guehi to Manchester City during the week seemed to be the final straw leading to Glasner’s eruption. In a seeming demonstrative act to accentuate his points, Glasner refused to make a substitution in his club’s 2-1 loss to Sunderland, highlighting the lack of depth allotted him by financially conservative ownership. Glasner also exited his last job at Eintracht Frankfurt after developing a similar caustic relationship with the German club’s ownership. The talented manager has won silverware for both clubs, but his public disparagement of employers may enter the calculus of his next hiring. In fairness to Crystal Palace and Eintracht Frankfurt, they are not financial behemoths like Manchester City and Bayern Munch and Glasner seems to expect more than he can reasonably expect from mid table clubs. Larger clubs, meanwhile, may think twice before taking a chance on the volatile Austrian. For the time being, Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish has indicated he wants Glasner to finish his contract which expires in June. Glasner has already indicated he will not renew and, uncomfortably, he seems disposed to an earlier exit. While the soap opera plays out between Glasner and Parish, on pitch performance has nosedived during a ten-match winless run for the Eagles.

Leeds Manager Daniel Farke was under immense pressure earlier this season as his promoted club struggled in its initial return to the Premier League. Pundits pointed to Farke’s lack of Premier League success with Norwich City after guiding that club to promotion. A new respect has developed for the German manager. Farke adapted his tactics in November to employ a back three which was instrumental in a season turning seven match unbeaten run. The streak ended in a loss at Newcastle, but Farke’s heroes captured all three points at Elland road on Saturday when substitute Lukas Nmecha scored in stoppage time to defeat Fulham 1-0. The dramatic finish, which ended the Cottagers’ five match unbeaten run, enabled Leeds to stay eight points above the drop line.

Wolverhampton, of course, has already punched its ticket for relegation with historically bad football for much of this season. Manager Rob Edwards, however, has reintroduced respectability in recent weeks. Supporters no longer fear embarrassment at Molineux Stadium where Wolves held Newcastle to a scoreless draw on Saturday. Wolverhampton now has a four-match unbeaten run in the Premier League, five unbeaten across all competitions including a 6-1 drubbing of Shrewsbury in the FA Cup. Six of Wolves eight Premier League points this season have come from its recent four match run in the league.

Bournemouth, meanwhile, was tumbling down the table before ending an 11-match winless run versus Spurs last week. Adding to the worries for Bournemouth fans was the departure of star Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City in the January window. The Cherries were close to a morale boosting win at Brig
hton Monday but fell short when the Seagulls’ Charalampos Kostoulas executed an overhead kick in stoppage time to salvage a point for Brighton in a1-1 draw at American Express Stadium. The dramatic goal by the 18-year-old teenager extended the Seagulls’ four match unbeaten run.