Match Week 22 Results: Nunez Strikes Late to Carry Liverpool Past Bees; Arsenal Squanders Two Goal Lead In Villa Draw; Nottingham Forest Holds On To Defeat Southampton; Ange Ball Craters In Spurs Loss To Everton; Manchester City Smashes Ipswich Town

Darwin Nunez came off the bench to score two stoppage time goals and lead Liverpool to a 2-0 win over Brentford. The haul by Nunez doubled his two-goal league production entering the match and provided a much-needed spark for the league leaders who had raised some light concern after drawing their last two Premier League matches which surrounded a loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup. Liverpool’s lead in the table is now six points, with a match in hand, over an Arsenal side which fumbled away a two-goal lead in the final 30 minutes of regulation at the Emirates. Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins scored second half goals to capture the point for Aston Villa, capitalizing on the collapse of an Arsenal defense impacted by the absence of injured center back William Saliba. Jurrien Timber slotted in for Saliba with midfielder Thomas Partey taking over for Timber at right back. Partey’s play in his unaccustomed role was complicit in both the late goals.

Nottingham Forest drew level on points with Arsenal as the Tricky Trees managed to survive their own late scare in a 3-2 win over Southampton. A three-goal halftime lead for the trees narrowed to the match’s final margin as Southampton showed a resilience that has been lacking most of this season for the Premier League’s bottom club.

Chelsea is four points back of Arsenal and Nottingham Forest after the Blues defeated Wolverhampton 3-1 on Monday. Marc Cucarella and Noni Madueke delivered second half goals which snapped a five-match winless run and launched Chelsea back into the top four in replacement of Newcastle.

Happy to be back in winning ways. 🐧 Let’s keep going Blues! 💙 pic.twitter.com/pXtYno9IVR

— Marc Cucurella (@cucurella3) January 20, 2025

The Magpies suffered a shocking 4-1 home loss to Bournemouth on Saturday. Justin Kluivert posted his second hat trick of the season for the Cherries as they ended Newcastle’s six match Premier League winning streak. The Cherries successfully shut down Alexander Isak’s run of goals in nine consecutive appearances across all competitions, the Newcastle forward failing to register a shot from open play on Saturday.

Manchester City also leapfrogged over Newcastle as the Citizens pummeled Ipswich Town 6-0, making it three wins and two draws in City’s past five matches as the defending champions work to salvage a disappointing season. Phil Foden, a missing person for much of this season, delivered two goals and an assist in the romp. Kevin De Bruyne notched two assists and Erling Haaland scored to draw within a single goal of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the Golden Boot chase.

Brighton delivered some humble pie to Manchester United with a 3-1 win at Old Trafford. It was Brighton’s third consecutive Premier League away victory at Old Trafford, a feat previously only accomplished by Manchester City. Following the sound defeat in front of the home supporters, Manchester United Manager Reuben Amorim lamented that this might be the worst Manchester United side in the club’s storied history.

Crystal Place moved past Manchester United in the table with the Eagles’ 2-0 victory over West Ham. JP Mateta scored both goals for Crystal Palace which registered a second consecutive victory and extended a current undefeated run to five matches. The Eagles have lost just once since November 9th.

Tottenham Hotspur remained two points behind the 15th place Hammers after a 3-2 loss at Everton. Ange Ball has cratered of late as Spurs lost for the fifth time in seven league matches and for a seventh time in their last nine matches. The porous Spurs defense allowed the Toffees three first half goals, the first time Everton had accomplished that since 2009. The infamy of Spurs’ poor display is captured in the fact that Everton had scored just a single goal in its previous six Premier League matches. Two late goals could not avert another humiliation for Ange Ball. With their league season in tatters, the hopes of Spurs supporters rest on the Carabao Cup where the club improbably defeated Liverpool in the first leg of their semifinal matchup earlier in January. The first victory for returning Toffee manager David Moyes moved Everton four points clear of the drop line.

Leicester, meanwhile, may have given up too soon on former manager Steve Cooper. The Foxes were above the drop line when Cooper was sacked in late November. The club is now spiraling, a 2-0 home loss to Fulham marking a seventh consecutive league loss for new Manager Rudd van Nistelrooy. The Foxes are 19th in the table and looking like an increasingly sure bet for a quick return to the Championship tier of English football.