Matchweek 16 turned out to be something of a crossroads moment for a number of Premier League sides this weekend, as Chelsea capitalized on Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City all dropping points around them in the title race.
It was a Manchester derby disaster for Man City, who went from 1-0 up in the 87th minute (and back in the title race) to 2-1 down in the 90th with any remaining hope of no. 5 out the window. Elsewhere, Tottenham put five past Southampton in the first half and Newcastle hit Leicester for four as well.
And, there’s still one to go — Red-hot Bournemouth look to continue their table climb with a win over improving West Ham United at the Vitality Stadium at 3pm ET Monday (Watch live on USA Network, streaming online via NBC.com).
Here are 10 quick thoughts about the nine games staged so far in Week 16 from our writers — Joe Prince-Wright, Andy Edwards, and Nick Mendola.
10 things we learned from Week 16 of the 2024-25 Premier League season
Manchester City crumble as belief is drained
Manchester City 1-2 Manchester United
- Man City vs Man United player ratings
- Reaction from Ruben Amorim, Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo
- Reaction from Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden
- Three things JPW learned from the Etihad Stadium
- Amorim explains dropping Rashford, Garnacho
- Bernardo Silva on slumping Man City: “We are playing like under-15s”
With 88 minutes on the clock, it looked like Manchester City would secure a big win to potentially get them back in the title race. Then they crumbled. Again. For most of the game it looked like they had stopped United from creating big chances but late on they were nervous. Bruno Fernandes missed a big chance, they gave away a penalty kick in comical fashion to let United get level, and then more poor defending gave United the win after one long ball forward. It was more about City giving United the win than United winning it. And that theme is constant at City right now. Belief is gone. They never created a chance in the second half. They played not to lose. That is not what Man City are about. They never looked confident they could see this out and given the erosion of that belief, the errors they’re making, and the ground they have to make up in the title race. They are surely out of that this season as very small hopes remain of a fifth-straight title. Nine points behind Liverpool, who have a game in-hand over City, is too much for even the best City team to make up. And this City team is far from vintage — they’re broken. — Joe Prince-Wright
Sluggish Arsenal miss a big chance
This performance made it easy to understand why Arsenal have been relying so heavily on set-piece goals in recent weeks. They were sluggish, once again, and dropped two valuable points. This was textbook Everton and Sean Dyche as they sat deep, defended well and relied on Jordan Pickford to make some big saves at key moments. But Arsenal just didn’t have the energy or tempo to create big chances. They struggled to find space in the final third and Odegaard and Saka started well but faded. After a big Champions League performance, and win, against Monaco in midweek, it appears that this Arsenal side are still getting some players back to full fitness and there is generally a lack of sharpness. Havertz and Martinelli barely caused a problem, while Merino was sloppy in midfield and the duo of Rice and Odegaard were taken off with 30 minutes to go. The subs didn’t have the desired impact either and Arsenal will be gutted with this draw when they went back into the locker room and saw Liverpool dropped two points at home to Fulham. This was a big opportunity missed and sluggishness from open play is becoming a reoccurring theme as Arsenal have failed to score from open play in their last three Premier League games. — Joe Prince-Wright
Title race: Oh, it’s on.
What we thought going into Arne Slot’s first season at Liverpool — that they would struggle defensively with a midfield composed entirely of attack-minded midfielders — has eventually come to pass, it just took a bit of time for teams to work out how to best get at them. After conceding just 6 goals in their first 11 games, the Reds have given up 7 in their last 4 (multiple goals conceded in 3 of 4) and much of it has come on the counter-attack. Fulham defended Liverpool incredibly deep without the ball and came flying out of the starting gates as soon as they won it back, which is what Southampton (2 goals scored) and Newcastle (3) have also done in recent weeks. That’s just not going to work for Liverpool, at least not until Ibrahima Konate (knee) comes back in the next couple weeks. Side note: Arsenal will be kicking themselves all week (and maybe the rest of the season) for not taking this opportunity to make up ground of their own (still six points back after the Gunners drew Everton 0-0). — Andy Edwards
From matchweek 16, a title contender emerges
Let’s rewind just a few short months, back to the summer of 2024. You know the time — Chelsea had just hired the guy from Leicester (in the Championship) and announced their 11th signing of the summer (26th of the calendar year, roughly), and everyone was wondering the same thing, “What are they going to do with all of those players?” Challenge for the Premier League title in Enzo Maresca’s first season at the club, apparently. Right place, right time with Manchester City in freefall, Liverpool far from infallible and Arsenal well off the pace for going on two months now. Somebody is going to win the title this season, and right now Chelsea look the most interested (and confident) in doing so. Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson have 20 PL goals between them already (to go with 9 assists) and look set to somehow top what they did last season (36 goals, 16 assists). It remains to be seen whether 1) Chelsea can simply score their way to the title, as they continue to top the xG charts by a decent margin, and 2) they will settle on a consistent center back partnership. — Andy Edwards
When the vibes get this bad…
… this is what usually happens. There was an undeniable spirit about Southampton to start the season — they believed in the football they were trying to play and they fought until the very end week in and week out, even if they typically fell short — but that spirit has gone now, and it’s difficult to see a way back for Russell Martin, who actually missed Spurs’ 5th goal in the first half because he had already headed down the tunnel for halftime. From a Spurs perspective, the result will obviously do wonders for morale after five games without a win (all competitions), but it won’t bring Micky van de Ven or Cristian Romero (or even Ben Davies) back any sooner. We know they’re going to score goals — even at less than full strength — but we also know that Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray are going to be tested a lot more than what Saints could muster. Manchester United in the League Cup quarterfinals on Thursday, followed by Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday. Let’s reconvene then. — Andy Edwards
Bruno and Ruben sounding the right notes, making the right moves
Manchester City 1-2 Manchester United
- Man City vs Man United player ratings
- Reaction from Ruben Amorim, Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo
- Reaction from Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden
- Three things JPW learned from the Etihad Stadium
- Amorim explains dropping Rashford, Garnacho
- Bernardo Silva on slumping Man City: “We are playing like under-15s”
There will be more bumps in the road, for sure, but right now Ruben Amorim is playing the rebuilding of a monstrous club the right way and has a captain who is backing him on the field and off. Yes, Bruno Fernandes missed a would-be equalizer before seizing his chance from the spot, but he’s also leading the team in a way United — and Amorim — can appreciate. For years we’ve heard Fernandes sound the right notes about the size of United and the expectations of pulling on that shirt. But it’s ended up feeling like lip service as United’s players and coaches dropped the ball. Now when Fernandes talks about accountability and going game-by-game, it rings true coming off Amorim’s big decisions like leaving Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho out of the squad. Bruno spoke of Amad Diallo’s prowess in two post-match interviews on Sunday, and both times he made sure to mention that Diallo must reach his potential to do it every game — once with Diallo standing next to him and about to collect his Man of the Match trophy. That’s a Man United we remember from Alex Ferguson’s days. And maybe, just maybe, Amorim can give the Red Devils their best chance yet to be that club again. — Nick Mendola
Forest’s sustaining spirit drives comeback
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Aston Villa
Nuno Espirito Santo has able bodies at every level, and all appear bought-in to what he’s trying to do at the City Ground. There was no quit at the City Ground, even when Villa went ahead through Jhon Duran’s sharp finish. The hosts just rallied, and the home crowd buoyed them from hopeful equalizer to deserved winner against a Villa team eventually worn down from a busy week. Big center back Nikola Milenkovic has now scored in back-to-back games but the giant defender is arguably the final piece to fall into place for the Tricky Trees — a wonderful coincidence given his set-piece prowess makes him a bit of a tricky 6-foot-5 tree himself. The midfield is led by spirit animal Ryan Yates, whose never met a tackle he didn’t like, and Forest’s bevy of attacking options have been rotated well by Espirito Santo. With Morgan Gibbs-White pulling the strings and Chris Wood a savvy veteran finisher, Forest are one of the few non-traditional powers negotiating the down periods from Manchester United and Spurs. And that could have them back near the places reached when they were a power. No one’s saying they’ll win back-to-back European Cups a la 1979-80, but European nights could soon be back at the City Ground. — Nick Mendola
Sarr the star but Palace all come to play
Yes, Ismaila Sarr had himself a day in a rivalry. The Eagles got two goals and an assist — a funny one — from the ex-Watford attacker, as the 26-year-old Senegalese never stopped running after or with the ball. Sarr was involved in so many duels, working all over the pitch to win the ball back and then trying to find joy when it was at his feet. Drawing fouls, committing fouls, whatever — Sarr was stuck in to this one. That spirit was throughout the team Sunday, whether Dean Henderson between the sticks, Maxence Lacroix guarding the area in front of it, or Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell out wide. Eddie Nketiah could’ve had a goal off the bench in a strong cameo as Oliver Glasner did not hesitate to remove Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta to protect the lead. It was defense-first, but this was a call back to the late-season surge Palace of 2023-24. Unbeaten in five, Glasner will hope it’s the start of more wins. — Nick Mendola
Magpies assert station by, finally, finishing well
Newcastle United 4-0 Leicester City
The Magpies entered Week 16 on a brutal run of results, 2W-4D-5L since starting with 10 of 12 points this Premier League season. That streak was made more infuriating by one of the two wins coming against Arsenal, and two of the points coming from Man City and Liverpool. Newcastle just haven’t been right against bottom-half teams, and they made that right by pummeling a Leicester who entered having taken four of their last six points. Lewis Hall has been giving lots of minutes from Eddie Howe at a young age and it’s paying off now. Hall is so comfortable on the left with Anthony Gordon, and when Alexander Isak shows up with his playmaking boots on it’s often going to be game over for visitors to St, James’ Park. Now if Howe can burnish the vibes by beating Brentford to reach the League Cup semis and get a win at Ipswich, the Magpies will be feeling better into a tough run of Villa, Man United, and Spurs from Dec. 26 to January 4. — Nick Mendola
All-time bad vibes at Wolves right now
A week ago, Mario Lemina scuffled with West Ham players and his own coaches after the full-time while, which led to Lemina being stripped of the Wolves captaincy this week. On Saturday, Rayan Ait-Nouri had to be forcibly removed from the field by either a teammate or a member of the coaching staff. That after Ait-Nouri was involved in a naughty incident in which he lightly slapped an opposing player in the face in the first half. The only ones who look like they’re having any fun is Matheus Cunha, who scored again, and striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, who was a nightmare for Ipswich’s defense to deal with and probably should have taken one of his chances when it was 1-1 and Wolves were getting look after look. And now it’s cost Gary O’Neil, a coach they reportedly admired, his job. — Andy Edwards
