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Manchester United’s defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers headlines the Premier League’s Boxing Day action so far, which has produced mixed results for a number of top English sides.
Relegation-threatened Wolves booked themselves a place above the drop zone with a win over United, with the only goal of the match coming directly from a corner taken by Matheus Cunha in the 58th minute and Hwang Hee-chan adding a second goal in the 99th minute. The Red Devils were not helped by Bruno Fernandes’ second yellow card in the 47th minute, but were quite weak from start to finish, leaving them in 14th place.
Elsewhere in England, second-place Chelsea gave up a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 to Fulham, while Manchester City missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw against Everton, which saw their poor run extend to just one win in their last thirteen games. . Moreover, Tottenham Hotspur recorded a 1-0 defeat against this season’s surprising UEFA Champions League candidate, Nottingham Forest.
As the Premier League’s latest series of Boxing Day matches play out, here are the numbers for each of the teams in action.
Premier League Boxing Day results
Always oriental
- Manchester City 1, Everton 1
- Chelsea1, Fulham2
- Nottingham forest 1, Tottenham Hotspur 0
- Newcastle United 3, Aston Villa 0
- Bournemouth 0, Crystal Palace 0
- Southampton 0, Westham United 1
- Wolverhampton Wanderers 2, Manchester United 0
- Liverpool 3, Leicester1
Figures between Manchester City and Everton
Manchester City: Even amid the worst form of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career, you might have seen Thursday’s match against 15th-placed Everton as an opportunity for City to reverse their fortunes. That chance came and went like the other games in City’s poor run, wasting the 24 shots by putting just five on target and once again appearing out of ideas in every area of the pitch. But for once, City actually had the chance to win the match on a silver platter with a second-half penalty and couldn’t even take advantage. They are undoubtedly in a rut, and the fact that Guardiola has still not found a solution to their problems is deeply worrying. Grade: D
Everton: The Toffees Love a draw and shared the win in five of their last seven matches. You could say they’ll have to look for wins at some point, but they can be forgiven for that considering their last three games have been against each other. ArsenalChelsea and City. They appear to have perfected manager Sean Dyche’s tactical style and successfully stymied City until Pickford’s big penalty save. They also have a chance of the biggest result of the day, so well done for Everton. Grade: B
Figures Chelsea vs. Fulham
Chelsea: The Blues may have come into this match as favorites, but they were outplayed by Fulham and paid the price by conceding two late goals. Palmer may have given them the lead with a strike in the 16th minute, but they could not control the game afterwards and were perhaps second best in most categories. This also applies to their attack, which is among the best in the Premier League with 38 goals this season, but was inconsistent on Boxing Day. They put eight of their twelve shots on target, but were outscored by Fulham’s fourteen shots, scoring 0.9 fewer expected goals than the eventual winners. . It is unclear how serious Chelsea were as a title contender, but this loss will undoubtedly be a major blow to their chances. Grade: F
Fulham: The race for European places is set to become competitive in the Premier League this season, largely because teams like Fulham are stringing together encouraging performances. Thursday’s performance was an example of this. Despite conceding an early goal, they slowly but surely clawed their way back into the match with Harry Wilson‘s equalizer in the 82nd minute and Rodrigo Munizwinner in the 95th minute. They also outpaced Chelsea’s impressive attack, beating the Blues 14 games to 12 and generating 1.95 expected goals along the way. Grade: B
Nottingham Forest vs. Tottenham Hotspur figures
Nottingham forest: On Thursday, Forest’s defence-first approach once again served them well, successfully stifling Tottenham’s leading attack by restricting them to just four shots on target from 13. It helps to take advantage of just once against the depleted defense of the opponent to secure another valuable victory. , one that earns them third place and continues to cement their status as leading contenders for a place in next season’s edition of the Champions League. Grade: A
Tottenham Hotspur: In a match that featured a high-performing defense and the Premier League’s best attack, the latter ultimately lost, adding to the worry in a season of inconsistency for Spurs. The attack that generally works for Ange Postecoglou’s side, on good days and bad, is their attack, but they are likely to be dissatisfied with the fact that they drew Forest on an expected goals basis. Add to that DJ Spence‘s second yellow card in the 94th minute, this was a Boxing Day to forget for Spurs. Grade: D
Figures between Newcastle United and Aston Villa
Newcastle United: By the time Aston Villa arrived, the hosts were already the better side John Duran were shown a straight red card in the 32nd minute, but Newcastle United made sure the extra advantage wasn’t wasted. They close Boxing Day with one of the most lopsided victories of the holiday, cementing their own case as a potential contender for next season’s Champions League competition. Grade: A
Astonvilla: It feels like almost everything has gone wrong for Aston Villa, who were down a goal after two minutes and then left a player behind for the final hour. As a result, they were unable to manage more than four shots and a single effort on target, although much of that will be attributed to the impact of Duran’s red card. Thursday’s match may be an outlier in terms of performance, but the fact that they have now dropped to ninth place is a worrying sign. Grade: F
Bournemouth vs. Crystal Palace figures
Bournemouth: Fresh off a 3-0 win Manchester UnitedBournemouth had chances to score, but failed to find the back of the net on Thursday. They were demonstrably wasteful: they made 18 shots, but scored just 1.33 expected goals and took just four shots on goal. It may have missed out on two points for the Cherries, who are chasing European competition and currently sit sixth in the table, but it doesn’t feel like a record blow for their strong season so far. Grade: C
Crystal Palace: To some extent Crystal Palace held their own against an impressive Bournemouth team but still offered nothing to write home about despite picking up a point on Boxing Day. It could well be a valuable point for Palace, who are currently three points above the relegation zone, but a team close to the drop usually means they often leave a lot to be desired in their performances. That was certainly the case for Palace on Thursday. Grade: C
Southampton vs. West Ham United figures
Southampton: Even without Russell Martin, Southampton did not give up their attacking approach on Thursday and defeated their opponents with shots and expected goals. That said, the Saints will be very disappointed by their failure to convert 17 shots and 1.86 expected goals into an actual goal, leaving valuable points on the table and little being done to turn the to finish last place. Grade: F
West Ham United: A win may be a win, but West Ham didn’t cover themselves in glory by narrowly beating the Premier League’s worst team. They put just two shots on target against the league’s most porous defense and, as mentioned, lost most of their attacking battles to the Saints. The Hammers are still stuck in the tight mid-table that includes Tottenham and Manchester United, but even though they are just ten points off the top four, Julen Lopetegui’s side didn’t do much to convince them they can move up come. Grade: D
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester United figures
Wolverhampton Wanderers: It may not have been the most entertaining performance, but Wolves came out on top in an even match against United, picking up a valuable three points along the way. Whether this is just part of the new manager’s revival under Vítor Pereira or a sign of more to come is yet to be decided, but gritty wins are the hallmark of a team keen to get out of the relegation battle, so a place in 17th place at the end of Boxing Day suits them just fine. Grade: B-
Manchester United: Every game these days seems to be a reminder of United’s shortcomings, regardless of context. United should be good enough to beat a side under threat of relegation, but in the midst of another season full of lows, Thursday’s defeat is no surprise. Although Cunha surprised many by scoring an olimpico, the fact that United conceded a set-piece is not surprising as 2024 marks the 18th time an opponent has scored from a set-piece. However, this was not the only problem for the visitors. – they managed no more than seven shots and had just 0.78 expected goals. Fernandes’ second yellow in the 47th minute made it another bad day for United in a way that is becoming their trademark. Grade: F
Liverpool vs. Leicester City figures
Liverpool: It may not have started perfectly with Leicester City’s goal in the sixth minute, but leave it to Liverpool to recover without any problems. They obviously took control of the match early on and their in-form attack was eventually able to put three past the opposition, limiting the visitors to just one shot on target. Arne Slot’s side continue to demonstrate the ease with which they have built a seven-point lead at the top of the table, and as the only ones of England’s traditional top six to win on Boxing Day, they maintain a potentially unshakable grip on the build first place. Quality: A-
Leicester city: Jordan Ayew may have put Leicester ahead after just six minutes, but even when that goal found the back of the net it felt like it was just an asterisk on yet another losing day for the Foxes. They couldn’t find a way to convert that goal into something that would change the course of the match, which may not come as a surprise but still offers a reminder of Leicester’s current situation. They remain stuck in the relegation zone with just three wins so far this season and it’s hard to see any discussion at the moment about how they’ll get out of there – with or without the context of losing to the league leaders. Grade: F