2025/26 Premier League Roundup: Gameweek 23

Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United

Michael Carrick managed to lead Manchester United to yet another brilliant victory as the same questions as years gone by surround Arsenal! Despite making a good save to push Martin Zubimendi’s headed effort away, Senne Lammens wasn’t able to keep Arsenal from scoring thanks to a Lisandro Martinez own goal! Another own goal at the Emirates! Bruno Fernandes then had a good chance to equalise which he made a mess of, but in the 37th minute, Manchester United were back on level terms thanks to a great finish by Bryan Mbeumo! Zubimendi’s error was unacceptable, but I’m so impressed with Mbeumo (like always)! Then, just 5 minutes into the second half, Man United found themselves in front courtesy of an unbelievable strike by Patrick Dorgu! What a goal! In the 84th minute, Mikel Merino managed to sneak the ball across the line to make it 2-all, but then, in the 87th minute, United had their winning goal as Matheus Cunha finished expertly! In the end, I’ve said Arsenal have been allowed to drop points recently, but they’re certainly not allowed to anymore! The Gunners remain top of the league, and they host Kairat Almaty on Wednesday before they head to Leeds for their next league game! As for Manchester United, they’re on a roll! United rise to 4th in the table, and they’ll host Fulham next time out!

Bournemouth 3-2 Liverpool

The late show was on again at the Vitality as AFC Bournemouth stunned Liverpool! After 26 minutes, Evanilson scored to give Bournemouth the lead, but I have to say, this all comes down to a terrible piece of defending by Virgil van Dijk! Just 7 minutes later, Bournemouth’s lead was doubled as Alex Jimenez slotted the ball past Alisson! Right before halftime, Liverpool had a goal back as van Dijk headed home well, before Liverpool were fired level in the 80th minute courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai! What a great strike! Alisson then made a great save to keep Ryan Christie’s effort out, before Evanilson had a great chance to score, but he failed to hit the target! Djordje Petrovic then made a great save to deny Florian Wirtz a winner for the visitors, before in the 95th minute, Amine Adli managed to poke the ball home to nick it late for the hosts! Overall, AFC Bournemouth really are the late, late show! The Cherries rise to 13th in the table, and they head to Wolves next time out! As for Liverpool, they’re a really poor team! The Reds drop to 6th in the league, and they have an upcoming week with home games against Qarabag FK and Newcastle!

West Ham 3-1 Sunderland

West Ham United’s battle to survive charges on as they defeated a disappointing Sunderland AFC! After Alphonse Areola made a decent save just 2 minutes in to keep Noah Sadiki’s volleyed effort out, West Ham found themselves in front in the 14th minute thanks to a great headed finish by Cyrsencio Summerville! Everything about this goal is great! Then, after Trai Hume brought down Oliver Scarles, Jarrod Bowen stepped up and scored from 12 yards out to double West Ham’s lead! In the 43rd minute, Mateus Fernandes smashed one home to make it 3-0, before Reinildo was fortunate to get away without receiving a second yellow card! In the 66th minute, Sunderland were at least able to get one back through Brian Brobbey, before Areola had to tip the ball onto the crossbar to stop the game from becoming 3-2! West Ham then thought they’d scored again right at the end of the game, but Tomas Soucek’s goal was rightly ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper! Overall, West Ham United are finally starting to build up some momentum! The Hammers remain inside the Relegation Zone (in 18th), and their next game is a big one away at Chelsea! As for Sunderland AFC, their away form is not good! The Black Cats drop to 11th in the table, and they’ll host Burnley next time out!

Crystal Palace 1-3 Chelsea

After a poor mistake by Benoit Badiashile, Jean-Philippe Mateta had a great chance to give Crystal Palace the lead, but his effort was saved well by Robert Sanchez! Then, after a terrible back pass by Jaydee Canvot, Estevao fired home to give Chelsea the lead in the 34th minute! Just 5 minutes into the second half, Chelsea’s lead was doubled as Joao Pedro finished expertly, before Dean Henderson made a decent save to stop Estevao from scoring again! An accidental handball by Canvot then led to Enzo Fernandez scoring from 12 yards out to make it 3-0, before Adam Wharton was sent off for a second yellow card offense! In the 88th minute, Crystal Palace were at least able to get one goal back through Chris Richards, but this game was well gone before that! In the end, Crystal Palace continue to lose! The Eagles drop to 15th in the table, and their next game is absolutely critical away at Nottingham Forest! As for Chelsea, they got what they needed to do done! The Blues rise to 5th in the league, and they head to Napoli next time out before they host West Ham in their next league game!

Burnley 2-2 Tottenham

Captain Romero rescued Tottenham Hotspur late on to add another dagger to Burnley’s survival hopes! Despite an initial great double save by Martin Dubravka, in the 38th minute, Tottenham did find themselves in front thanks to a strong finish by Micky van de Ven! In additional time at the end of the first half, Burnley were back on level terms as Axel Tuanzebe scored after a great ball in by Kyle Walker! In the second half, Dominic Solanke had a great opportunity to head Spurs back in front, but he could only direct his effort straight at Dubravka, before Burnley were able to take the lead in the 76th minute courtesy of Lyle Foster! Dubravka then managed to pull out another great save; this time to deny Mathys Tel, before Xavi Simons smashed the crossbar! But then, in the 90th minute, Spurs had their equalising goal through none other than Cristian Romero! In the end, it’s another gutting result for Burnley! The Clarets remain inside the Relegation Zone (in 19th), and they’ll head to Sunderland next time out! As for Tottenham Hotspur, they just about survived catastrophe (again)! Spurs stay 14th in the table, and their upcoming week sees them take on Frankfurt and Manchester City!

Fulham 2-1 Brighton

Of course, late goals had to appear in a match between Fulham and Brighton and Hove Albion! Raul Jimenez had a good opportunity for Fulham early on, but he couldn’t fire his effort past Bart Verbruggen, before Brighton found themselves in front after 28 minutes thanks to a rocket of a strike by Yasin Ayari! I’m unsure as to whether or not I feel like Bernd Leno should’ve done better here! Timothy Castagne was then there when needed to clear Ferdi Kadioglu’s effort off the line, before Fulham were back on level terms in the 72nd minute through Samuel Chukwueze! Just 2 minutes later, Brighton thought they’d immediately retaken the lead through Danny Welbeck, but his goal was ruled out for offside! This is why I don’t like VAR; no one was asking for offside so why do we keep doing this?! Welbeck then had another chance to score, but this time his effort was saved by Leno, before in the 92nd minute, Fulham had their winning goal as Harry Wilson’s free-kick effort flew into the back of the net after a poor bit of goalkeeping by Verbruggen! Overall, this is a big win for Fulham! The Cottagers rise to 7th in the league, and their next game is a big one away at Manchester United! As for Brighton and Hove Albion, this is another game that they shouldn’t have lost! The Seagulls stay 12th in the table, and they’ll host Everton next time out!

Newcastle 0-2 Aston Villa

Aston Villa reignited their Title charge with a fabulous win away at Newcastle United! Despite pulling off an incredible solo run, Sandro Tonali’s final effort would be saved by Emi Martinez, before Nick Pope made a good save to deny Ollie Watkins! Malick Thiaw definitely got away with one here! However, it didn’t really matter as in the 19th minute, Aston Villa found themselves in front thanks to a great finish by Emi Buendia! Martinez then managed to pull off another good save, this time to stop Lewis Miley from equalising right before halftime, before neither Harvey Barnes nor Anthony Gordon were able to get the ball into the back of the net! And then, in the 88th minute, Villa punished them well as Ollie Watkins headed home to seal a big 3 points for the visitors! In the end, Newcastle United aren’t good enough in comparison to the top three teams in this league! The Magpies drop to 9th in the table, and they have a massive week coming up with away trips to both PSG and Liverpool! As for Aston Villa, this is much more like it from them! Villa remain third in the league, and their next two games see them host both RB Salzburg and Brentford!

Manchester City 2-0 Wolves

After just 6 minutes, Manchester City already had the lead as Omar Marmoush netted his first Premier League goal of the season after a great ball in by Matheus Nunes! Marmoush then came close again as he struck the post, and during this play, Man City were asking for a penalty after the ball struck the arm of Yerson Mosquera! I’m very surprised that this wasn’t given as a penalty, but there you go! Anyway, in additional time at the end of the first half, City’s lead was doubled thanks to a calm finish by Antoine Semenyo! In the second half, Semenyo came close to scoring again as his effort smashed the woodwork, before Mosquera headed the ball onto the top of the crossbar at the other end! Overall, Manchester City have finally won a Premier League game in 2026! City remain in second place, and they have a big week incoming with games against Galatasaray (at home) and Tottenham (away)! As for Wolverhampton Wanderers, they didn’t really do much to get anything from this game! Wolves stay bottom of the league, and they’ll host Bournemouth next time out!

Brentford 0-2 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest stunned a poor Brentford to give themselves a well-needed buffer between them and the drop zone! Igor Thiago had a good chance to score early on, but he wasn’t able to guide his effort on target, before Nottingham Forest were fired in front just 12 minutes in courtesy of Igor Jesus! Dango Ouattara then found himself in on goal, but he couldn’t direct his effort past Matz Sels, before Sepp van den Berg came within a whisker right on halftime! In the second half, Thiago had another good chance to score, but he once again blasted wide of the target, before in the 79th minute, Forest’s victory was secured thanks to a brilliant goal by Taiwo Awoniyi! In the end, this is a really poor result by Brentford’s recent standards! The Bees drop to 8th in the league, and they head to Aston Villa next time out! As for Nottingham Forest, this is a massive result for them! Forest stay 17th in the table, and they’ll play their final Europa League League Phase game on Thursday against Ferencvaros before a massive Super Sunday clash with Crystal Palace!

Everton 1-1 Leeds

After 28 minutes, Leeds found themselves in front as James Justin arrived at the back post to smash the ball home from close range! Dominic Calvert-Lewin then had a great chance to make it 2-0, but he could only strike his former club’s post, before Karl Darlow made a good save in the second half to deny Thierno Barry! However, in the 76th minute, Everton would have their equalising goal as Barry wasn’t to be denied for a second time! Idrissa Gana Gueye then came close to completing Everton’s comeback just a couple of minutes later, but his effort could only connect with the crossbar! In the end, it’s not the best result for Everton, but it’s also not the worst! The Toffees remain in 10th place, and their next game sees them head to Brighton! As for Leeds United, they’ll be a little frustrated not to have won this game! The Whites stay 16th in the table, and they’ll host Arsenal next time out!

Premier League Table at the End of Gameweek 23

1. Arsenal: 50pts (+25)

2. Manchester City: 46pts (+26)

3. Aston Villa: 46pts (+10)

4. Manchester United: 38pts (+7)

5. Chelsea: 37pts (+14)

6. Liverpool: 36pts (+3)

7. Fulham: 34pts (0)

8. Brentford: 33pts (+3)

9. Newcastle: 33pts (+3)

10. Everton: 33pts (-1)

11. Sunderland: 33pts (-2)

12. Brighton: 30pts (+2)

13. Bournemouth: 30pts (-5)

14. Tottenham: 28pts (+2)

15. Crystal Palace: 28pts (-4)

16. Leeds: 26pts (-7)

17. Nottingham Forest: 25pts (-11)

18. West Ham: 20pts (-18)

19. Burnley: 15pts (-19)

20. Wolves: 8pts (-28)