🦁 Chelsea win at Forest in five-goal thriller; Burnley drop down | OneFootball

There were eight Premier Leagues game today on the final Saturday of the Premier League season with major implications at both ends of the table.

Chelsea fight back to seal thrilling win at Forest

Scorers: Boly 16′, Hudson-Odoi 75′; Mudryk 8′, Sterling 80′, Jackson 82′

Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 in a topsy-turvy clash at the City Ground to move level on points with Newcastle in the race for Europa League qualification.

It took just eight minutes for the Blues to open the scoring through Mykhailo Mudryk. The much-maligned Ukrainian winger latched onto Cole Palmer’s lovely through ball and finished expertly to put his side in the lead.

Their lead did not last long with Willy Boly equalising eight minutes later. A Morgan Gibbs-White corner was not handled well by the Blues and the defender headed home with the aid of a Conor Gallagher deflection.

The goal meant Chelsea have now conceded in their last 15 Premier League games – their longest run in the post-1992 era.

Chelsea continued to push on but Forest remained a threat on the counter. Gibbs-White was sent through by Danilo only to be taken down by Gallager, who was lucky that Marc Cucurella was in close proximity otherwise his yellow could have been red.

After scoring last weekend at Sheffield United, Forest skipper Ryan Yates almost got another shortly into the second half. His fierce low drive had Đorđe Petrović beaten but hit the outside of the post and went wide.

Neither Gibbs-White or Chris Wood could score somehow minutes later. The first hit the post with a header from two yards out at the back post after being found by a great Callum Hudson-Odoi cross.

The ball rebounded to Wood, who put it over with the goal at his mercy.

Chelsea then hit the post themsevles, Thiago Silva’s header from Palmer’s inswinging free-kick bouncing away to safety.

Hudson-Odoi almost scored against his former club with a beautifully curled effort that cracked off the top of the bar as the woodwork continued to deny the game a third goal.

The winger did exactly that moments later, again cutting inside from the left and curling home a low effort to send the City Ground wild.

With an almost identical goal, Chelsea substitute Raheem Sterling made it 2-2 with his own brilliant strike six minutes later.

Two minutes later, they took the lead. Reece James, off the bench for his first game in 2024, put an excellent cross across the box for Nicolas Jackson to head home the winner.

The loss means Forest are not yet 100% safe but it will require a 12-goal swing with Luton on the final day, meaning they can make plans for a third consecutive season in the Premier League.

Earlier

Manchester City one step closer to the title with Fulham rout

Scorers: Gvardiol 12′, 71, Foden  59′, Alvarez 90+6′

Manchester City went top of the table with a straightforward win away at Fulham in the early kick-off.

The home put up a fight for all of ten minutes before Man City took the lead after an easy-on-the-eye set of 19 passes, finished when the on-form Joško Gvardiol calmly slotted home from a Kevin De Bruyne assist.

That pass meant Belgian has now equalled Cesc Fabregas as the Premier League’s second best all-time assist maker with a total of 111.

After the break, Phil Foden sent the vociferous away support into delirium when he finished by swinging his boot at a ball that fell to him inside the penalty area, thanks some excellent wing play from Bernardo Silva.

Erling Haaland then really should’ve put the result beyond doubt when he found himself unmarked in the box with a full goal to aim at, but somehow shot well wide.

Yet the job was done by Gvardiol when he slid in perfectly to finish from a high Silva ball into the box, with a VAR check confirming that the goal stood.

Fulham’s Issa Diop conceded a penalty and shown a red card late on for his second booking, after bringing down substitute Julian Álvarez in the box. The Argentinian converted the spot-kick to put the icing on the cake for the visitors.

The victory means that Pep Guardiola’s men only need to win their last two matches of the season, regardless of what Arsenal do at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Burnley relegation confirmed after Spurs comeback win

Scorers: Porro 32′, van de Ven 82′ ; Larsen 25′

Burnley’s immediate return to the Championship was confirmed after a 2-1 loss to Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs had Guglielmo Vicario to thank for keeping them on level terms early on. The Italian goalkeeper did superbly well to tip away Vitinho’s header.

The home side struggled to get into rhythm, which was not too surprising given their wretched recent run of form. James Maddison had a penalty claim turned away but little else came in the way of chances.

Burnley, needing a win to keep hopes of survival alive, took the lead in the 25th minute. Jacob Bruun Larsen finished coolly after being played in behind the Spurs defence.

Pedro Porro pulled Spurs level seven minutes later, smashing home with a great finish after an excellent run into the box.

The second half saw the home side step things up, dominating the ball and creating the majority of the chances.

Spurs turned the game around with just eight minutes remaining, Micky van de Ven pushed forward and was found just outside the box. The Dutch defender jinked to the right before curling home beautifully with his left-foot.

The win puts Spurs on the brink of Europa League qualification but for Vincent Kompany and co, their stint in the top flight is over.

Newcastle keep European hopes in own hands with Brighton draw

Scorers: Longstaff 45+5′; Veltman 18′

Newcastle and Brighton could not be separated at St. James’ Park in a tense and thrilling 1-1 draw.

Brighton were the better side in the opening periods of the game and took the lead in the 18th minute.

Newcastle failed to deal with a corner, which led to Joel Veltman scrambling home from close range after Danny Welbeck’s knock-down fell towards him.

The Magpies responded well but Brighton continued to threaten, Danny Welbeck almost doubling their lead in the 37th minute.

Alexander Isak had his first opening after a relatively quiet first half just before the break, but could not hook the ball past Bart Verbruggen, who did well to put it behind for a corner.

The equaliser came in the fifth minute of added time, Sean Longstaff firing home from close range after good work from both Anthony Gordon and Elliot Anderson.

In the second half, neither side truly took control of the contest with the game being played at a rapid pace.

Newcastle thought they had grabbed a late winner through Anthony Gordon but Miguel Almirón was just offside before passing to the former Everton man.

Almirón had a late penalty claim overruled as the game finished in a draw.

Luton on the brink as Moyes says goodbye in style

Scorers: Ward Prowse 54′, Souček 66′, Earthy 76′ ;Lokonga 6′

Luton’s relegation to the Championship was all but sealed after they lost 3-1 to West Ham on what was also David Moyes’ final home game in charge.

The Hatters shocked the London Stadium with the opening goal after just six minutes. Alfie Doughty whipped a lovely cross in from the left and Sambi Lokonga met it a great header after a strong run into the box.

West Ham should have equalised almost straight away but Mohammed Kudus dragged his shot wide from inside the box. Jarrod Bowen then almost scored with an acrobatic effort.

After toiling for much of the game, the Irons levelled things in the 54th minute.

Bowen, who had been his side’s danger man throughout, jinked down the right before putting a ball into the box that Thomas Kaminski could only put it out to Jame Ward-Prowse, who kept his composure to finish smartly.

The goal completely changed the momentum of the game as West Ham piled on the pressure in search of a second goal. Kaminski came to his side’s rescue with a stunning save from Michail Antonio.

Tomáš Souček made it 2-1 with a volley after the ball bobbled up to him from a corner in the 66th minute, and it was 3-1 10 minutes later.

Brilliant work from Kudus saw him beat three men before putting the ball across for 19-year-old sub George Earthy to tap home with his first touch.

The game petered out as Luton’s fate looked certain – they will now need Nottingham Forest to lose their two remaining games and an unprecedented goal swing on the final day.

Everton squeeze past determined Blades

Scorers: Doucouré 31′

An Abdoulaye Doucouré strike and a brilliant Dominic Calvert-Lewin performance gave Everton all three points against Sheffield United at Goodison Park.

Everton dominated both possession and chances against the already-relegated Blades, with Doucouré coming closest to giving them the lead in the opening period of the game.

Calvert-Lewin slipped the ball into the midfielder but his shot was put over the bar by Wes Foderingham.

Doucouré did eventually get the opener just after the half-hour mark, heading into an empty net after Calvert-Lewin pulled Foderingham away from his goal before putting a great cross in.

In the second half, the Toffees had most of the ball and the chances but could not find the second to put the game to bed. This gave United hope and Cameron Archer almost equalised with a well-hit shot that went just past the post.

Everton held out for another win as they signed off the season at home in style.

Mateta, Olise and Eze do it again as Palace leapfrog Wolves

Scorers: Cunha 66′; Olise 26′, Mateta 28′, Eze 73′

Crystal Palace leapfrogged Wolves in the table with a 3-1 win at Molineux as the Oliver Glasner revolution picked up even more momentum.

In a game with nothing on the line, it did not come as a shock that the game started at quite a leisurely pace.

Palace’s front three of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise have been in stunning form of late and were involved in the first real opening. Mateta’s cross missed Eze but fell to Olise, who put his shot just wide.

Olise was the man to break the deadlock in the 26th with a now-typically brilliant strike. The ball was well-worked around the Wolves box before coming to the French winger, who cut inside and curled home.

Two minutes later, it was 2-0. Mateta tapping home from close range after Nathaniel Clyne’s shot hit the post and rebounded to him. He simply cannot stop scoring right now.

Matt Doherty almost pulled one back for Wolves but his header from Rayan Aït-Nouri’s cross hit off the crossbar.

After the break, Matheus Cunha halved the home side’s deficit with a neat finish following a good passing move.

Palace restored their two-goal lead shortly after, Olise teeing up Eze who rounded Daniel Bentley before tapping home.

The Eagles went down to 10 men late on with Naouirou Ahamada receiving a second yellow for an elbow on Cunha, but it mattered little as their stunning form continued.

Late drama sees Brentford grab all three points

Scorers: Solanke 90′; Mbuemo 87′, Wissa 90+5′

Brentford beat Bournemouth 2-1 after a dramatic ending at the Vitality Stadium.

The Bees started the better with Keane Lewis-Potter having their best opening. The midfielder cut in on his right foot and drilled a decent effort towards Mark Travers, who put it past the post.

Bournemouth responded well and began to dictate possession. They thought they had opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Dominic Solanke fired home but VAR ruled that Antoine Semenyo had handled the ball in the build-up.

The second half started much the same with the Cherries on the front foot. Ivan Toney was inches away from an own goal at a corner but did well to pull back his foot just in time.

Toney then had a penalty claim ruled out by VAR. The England striker went down under contact from Illia Zabarnyi but it was ruled to be too minimal for a spot kick to be given.

After 87 minutes without a goal, the game exploded into life late on. Brentford first took the lead with a counter-attacking goal out of the top drawer. A Bournemouth corner was caught by Mark Flekken, who got the ball to Yoanne Wissa. Wissa then volleyed it onto Bryan Mbeumo, who coolly slotted home.

Their lead did not last long with Solanke equalising for Bournemouth on the 90 with a lovely guided header.

However, Wissa would have the last laugh as Mbuemo teed him up to finish brilliantly at the death.

Still to come

Sunday’s fixture