Highs and Lows: A Recap Of Premier League Match Days 23 And 24

Ollie Kim

Chris Wood celebrates a hat-trick against Brighton on match day 24.

It seems like with every passing week, the Premier League match days get increasingly eventful; match days 23-24 were no exception. Premier League teams battle it out in the midst of the chaos of the transfer season, resulting in shocking upsets, well-earned wins, and lots of entertainment. 

Player of the Week: Chris Wood 

It may come as a shock that Nottingham Forest’s 33-year-old striker has been labeled player of the week over some of the usual suspects (looking at you, Mo Salah), but Wood’s performance in Nottingham Forest’s 7-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion gives him more than enough to be crowned as the player of the weeks. With a hat-trick against Brighton, Wood brought his goal tally up to an impressive 17, tying Alexander Isak for 3rd place in the race for top scorer. 

Matches of the Week

AFC Bournemouth 5 - Nottingham Forest 0

AFC Bournemouth’s triumph against Nottingham Forest was a major upset, as Forest currently sits 3rd in the table while Bournemouth comes in at 7th. Bournemouth played exceptionally well, with striker Dango Ouattara banging out a hat-trick in the 2nd half of the match. This is definitely a disappointing result for Forest; it almost felt like a match from last season’s Nottingham Forest, who placed 17th, not the current 3rd-placed team in the league. 

Arsenal 5 - Manchester City 1

You cannot talk about these past few weeks without mentioning Arsenal’s domination of Manchester City in match week 24. The Gunners, who currently sit 2nd in the league (a spot that appears to be very comfortable to them), humbled the current holders of the Premier League trophy, who now sit 5th in the table. A well-rounded performance by Arsenal; all five goals were scored by five different players, including 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly, who debuted for Arsenal this season. Conversely, City’s performance left much to be desired. Despite a usual goal from Erling Haaland, the team had a lackluster performance overall, especially the defense. 

Other Notable Events

Aston Villa saw the quick departure of rising star Jhon Duran to Al Nassr FC, followed by a 2-0 loss to the Wolverhampton Wanderers. Disappointing performances compared to their stellar result in the 23/24 season make you question if the previous season was a fluke. 

Manchester United continued their decline, losing 0-2 to Crystal Palace, being overtaken by them in the table and moving down to 13th place while Palace moves up to 12th. With performances not unlike that of the previous Manchester United manager Ten Hag, Ruben Amorim’s Manchester side makes you wonder if it is the players or the manager responsible for these results. 

Chelsea 2 - 1 West Ham United: Chelsea had a slow start to the game, being down 1-0 by halftime. Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca made the tough decision to sub in some of the younger players on the squad (Pedro Neto, Marc Guiu) to secure a goal and eventually the win through an own goal by West Ham player Aaron Wan-Bissaka. 

 Always delivering, Premier League match days 23 and 24 brought just as much excitement as they did disappointment. As the season draws closer to the end, the battle for the trophy only intensifies.