This was probably the weekend on which the relegation battle was done and dusted. Wolverhampton Wanderers won at Southampton thanks to Jorgen Strand Larsen (and Aaron Ramsdale), while Ipswich Town conceded four at home to Nottingham Forest.
That gave Forest another boost in their improbable attempt to qualify for next season’s Champions League, a cause helped by Manchester City and Brighton drawing with each other and Chelsea losing away from home again, this time at Arsenal.
Bournemouth’s sticky run continued with a home defeat against Brentford, who have now won five straight away league games. Carabao Cup final-related postponements mean that Forest were the only team between third and tenth in the division to win this weekend.
This weekend’s results
Saturday 15 March
- Everton 1-1 West Ham
- Ipswich 2-4 Nott’m Forest
- Man City 2-2 Brighton
- Southampton 1-2 Wolves
- Bournemouth 1-2 Brentford
Sunday 16 March
- Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
- Fulham 2-0 Tottenham
- Leicester 0-3 Man Utd
Liverpool
Lost to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.
League table
Arsenal
Arsenal edged a low-quality, high-aggro London derby against Chelsea in a game defined by its Spanish participants.
Mikel Merino scored the only goal, David Raya and Robert Sanchez produced goalkeeping performances that would have made Iker Casillas wince, and Mikel Arteta made a startling post-match comment about the efficacy of Chelsea’s ailing attack.
Merino’s header ended a Gunners drought: it was their first set-piece goal in 13 games since Dominic Solanke’s own goal in the north London derby two months ago. It also ended a mini-dry spell for the makeshift striker who had drawn blanks in three successive league games.
It was a fine finish too, a clever flicked header that looped over Sanchez and dropped in at the back post. Merino has looked a little lost of late, but delivered a passable Erling Haaland impression, by scoring with just one of his seven first-half touches. He even extended his arms like Jude Bellingham in celebration. Maybe he is getting used to this centre-forward lark, after all.
“He wants to understand everything, he wants to learn from it, he’s very critical of himself all the time and at the end, the reality is that he’s winning football matches for us, which is incredible,” Arteta said. By Oliver Young-Myles
Read more: Mikel Arteta’s baffling claim about Chelsea laughs in the face of the evidence
Nottingham Forest
An interesting week for Nottingham Forest. Friday brought news that Thomas Tuchel had failed to select a single Forest player for his first England squad (prior to a late call-up for Morgan Gibbs-White replacing Cole Palmer). Callum Hudson-Odoi and Elliot Anderson might feel a little aggrieved after brilliant seasons.
That may have lasting consequences for Forest. Anderson and Hudson-Odoi will feel that they would never have been excluded from the squad were they producing those performances for a Big Six club.
The emphatic answer is for Forest to qualify for the Champions League – that would be a persuasive argument for their high-value players to stick around for at least one more season. If Friday was galling for supporters, Saturday was perfect. Not only did they score four times at Portman Road (the third time in 2025 they have been 3-0 up at half-time), but City and Brighton also drew. The mini-miracle is building.
One underrated element of Forest’s season is how players have stepped up to contribute when required. Gibbs-White scored or assisted only once in his first 10 league games this season (possibly a hangover from summer Under-21 duty) but has 11 goal involvements in his last 15. Chris Wood hasn’t scored in the last four games, but Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga have both scored twice during that run.
That, I think, is the result of the settled squad that Nuno Espirito Santo always wanted and has been able to persuade Evangelos Marinakis this situation merits. Six different Forest players have contributed to six or more league goals this season. Everybody knows where everybody will be and when. The morale is something else and the England shunning will only make them more determined to prove people wrong. Fourteen points from their last nine games might do it.
Chelsea
Chelsea’s performance was characterised by a lack of efficiency and discipline.
Enzo Maresca bemoaned the absence of his three top scorers Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke, a trio that have contributed over half of Chelsea’s goal tally in the league.
It was evident by the end with academy prospect Tyrique George and back-up central midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall supporting an out-of-position Pedro Neto in attack. Cucurella had their two shots on target all game.
Still, given the expenditure that has taken place during the Clearlake Capital era it is reasonable to expect more quality. They ended with an expected goal (xG) value of just 0.35, which made Arteta’s post-match claim that they are the “best attacking team in the league by a mile,” seem charitable in the extreme.
“By a mile, I mean the stats say it and everything that I’ve seen, say it,” he added.
“They can open you up, they can run in transition, they have individual quality, any player in the defensive line can throw you in behind.
“They can combine on both sides, on weak sides and they are missing some big players as well at the moment.” By Oliver Young-Myles
Man City
There were signs of promise ahead of next season for Manchester City against Brighton. Omar Marmoush and Erling Haaland can clearly work as a pairing with Marmoush as the Julian Alvarez replacement, dropping into space and linking play and thus meaning Haaland isn’t so reliant upon service from wide areas. I wonder what might have happened had Marmoush arrived last summer.
Still, that cannot be the headline after more dropped points at home, more stutters in the race just to qualify for the Champions League and more defensive uncertainty. The draw against Brighton was a fantastic watch for the neutral, but that’s not what Pep Guardiola wants. The absence of control is making everything else so much harder.
Abdukodir Khusanov is still settling in, but his communication with those around him seems to be badly lacking (he was simply unlucky with the own goal). Rico Lewis doesn’t seem to have the defensive awareness to guard effectively against quick counter attacks. Nico Gonzalez is clearly a good player (and again a new face who will require patience), but lacks the ball retention of Rodri. Too often there are big spaces and multiple City players pointing at them quizzically.
Saturday also brought an unpleasant landmark for Guardiola. This is now the first league season of his managerial career during which his team have conceded 40 goals. Let’s labour the point: there is still 24 per cent of their league season remaining.
Newcastle
Beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.
Brighton
A fine point for Brighton at Manchester City, their first ever at the Etihad, but I found it interesting after the game to hear Fabian Hurzeler being critical of his players’ decision-making at times (and that’s often easier to do after a good result than a poor one).
“We lost two points because we didn’t find the right balance of playing out from the back and playing a long ball,” Hurzeler said. “Decision making wasn’t on the highest level from us. It was our responsibility – we weren’t clean enough in the first half.”
Hurzeler is right: that did change the game. Brighton were caught in possession with a player looking for a short pass for the first goal, a move that then ended with a panicky challenge from Adam Webster in the penalty area. The second allowed Omar Marmoush to get the ball 25 yards from goal and attempt a shot before Bart Verbruggen was set.
It has become a theme of my season, spent watching football across all four divisions. Managers having a philosophy is not a problem. That philosophy being to invite pressure and play out from the back through it is also not a problem.
But the number of times you see a central defender, full-back or goalkeeper cede possession in a dangerous area because they fail to appreciate when avoiding the danger becomes the priority over playing a short pass to keep possession? That is a problem and that is what Hurzeler is referring to.
That is the key to these philosophies working, placing them alongside the provision of autonomy so that players are taught to make the right choice and never believe that there is only one choice in every situation. That, I think, is what Hurzeler is referring to.
Fulham
Who wants to know the fun fact of this Premier League weekend?
On 16 March 2025, Fulham beat Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage in the Premier League and kept a clean sheet.
On 16 March 2024, Fulham beat Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage in the Premier League and kept a clean sheet.
In between those two games, exactly a year apart, Fulham didn’t beat anybody, in any competition, at Craven Cottage while keeping a clean sheet.
Aston Villa
Didn’t play this weekend.
Bournemouth
At the end of January, Andoni Iraola effectively decided that Kepa Arrizabalaga was his first-choice goalkeeper for the rest of the season when he allowed Mark Travers to join Middlesbrough on loan. Travers had played in five Premier League games and been pretty brilliant, making a string of impressive saves during draws against Chelsea and Aston Villa and the win over Manchester City.
Iraola’s decision was predictable. Kepa was the marquee signing and Travers previously the deputy to Neto, who had left to join Arsenal. Travers deserved regular football and Kepa had started five times as many league games as him, so he pushed for a loan move.
But having watched Bournemouth over recent weeks – a run of four points from a possible 18 in the league – are we allowed to ask whether Kepa is even an upgrade? Against Brentford on Saturday, he changed the game by coming out to claim a corner, a decision that always seemed ambitious. Yoane Wissa was the beneficiary, heading into an unguarded net.
For the second goal, the opposite problem. Perhaps spooked by Brentford’s opener, Kepa started on his line for a long throw-in routine and stayed there. When the ball landed at the feet of Christian Norgaard roughly three yards from goal, Kepa was still on his line and was unable to even attempt a dive as a reaction to Norgaard’s shot.
There’s just something about Kepa that doesn’t sit right (and it’s not just that ludicrous £70m transfer fee to Chelsea). He seems to have a habit of taking a mini step before diving (or not quite having his feet set right to make a full extension) and thus makes shots that don’t go into the corner look better than they are. Justice for Mark Travers, basically.
Brentford
The bizarre away run continues. In an away Premier League table, Brentford sit one place below Manchester City and they only took one point away from the Gtech Community Stadium before Christmas.
Thomas Frank’s side have now won five away games on the spin in the league. To put that into some context, Liverpool haven’t won five consecutive away games this season. Liverpool last did so in 2021. This is not normal.
Saturday’s win was significant too because of Brentford showing some resilience after conceding first. This was the first time in 33 away league games – a run stretching back to May 2023 – that they have won an away match after trailing.
The mad shift in form (Brentford have got good away from home at the same time as their home form has dropped significantly) probably means that the outside shot of European qualification remains exactly that, but Brentford are only seven points behind Manchester City in fifth. Their next five league fixtures are against Newcastle, Chelsea, Arsenal, Forest and Brighton. Either way, Brentford are relevant in this Champions League race.
Crystal Palace
Didn’t play this weekend.
Man Utd
For all the positives from the win over Leicester it is difficult to avoid focusing on the most obvious: Bruno Fernandes’ input.
Amorim admitted afterwards he was surprised by Fernandes’ work ethic, making clear the United captain’s often theatrical gestures are well-known back in their native Portugal before stressing that defies the player he sees in training.
“What surprises me the most is the way he works every day,” Amorim said. “Even we in Portugal see that frustration, but I was really surprised, he’s a really good professional. He’s special in that aspect [playing frequently]. He’s always ready.”
Fernandes leads the way for goals and assists at United this season, and he has only grown in stature as the campaign has rumbled on.
In March, he has contributed towards eight of United’s 10 goals – scoring six and assisting two – and has finally become the leader they have needed in this period of major transition.
It is a welcome sight, the swapping of exasperation for a far more welcome gesture, celebration, and it is lifting the players around him.
It all makes him a clear contender for the bottom half’s player of the season – Bryan Mbeumo at Brentford also stakes a claim – which in itself is a reminder of how far they still have to go, and a point not lost on Amorim.
They are still down in 13th, in unwanted face-off with Tottenham, but in Fernandes they havea superstar who could yet carry them to Europa League glory, the back door to the Champions League that would add a mighty gloss on this season. By Michael Hincks
Tottenham
I think Ange Postecoglou should be sacked. I really liked his ideas at the start, but slowly they and his own personality have warped into something unsuccessful and prickly. Tottenham have a two-week international break now and I think that they should use it to let him go, appoint a caretaker and begin the process of asking around for Andoni Iraola’s number.
A fortnight ago, I didn’t think this (and I accept that it’s still really not ideal). Tottenham’s last five years have been defined by poor Ryan Mason being asked to step up, not really looking comfortable doing it and everyone feeling worse than they already did. Were Tottenham playing at a level beyond incompetent, I’d entirely agree that it would be stupid to make a change now. As I say, I thought exactly that not long ago.
But Tottenham still have a chance of winning a trophy ahead of a Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt. Were this six days before the final, I’d say you keep the status quo and hope that big-game mentality takes over. But we are still more than two months, and two rounds., away from a final and Spurs will not get there if this continues. They look uninventive in attack, overrun in midfield and loose at the back.
I think we can also conclude that these players are no longer inspired by Postecoglou. The injury crisis has, obviously, provided the manager with some grace, but you still expect to see a little fight, creativity, passion, resilience or hope from whoever you pick. There has been precious little that outside of a three-game winning run in the league that has now come crashing down.
Tottenham have taken 11 points from their last 13 league games, relegation form at a time when promoted clubs aren’t all abject. They still have a chance not just of making Europe but qualifying for the Champions League, something that ultimately produces an obvious question: are Spurs more likely to win the Europa League with their current manager or without him? And that’s where I’ve shifted my opinion.
Everton
I’m not going all Garth Crooks/Troy Deeney here by singling out Jake O’Brien just because he scored Everton’s equaliser against West Ham, but it is a handy time to give him some love.
O’Brien was the only defender signed by Everton last summer, but found minutes bizarrely hard to come by given the injury to Jarrad Branthwaite, the other options at Sean Dyche’s disposal and Everton’s wretched form. O’Brien’s first five appearances for Everton: start in Carabao Cup, sub appearance in Premier League, start in Carabao Cup, sub appearance in Premier League, start in FA Cup.
Since David Moyes was appointed, O’Brien has made 11 appearances, started nine Premier League matches and hasn’t tasted defeat in any of them. If that wasn’t enough, he’s been exclusively filling in at right-back, out of his natural position, because Everton have injuries in that position.
And O’Brien has been brilliant there. Against West Ham on Saturday, he was the only Everton player to have more than one shot on target and the only Everton player to create more than two chances. It’s not just that O’Brien is filling a hole at full-back; he’s actually playing like one.
“I have to say that I’m pleased for big Jake,” said Moyes after the game. “He’s coming on, improving. He’s a young centre-back, making his way a little bit as a right-back in some ways. But he’s doing a good job, and I’m pleased he got the goal. He’s capable of it.”
West Ham
In September 2023, when he scored a hat-trick against Newcastle, Evan Ferguson was the most prolific 18-year-old in Europe and was linked with reported interest from some of its biggest clubs. Four months later, in the January transfer window, there was talk of Chelsea wanting to pay £100m. (Sure, you’re thinking, but what’s new there? Fair).
Eighteen months on and Ferguson really needs a break. First came the niggling injuries, then the lack of regular starts at Brighton and the goals drying up. A year after that £100m rumour, he was joining West Ham on a six-month loan deal because Danny Welbeck was bang in form and Joao Pedro was seen as the other elite option at Brighton.
It’s not going well, at least not yet. Perhaps Ferguson is simply building up his fitness, but he would surely have expected to start at least one Premier League game by now. Instead it’s 90 minutes across five appearances despite West Ham missing Michail Antonio, Nicklas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville. He needs a break otherwise he might leave Brighton this summer for a step down, not up. And not for £100m.
Wolves
Strand Larsen will get the headlines for scoring the goals, but it’s Wolves’ defensive performance that has improved most under Vitor Pereira. Wolves have conceded seven goals in their last seven league games. They conceded 51 goals in the 22 league games before that.
Part of that success is down to the arrival of Emmanuel Agbadou in January – he started five of those seven matches in central defence. He has made the permanent adoption of the three-man central defence much easier, but he’s also probably been the star of that central defence.
Agbadou is the most active of the three, usually. It is he who steps out to make tackles in midfield (more tackles per 90 in the midfield third than any of his central defensive colleagues). In an admittedly small sample size, he has made 1.5 more clearances per 90 than any of those same colleagues. So far, it looks like £17m well spent.
Ipswich
Around this time every season, this column attacks a team for their overly generous defending and points out that the worst defence in the league almost never stays up. Wolves might actually challenge that this season (they have conceded 58 goals), but the point will probably stand. The bottom three have conceded 197 goals between them and they have 27 matches to go.
For Ipswich, this should be a cause of huge regret. They have spent roughly £130m on transfers this season. Jacob Greaves and Dara O’Shea were the only new defenders costing more than £500,000 to purchase and they spent £30m on the pair.
On Saturday against Forest, Greaves was taken off at half-time after struggling badly against Forest’s attackers, constantly unsure whether to engage or sit off and wait for support and ending up doing neither. That left a back four of Leif Davis (who has struggled badly this season without the ability to simply surge forward without fear), O’Shea slightly out of position at right-back and a central defensive pairing of Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess.
It is asking an awful lot for these players to be consistently good enough in the Premier League to avoid conceding two goals per game (do that and you pretty much go down every time), and that’s before you get onto the goalkeeping issue this season and Kalvin Phillips’ form requiring a rethink in central midfield.
Ipswich do indeed do plenty of things well; nobody is saying otherwise. They can look bright in attack (although they’re scoring goals at less than one per game). They are indeed just making a series of individual mistakes each week that cost them.
But those individual errors occur because players who aren’t yet (or won’t ever be) comfortable at this level are struggling for confidence. Ipswich are the only team in the top four divisions in England yet to win a league match in 2025. That’s simply not good enough and it would be patronising to conclude otherwise.
Leicester
Jamie Vardy knew what he was doing.
With Ayden Heaven down receiving treatment in the 50th minute, the Leicester captain saw his opportunity with the ball on its lonesome near the penalty spot.
During what turned out to be a lengthy stoppage, he casually rolled the ball in, and when it crossed the line the home crowd cheered ironically, and who can blame them – it has been a long time since these supporters have had anything to cheer about in the Premier League.
Sunday’s loss to Manchester United was their seventh straight league match at home without scoring, the longest run in top-flight history, and here was captain Vardy – the veteran who really shouldn’t be their main goalscoring hope at 38 – rippling the net with a moment that summed up this awful run.
The second moment came late on when more ironic cheers greeted Harry Winks’ easily-saved shot from distance. It was a sign of Leicester’s desperation, for they can’t buy a goal, their goals in the 2-2 draw with Brighton on 8 December the last time they celebrated in the league at the King Power.
Nothing short of dreadful, and so the mood has shifted inside the King Power. Few if any believe they’ll stay up, and instead there is now a bizarre, building anticipation around when they’ll ever score again.
There’ll be t-shirts commemorating the occasion. I Was There When… The only issue being when exactly isn’t entirely clear. When you see the chance squandered by Facundo Buonanotte and Patson Daka’s series of near-misses, you start to really question if this run could stretch until the end of the season.
Mainly because it could. By Michael Hincks
Southampton
One of the inevitabilities of a football team getting hosed every week is that those who were previously proficient can become tainted by the incompetence around them. By which I mean: we need to talk about Aaron Ramsdale.
Two seasons ago, Ramsdale played every minute of a Premier League season during which Arsenal took 84 points and finished only five behind champions Manchester City. He then fell to second-choice after the arrival of David Raya, but Ramsdale had proven that he probably belonged in the Premier League’s top six (and certainly its top half).
By choosing to move to Southampton, Ramsdale was embracing a relegation fight. If he believed anything else when signing on a permanent deal, he was a fool because we all knew what this season would likely bring. Presumably he figured that being busy, and playing every week, would allow him to prove himself and stay in the international picture. On the basis of Tuchel’s first squad, that was justified.
But Ramsdale is being dragged down by this Southampton season and, as such, his reputation is suffering. Jorgen Strand Larsen’s headed opener was close to the middle of Ramsdale’s goal. I don’t know if he was trying to scoop the ball away or just misjudged the flight of the ball, but it should have been saved.
The second goal is the same. On first viewing, it looks like Larsen’s shot is beautifully directed into the corner, but freeze the replay and the ball actually crosses the line about two feet away from the far post. It is Ramsdale’s position, roughly the same distance from the other post when Larsen takes his shot, that makes the goal look better than it is.
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