🔬 The debrief as Liverpool extend their lead; Chelsea were stunned at home

Premier League action returned on Boxing Day as the English top flight continued its difficult Christmas period.

Manchester City looked to halt their poor early form against visiting Everton, while Chelsea hoped to keep the pressure on Liverpool in the title race in a home game against visiting Fulham in a London derby.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa and Newcastle went head-to-head at Villa Park as both looked to put pressure on the top four. In-form Nottingham Forest tried to see off Tottenham while staying in the Champions League places and bottom-placed Southampton tried to end their relegation against West Ham on the south coast.

Bournemouth’s unexpected push into the European places would see them welcome Crystal Palace to the Vitality Stadium to round off games ahead of two crucial clashes this evening.

Manchester United traveled to a Wolves team benefitting from a new manager and Liverpool hosted Leicester City at Anfield to continue their first season title bid under Arne Slot.

Here’s how everything turned out across the country.

What happened? 📝

Pep Guardiola’s Man City failed to pick up three points against recent draw specialists Everton at the Etihad, extending their Premier League winning streak to four after a frustrating 1-1 result at full time.

Chelsea were embarrassed in their quest for a Premier League title after a 1-0 home defeat to Fulham, but the Cottagers stormed back with a 2-1 win thanks to an equalizer from Harry Wilson and late winner from Rodrigo Muniz in stoppage time.

Newcastle beat 10-man Aston Villa at St James’ Park with a resounding 3-0 win on Tyneside, with Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak and Joelinton all on target.

A dream season continues after Nottingham Forest added to Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou’s woes. Forest secured a 1-0 home win against a Spurs side that ended the day with ten men after a red card in stoppage time.

The scare on the south coast is not yet over after Southampton beat West Ham United 1-0 at St Mary’s with Jarrod Bowen scoring the only goal.

Bournemouth and Crystal Palace played out a nil-nil draw, with the Cherries guaranteed to finish matchday 18 in the top six.

Vítor Pereira is already turning heads after a 2-0 win against Manchester United with ten players, making him the first Wolves coach since 1977 to win his first two games in the top flight. Goals from Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan secured the points after Bruno Fernandes was sent off shortly after half-time.

Liverpool once again proved their title credentials, rounding off Boxing Day with a 3-1 comeback win over Leicester City. André Ayew had given the Foxes an early lead with a goal in the 6th minute, but goals from Cody Gakpo and Curtis Jones just on either side of the break secured all three points for the Reds before Mohamed Salah put the finishing touches to the game.

Player of the day 🔥

Former Arsenal star Alex Iwobi may have given his former employers a late present after a sensational performance from the Nigeria international contributed to Fulham’s shock 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Iwobi played arguably the best football of his career since moving to Craven Cottage, delivering a thrilling performance in the London derby to give the Blues a break in their potential title march and leave the door open for the Gunners to move up to second in the table get a win against Ipswich tomorrow.

Statistics of the day 📊

Football is a funny old game, and sometimes the gods want to teach you a lesson in humility.

For Manchester City star Erling Haaland, this lesson was quite harsh given the club’s massive decline in form under Pep Guardiola over the course of the season.

Since the club’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal earlier this season, the Norwegian goalscoring machine has collapsed in front of goal, missing 11 clear-cut chances.

If City want to get back to their best next season and at least guarantee Champions League football, Haaland may have to humble himself just enough to fire himself again in the new year.

What that means

Liverpool head into Sunday with a seven-point lead over Chelsea, with Arsenal now in position to jump into second place depending on tomorrow’s result.

Nottingham Forest are temporarily in third place after beating Tottenham, Newcastle United move up to fifth and are level on points with Bournemouth in sixth, both of whom are now ahead of Manchester City in seventh.

Fulham are in eighth place after overtaking Aston Villa (9th), while Spurs, West Ham, Manchester United and Crystal Palace all remain in the bottom half of the table.

Thanks to their win, Wolves have officially moved out of the bottom three places, while all three promoted sides are now in the relegation places.

What they said 🗣

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola remained defiant despite the frustrating result against the Toffees, claiming: “The team played really well. I don’t know how many shots we had on goal. In the end they scored a goal.”

“We were very patient. We make crosses and crosses. I think we were very patient.”

Unai Emery was far from happy with the VAR after seeing Jhon Durán questionably sent off during Villa’s 3-0 defeat at Newcastle, declaring: “I can perhaps accept that the other team is asking for a red Card asks, okay. But VAR please, and confirm it now because of the penalty is three games.”

Enzo Maresca took up his media duties after Chelsea’s late defeat to Fulham and gave a clear response to Noni Madueke’s unexpected absence. He simply explained that it was a “technical decision” that led to the England winger being completely left out of the squad.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim hoped for the positive after the Red Devils suffered a 2-0 defeat at Wolves. “I think the good thing is that we were close to the goal, even with 10 men. That’s good, but we lost. It’s so hard to win games in this league with 11 men. It’s more difficult with 10 men. “We.” That’s what I need to focus on.”

What’s next? 👀

A mid-table clash between Brighton and Brentford could prove entertaining as Fabian Hürzeler faces Thomas Frank at the Amex before Arsenal hope to climb into second place as Mikel Arteta’s Gunners look to gain all three points against the visitors Ipswich to get.

📸 PAUL ELLIS – AFP or licensors