Manchester United’s loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers headlines the Premier League’s Boxing Day action so far, which has yielded mixed results for some of England’s best teams.
Relegation-threatened Wolves booked a place above the relegation zone with a win over United, with the only goal of the game coming directly from a corner kick taken by Matheus Cunha in the 58th minute and Hwang Hee -chan adding a second in the 99th minute. The Red Devils were not helped by Bruno Fernandes’ second yellow card in the 47th minute, but were pretty poor from start to finish, leaving them in 14 as things are.
Elsewhere in England, second-place Chelsea blew a one-goal lead and lost 2-1 to Fulham, while Manchester City missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Everton, who saw their bad streak extending to just one win in their last 13 games. . Furthermore, Tottenham Hotspur recorded a 1-0 defeat against this season’s UEFA Champions League surprise contender, Nottingham Forest.
As the final batch of Premier League Boxing Day games get underway, here are the ratings for each of the teams in action.
Premier League Boxing Day results
All Eastern Time
- Manchester City 1, Everton 1
- Chelsea 1, Fulham 2
- Nottingham Forest 1, Tottenham Hotspur 0
- Newcastle UnitedEdit 3, Villa Aston 0
- Bournemouth 0. Crystal Palace 0
- Southampton 0. West Ham United 1
- Wolverhampton Wanderers 2, Manchester United 0
- Liverpool 3, Leicester 1
Manchester City vs. Everton ratings
City of Manchester: Even amid the worst run of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career, one could have seen Thursday’s game against 15th-place Everton as an opportunity for City to reverse their fortunes. That opportunity came and went like the other games of City’s poor run, wasting their 24 shots by hitting only five on target and once again appearing out of ideas in all areas of the pitch. For once, however, City had the chance to win the game on a silver platter with a second-half penalty and couldn’t even capitalize there. They are undoubtedly stuck and the fact that Guardiola has not yet found a solution to their problems is very worrying. Grade: D
Everton: the candies love a draw, sharing the spoils in five of their last seven games. One could argue that they should be looking for wins at a certain point, but they can be forgiven considering their last three games have been against ArsenalChelsea and City. They appear to have perfected manager Sean Dyche’s tactical style and successfully hindered City, until Pickford’s great save with a penalty. They also have a chance of getting the biggest result of the day, so it’s a job well done for Everton. Grade: B
Chelsea vs. Fulham ratings
Chelsea: The Blues may have come into this match as favourites, but they were outplayed by Fulham and paid the price by conceding two late goals. Palmer may have given them the lead with a goal in the 16th minute, but they couldn’t dominate the game after the fact and were arguably second best in most categories. That includes their attack, which is among the best in the Premier League with 38 goals this season, but was inconsistent on Boxing Day: they had eight of their 12 shots on target, but were outclassed by Fulham’s 14 shots and recorded 0, 9 less expected goals than the eventual winners. . It’s unclear how serious Chelsea were as title contenders, but this defeat will certainly be a big blow to their chances. Grade: F
Fulham: The race for European places is set to be competitive this season in the Premier League, largely because teams like Fulham are stringing together encouraging performances. Thursday’s performance was an example of this: despite conceding an early goal, they slowly but surely managed to get back into the game with Harry WilsonThe tie in the 82nd minute and Rodrigo Muñiz95th minute winner. They also outlasted Chelsea’s impressive attack, outscoring the Blues 14-12 and generating 1.95 expected goals along the way. Grade: B
Nottingham Forest vs. Tottenham Hotspur ratings
Nottingham Forest: On Thursday, Forest’s defense-first approach served them well once again, successfully stifling Tottenham’s league-leading offense by limiting them to just four shots on goal from 13. It helps to take advantage of the opponent’s depleted defense just once time to secure another valuable victory. , one that takes them to third place and continues to cement their status as leading contenders for a place in next season’s edition of the Champions League. Grade: A
Tottenham Hotspur: In a match featuring a well-performing defense and the Premier League’s best attack, the latter ended up losing and adds another layer of worry in a season of inconsistency for Spurs. What generally works for Ange Postecoglou’s team, on good days and bad, is their attack, but they probably won’t be happy with the fact that they played Forest evenly in terms of expected goals. Add to that Djed SpenceThe second yellow card in the 94th minute was an unforgettable Boxing Day for Spurs. Grade: D
Newcastle United vs. Aston Villa Ratings
Newcastle United: The locals were already the best team when Aston Villa John Duran In the 32nd minute he received a straight red card, but Newcastle United made sure not to waste the extra lead. As a result, they end Boxing Day with one of the most lopsided victories of the holiday, strengthening their own case as a potential participant in next season’s Champions League competition. Grade: A
Aston Villa: It seems that everything went wrong for Aston Villa, who were already losing a goal after two minutes and then played the last hour with one less player. As a result, they were unable to take more than four shots and a single attempt on goal, although much of that will be attributed to the impact of Durán’s red card. Thursday’s match may be an outlier in terms of their performance, but the fact that they have now fallen to ninth place is a worrying sign. Grade: F
Bournemouth vs. Crystal Palace ratings
Bournemouth: Just beaten 3-0 manchester unitedBournemouth had chances to score but couldn’t score on Thursday. They were arguably a waste, hitting 18 shots but managing only 1.33 expected goals and taking just four shots on goal. It may have been two points dropped for the Cherries, who are in the hunt for European competition and currently sit in sixth place, but it doesn’t look like a record scratch to their good season so far. Grade: C
Crystal Palace: To some extent, Crystal Palace held their own against an impressive Bournemouth team, but they still failed to offer anything special despite picking up a point on Boxing Day. It may be a valuable point for Palace, who are currently three points above the relegation zone, but a team close to the drop usually means they often leave a lot to be desired in their performances. That was certainly the case for Palace on Thursday. Grade: C
Southampton vs. West Ham United Ratings
Southampton: Even without Russell Martin, Southampton did not abandon their offensive approach on Thursday and outshot their opponents in shots and expected goals. That said, the Saints will be very disappointed in the fact that they failed to convert 17 shots and 1.86 expected goals into an actual goal, leaving some valuable points on the table and doing little to climb out of last place. Grade: F
West Ham United: A win is a win, perhaps, but West Ham did not cover themselves in glory by narrowly beating the worst team in the Premier League. They managed just two shots on goal against the most porous defense in the league and, as mentioned, lost most of the attacking battles to the Saints. The Hammers are still stuck in that tight mid-table that includes Tottenham and Manchester United, but even if they are just 10 points off the top four, Julen Lopetegui’s side haven’t done much to convince them they can move up the table. . Grade: D
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Manchester United ratings
Wolverhampton Wanderers: It may not have been the most entertaining performance, but Wolves prevailed in a very close game against United and picked up a valuable three points along the way. Whether this is just part of the new coach’s rebound under Vítor Pereira or a sign that there will be more to come is yet to be decided, but gutsy wins are the trademark of a team that is eager to get out of the battle for relegation, so a 17th place finish on Boxing Day will be very good for them. Grade: B-
Manchester United: Every game seems to be a reminder of United’s shortcomings these days, no matter the context. United should be good enough to beat a relegation-threatened team, but in the midst of another rock-bottom season, Thursday’s defeat is hardly a surprise. Although Cunha may have surprised many by scoring an Olympic goal, the fact that United conceded a set-piece is not surprising, as it was the 18th time an opponent has scored on a set-piece in 2024. However , was not the only problem for the visitors. – they failed to make more than seven shots and scored only 0.78 expected goals. Adding to Fernandes’ second yellow card in the 47th minute, it was another bad day for United in a way that is becoming their trademark. Grade: F
Liverpool vs. Leicester City Ratings
Liverpool: Things may not have got off to the perfect start with Leicester City’s sixth-minute goal, but let Liverpool recover smoothly. Naturally, they took control of the game from the start and their in-form attack was eventually able to overcome three of the opposition, limiting the visitors to just one shot on goal. Arne Slot’s side still demonstrate the ease with which they have built a seven-point lead at the top of the table, and as the only one of England’s traditional top six to win on Boxing Day, they continue to build a potentially unbreakable hold on the first place. Grade: A-
City of leicester: Jordan Ayew may have put Leicester ahead after just six minutes, but even when that goal landed in the back of the net, it felt like it was just an asterisk on another lost day for the Foxes. They couldn’t find a way to turn that goal into something that changed the course of the game, which is perhaps not a surprise, but still offers a reminder of Leicester’s current situation. They remain stuck in the relegation zone with just three wins so far this season and it is difficult to see a discussion at the moment about how to get out of there, with or without the context of losing to the league leaders. Grade: F
