The final matchday of 2021 was filled with bounce backs from the Boxing Day fixtures. West Ham had a dominant performance over Watford, Crystal Palace kept a clean sheet after being kept off the scoresheet, Leicester was victorious after being double up and Man United showed their offensive prowess they lacked against Newcastle.
Southampton (1) – Tottenham (1)
Shorthanded Southampton continued their positive week with a draw against red hot Tottenham. The Saints struck first with a goal by James Ward-Prowse. Harry Kane scored on a penalty just before the half to even the score. Kane almost brought the Spurs ahead with a goal in the second half but it was overturned by VAR when he was deemed offside.
Watford (1) vs. West Ham (4)
The Hammers bounced back from their defeat on Boxing Day with a dominant victory over Watford. The Hornets went out in front early after not having played in 18 days. After Watford’s goal, West Ham took over the game by scoring the next four goals including a goal that was disallowed due to a missed penalty.
Crystal Palace (3) vs. Norwich City (0)
Crystal Palace keeps a clean sheet against bottom of the table Norwich City. The Eagles did all of their scoring in the first half and Vincente Guaita kept a clean sheet the rest of the way.
Leicester City (1) vs. Liverpool (0)
Liverpool failed to keep pace with League-leading City with a defeat at the hands of Leicester City. The Reds were not without their chances in the game. Mo Salah was awarded a penalty in the 14th minute after he was hauled down in the box. His subsequent penalty kick was saved by Kasper Schmeichel and his header afterwards hit the bar. Leicester struck gold on their only shot on goal when Ademola Lookman awkwardly fired it past Alisson. Liverpool could not find the back of the net the rest of the way.
Chelsea (1) vs. Brighton (1)
Chelsea gave up a goal in extra time to draw with Brighton. Romelu Lukaku scored in his second straight match after his bout with COVID-19. In stoppage time, Danny Welbeck beat two Chelsea defenders to head the Cucurella cross into the goal, providing Chelsea with their third draw in four games.
Brentford (0) vs. Manchester City (1)
Man City’s goal surge was slowed down by Brentford in a one-nil defeat. Phil Foden scored in the 16th minute off a cheeky no-look deflection from a De Bruyne cross. City scored a second goal that was reversed by VAR for an offside.
Manchester United (3) vs. Burnley (1)
Manchester United made positive strides under Rangnick to finish 2021 with a victory over Burnley. Ralf Rangnick made his displeasure about the match against Newcastle known when he made six changes to the starting XI. It seemed the chances made a difference when United scored their fastest goal of the season by Scott McTominay in the eighth minute. They showed signs of dominance in the game by scoring two more goals off an own goal and a goal by Cristiano Ronaldo. Burnley responded quickly after the third goal when Aaron Lennon squeezed a goal past De Gea in the opposite corner.
POSTPONED MATCHES
- Arsenal vs. Wolves
- Leeds vs. Aston Villa
- Everton vs. Newcastle
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