Game 36 – Quick summary

Match day summary 36

Saturday, May 9

Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea

It was an extremely poor performance from both sides, who seemed to be trying to put anyone watching to sleep with their slow attack. No wonder there were boos ringing around the stadium at the end of the game, well deserved for two big-money teams who let down their fans.

Starman:
Fans – bother watching this.

trigger:
Mismanagement by both clubs’ boards – has led to both teams’ troubles so far. The players were there, the money was spent, but they couldn’t hire a manager to get the most out of them.

Sunderland 0-0 Manchester United

As time wore on under Carrick, United began to become more passive, probably in large part due to the influence of Steve Holland, who seemed to prefer this style of play. For me, this is the main reason why they failed to beat Sunderland, who have been in poor form in recent weeks and are missing their first-choice centre-back Ballard. However, it must be noted that neither team has had many games to play this season. I do think the decision to bring back Martinez is holding them back, meaning the backline is worryingly slow. Sunderland did look more like a team that had started the season so well, being aggressive and trying to be on top throughout, but just lacked a quality finisher and simply weren’t good enough to beat the Red Devils.

Starman:
Geertruida – Filled in at right back and performed well.
Xhaka – he brings this team together.
Lamence – Having a good and reliable goalkeeper makes a huge difference to the Manchester United team.

trigger:
Hume – He really doesn’t have Premier League quality, although he always gives his best.
Brobbey – He’s a tough guy for defenders to deal with, but he’s a terrible shot.
Zirkzee – Need to get myself more involved.
Cunha – Talented but has been a disappointment so far.

Brighton 3-0 Wolves

The Seagulls’ performance was one-sided, while Wolves were very weak and clearly not really into the game. No wonder Edwards was so angry on the sidelines and yelled at his players after the game that he was completely unable to motivate them and has now lost his cool with them. It must be very frustrating to manage these multi-millionaires who are too lazy to earn huge salaries.

Starman:
Cuyper – Was able to get a few assists without any defensive pressure.
Dunk – Even a very average defender like Dunk is having an easy time against Wolves right now.
Minter – His pace and work rate tormented Wolves at times. It’s a pity that he lacks some quality.

trigger:
Wolverhampton Wanderers – the whole club doesn’t even show pride for its fans. It’s embarrassing to see them produce nothing week after week.

Fulham 0-1 Bournemouth

A very strange game with a player sent off from both sides. The entire second half of Ten vs. Ten doesn’t happen often! There was plenty of space to exploit, but both teams looked exhausted at this stage of the season and were playing with one man down. This is another step towards some form of European football for the Cherries, allowing them to compete for the Champions League as well. Fulham are in serious decline and need to arrest this decline as it will cost them a significant amount of prize money at the end of the season.

Starman:
Castagne – Likes to have space to attack.
Rayan – Scores goals and is always a threat with his pace.
Truvert – One player in their new defensive unit that might even be an upgrade from last season.

trigger:
Anderson – was sent off, ruining Fulham’s man advantage.
Chukwueze – Didn’t impress at all this season.
Smith Rowe – Simply not good enough and unsurprisingly the one sacrificed in the regrouping after being sent off.
Wilson – Definitely needs to put in more effort.
Christie – Sent off for a silly tackle and his team dominated the game. It was an unnecessary rush.

Manchester City 3-0 Brentford

As time passed without a goal, the atmosphere in the stadium became extremely tense. Once Doku opened the scoring there could only be one outcome, Citeh were clearly the better team by far and ended up winning a very comfortable victory. More importantly, from Manchester City’s perspective, this increases the pressure on Arsenal, reduces the Gunners’ goal difference advantage, and increases their goal advantage. The Bees were still in the hunt for a Champions League spot but they were never really chasing victory and mainly just wanted to frustrate the Mancunians. It worked for an hour, but one of Doku’s spells broke the deadlock, and nothing in their tanks could bring it back.

Starman:
Doku – was on a completely different level than everyone else on the field and wreaked absolute havoc. He deserved the goal after an absolutely brilliant performance and not even a double team from Brentford could stop him. Gone are the days when you could let him have the ball and know he would almost certainly end up kicking it out for a goal kick. He has developed the end product and become a top lineman.
Haaland – he’s improved a lot. Citeh’s struggles last season appeared to be an important learning process for many of their players. He had a goal and an assist and performed very well.
Semenyo – He didn’t perform as well as he did after his initial move, and he was overshadowed by Doku, but he performed very well in this game.

trigger:
Reynders – Difficult to cope with Brentford’s physical condition.
Cherki – Needs to work harder.
Schade – Fast, but no brains.
Damsgaard – Normally good for Brentford but he was rested today.

Sunday, May 10

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Newcastle United

Anderson’s late goal against his boyhood club ensured Forest were guaranteed another year of Premier League football. It was a tense performance at home for Tricky Trees and the crowd was clearly worried. The absence of Gibbs White doesn’t help them as he has been the core of the team’s offense this season. Toon, on the other hand, have their talisman and are looking much better with Guimarães around. He was the captain and leader of their team and made a very noticeable difference to them.

Starman:
Anderson – Stepped up in Gibbs White’s absence.
Guimarães – Key player for Newcastle.

trigger:
Watermade-Howe simply doesn’t know how to get the best out of him.
Hall – A very strange choice to start at right guard.

Burnley 2-2 Aston Villa

It was an example of the end of the mayoral performance for Villa, who looked sluggish after a superb performance in midweek to reach the Europa League final. Burnley gave them a real scare and turned it into a real battle through hard work and diligence. There is a clear gap in quality, but the Clarets make up for it by running hard and refusing to give up. They had nothing to play for and no interim manager, but they gave everything they had and gave it their all, which makes you wonder how many people were playing for transfers in the summer.

Starman:
Mejebri – The former Manchester United youngster had a very good game.
Fleming – Another goal from the striker.
Barkley – Nice header to score.
McGinn – Another player who seems to elevate the teams around him when he’s on the field.

trigger:
Rodgers – As so often happens with young players, he’s having a down season after having such a great season last year. Flickering still occurs, but it’s just an odd moment rather than a regular effect in the game.
Cash – Horrible mistake that led to the equalizer.
MINGS – It looks like something unexpected is about to happen at this moment.

Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton

Crystal Palace are looking ahead to the conference finals with little left in the Premier League this season, but they have still managed to curtail the Toffees’ European ambitions. Just when they needed to pick themselves up for the run-in, Everton’s form took a dip and they struggled to get the win they needed. Everton always seem to let their opponents take the lead when they are ahead. They always seemed to just want to sit back and defend it instead of taking advantage of whatever dominance they had at the time.

Starman:
Munoz – Can be a bit dodgy defensively, but Richards does help cover things behind him, but his forward runs are very effective.
Beto – Not a great player or goalscorer by any means, but he’s great in any defense and will score when he’s confident, as he did in this game.
Ndiaye – Looks like a step above his teammates.
Tarkovsky – Goal and assist, but his legs are clearly giving out. He looks in dire need of replacement.

trigger:
Strand Larsson – A very strange signing.
Johnson – Needs to offer more.
Rohr – had a great performance against Manchester City in the last game, but struggled against Crystal Palace.
O’Brien – sometimes gets overtaken. He is too big and too slow to turn around and is not suitable to play as a full-back.
Mykolenko – Not a very good full-back at all.

West Ham United 0-1 Arsenal

A very tough game with two teams hungry for points for completely different reasons. The Hammers know only a win can lift them out of the relegation zone, with the Gunners closing in on Manchester City in the title race. This led to a very tense fight that was ultimately decided by a controversial decision. This is one of those decisions when both sides have good points. The Hammers will be annoyed as there have been many such goals throughout the season and many clear fouls committed by their players at the same time. However, the goalkeeper was obviously fouled, so it was understandable that he was ruled out. My only issue is that VAR took a long time to make a decision, meaning the referee’s mistake wasn’t a clear mistake, so I’d say the right thing to do was to follow the on-field decision. But that might just be because I don’t like long VAR pauses and would rather see VAR removed from the game entirely. Overall, Arsenal were the better side and really should have won by more margins, but the tension became very interesting as the game came to an end.

Starman:
Mavropanos – kept the Hammers’ hopes alive with a couple of good clearances.
Trossard – Scores goals and is always a threat.
Raya – To me, he’s been outstanding all season and really deserves to be in the Player of the Year discussion.

trigger:
Hermansson – Slapping things several times.
Soucek – Lacking mobility in a game like this, Arsenal players can run circles around him.
Castellanos – Very little service.
Saka – He needs a decent full-back behind him to provide options and prevent opponents from double and triple teams on him.
White – the way he plays is like a guy who doesn’t really like football.

Monday, May 11

Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Leeds United

One thing is for sure, Tottenham players are finally giving it a try. Maybe a little late in the season, but they are now going all out to avoid relegation. One has to ask where this work has been done before. Although Leeds had little in the way of safety, their desire to win was impressive and showed a desire and professionalism that Spurs lacked. It’s an interesting game, Spurs are hungry to win, Leeds are hungry to win, both teams are hoping to get three points. I really enjoyed the game, and overall that’s probably a fair outcome.

Starman:
Ter-scored a very good goal.
Ampadu – Protected Leeds’ defense well.
Bjorn- Had a solid game.
Kinski – Made a great save.

trigger:
Kolo Muani – There were moments during the game that I even forgot he was on the court.
James – Hard working but weak and lacking in quality.

Written by Tris Burke May 12, 2026 21:48:47

.