By Victor Kanayo
Boxing Day actions on December 26, 2024 were filled with surprises, amidst flurry of goals in the English Premier League.
It was Fulham who delivered a stoppage-time hammer-blow to Chelsea’s Premier League title aspirations.
At Stamford Bridge, Rodrigo Muniz’s last-gasp finish secured a 2-1 win and a first victory against Chelsea for the Cottagers since 1979. For Fulham – who have taken points off Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham this season – this was another landmark moment in their progression under Marco Silva.
Hit by injuries to their midfield, they switched to a back-five formation and weren’t at their usual ball-playing best for much of the contest. However, when they pushed forward after the break, they showed the pace and precision to take a big scalp.
They finished the day level on points with defending champions Manchester City and on the brink of the European qualification places.
Newcastle Blow to Towering Villa
Elsewhere, Newcastle made it four wins on the spin in all competitions as they won 3-0 against Aston Villa, who had Jhon Duran sent off in the first half. Earlier, West Ham edged Southampton 1-0 in their encounter.
Manchester Woes Continue
Both Manchester United and City failed to impress on the day, as the former lost to Wolves while the latter could only manage a 1-1 draw against Everton. City’s falter set the tone for the big clubs’ struggles.
In it, United’s set-piece curse struck again as Matheus Cunha became the second player in three games to score directly from a corner against them, as Wolves defeated them to climb out of the bottom three.
Ruben Amorim’s men were already up against it at Molineux following the 47th-minute dismissal of skipper Bruno Fernandes for a second yellow card. However, just as Son Hueng-min did for Tottenham a week ago, Cunha found the net with a corner that sailed over Andre Onana’s outstretched arm in a crowded six-yard box.
The points were sealed in the eighth minute of added time when, as United chased an equaliser, Wolves broke, and Cunha squared the ball for Hwang Hee-chan to make it 2-0.
In recent weeks, Amorim has tried and failed to make his side more secure, but Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, and Bournemouth have also capitalised on United’s frailty at defending balls pumped into their box during a run of five defeats in seven games in all competitions.
Amorim has now collected seven points from his six league games in charge. By contrast, new Wolves boss Vitor Pereira has six points from two games, as he followed up the weekend win at Leicester with a first home victory over United since 2019.
Also, Tottenham lost 0-1 to a blistering Nottingham Forest.
