Weekend wrap: Barca, Bayern, United, Chelsea humiliated as Liverpool win

Now that the football games from last weekend are over, it’s safe to say that it provided a lot of entertainment. From game-changing red cards, embarrassing defeats, underdog upsets, and questionable VAR decisions, end of unbeaten runs, the European top flight football delivered yet again.

We saw Manchester United and Chelsea routinely dropping points, Girona pulling a big surprise at Camp Nou, Fulham demolish West Ham, Frankfurt expose and end Bayern Munich unbeaten run, Manchester City pick up all three points for the first time in four games, while Arsenal lost to Aston Villa, Spurs run riot at Newcastle and Liverpool scoring a late winner to stay top of the Premier league table.

Manchester United 0 vs Bournemouth 3

Manchester United entered this match in fine form following their thrilling victory over Chelsea; they had won manager, player and goal of the Month of November, and had won four of their previous five league games while conceding just two goals. On the other hand, Bournemouth, who were outstanding at Old Trafford, have only recently begun to click under Andoni Iraola.

The Cherries looked extremely dangerous whenever they attacked with the ball, even though Man Utd had more than 60% of the possession in this match. Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing, and Marcos Senesi all scored goals to cap off a well-earned 3-0 victory; if Dango Ouattara hadn’t handled the ball while regaining his balance in stoppage time, the score might have been 4-0.

Iraola’s men fried the Red Devils with counterattack, and by the end of the game, they looked demolished. With Antony being a shell of the player we saw at Ajax and Andre Onana’s inconsistent season, Erik ten Hag is getting close to nothing from his high-profile additions.

Barcelona 2 vs Girona 4

Thanks to a heartbreaking 4-2 loss to Girona at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium on Sunday night, Barcelona ended the weekend in fourth place in the La Liga standings, seven points behind the leaders. Girona made a statement about their title race credentials by convincingly winning away in a derby against Barcelona. After a highly entertaining first hour in which both sides had numerous chances, they came off Matchday 16 with sole possession of first place in the La Liga table, two points ahead of second.

The win means that for the first time in the club’s history, Girona have won a game against Barcelona in LaLiga. And Girona boss Míchel has won a game against Barcelona in his career.

Frankfurt 5 vs Bayern Munich 1

A masterful performance by Eintracht Frankfurt abruptly ended Bayern Munich’s undefeated start to the Bundesliga season.

Eintracht outscored Bayern and exposed their prone defence in a thrilling first half, scoring three goals in the span of twenty-four minutes with Ansgar Knauff firing into the side netting within the first sixty seconds, Frankfurt looked completely different from the team that lost to Saarbrücken of the 3. Liga in the DFB Cup midweek.

Soon after the half-time break, Dina Ebimbe scored his second goal of the match, ending Bayern’s hopes of a comeback.

Crystal Palace 1 vs Liverpool 2

Crystal Palace was the better team and appeared to be headed for all three points for the majority of the match; the Eagles had the better chances in the first half and appeared to have won a penalty, but VAR called play back after Will Hughes was judged to have fouled Wataru Endo in the build-up.

However, Palace was awarded a penalty in the second half, and Jean-Philippe Mateta scored flawlessly from 12 yards out. When Jordan Ayew received a harsh second yellow in the 75th minute, the Reds’ fortunes drastically changed. Mohamed Salah’s 200th goal for the team levelled the scores in just one minute. Then, in the first minute of injury time, Harvey Elliott struck a spectacular goal from the edge of the box to win the match.

Despite all the setbacks, Liverpool managed to secure all three points and finished the weekend as the top team in the Premier League table.

Luton Town 1 vs Manchester City 2

This 2-1 scoreline at Kenilworth Road might have people believe City labored to a win, but this is one occasion where those numbers doesn’t do justice to the performance.

City came from behind to defeat relegation-threatened Luton Town in a match at Kenilworth Road to win their first Premier League victory in more than a month. They only allowed one dangerous chance, which was Luton’s late first-half goal – Elijah Adebayo’s header put the home team ahead just before halftime, seemingly a shocking development.

However, halfway through the second half, goals from Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish gave the defending Premier League champions a strong comeback and the victory. For Pep Guardiola’s team, ending a four-game losing streak in the top division of England, was a much-needed victory.

Everton 2 vs Chelsea 0

Everton defeated Chelsea at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon to extend their winning streak. The Toffees who were docked ten points in November, has won three straight games in the Premier League.

Lewis Dobbin scored his first goal for Everton in stoppage time, ensuring they won all three points, after Abdoulaye Doucoure broke the scoreless draw in the 54th minute.

Thanks to Vitaliy Mykolenko, Cole Palmer, who has been Chelsea’s best player and possibly the best in the Premier League this season, was kept quiet at Goodison Park.

Also see: Man City’s first UCL, Messi’s 8th Ballon D’or… Unforgettable football moments of 2023