Matchday 18 - Quick Round Up

Match Day 18 Round Up



Friday 26th December


Manchester United 1-0 Newcastle United

In the first half, Man Utd were by far the better team, playing a back four which seemed to suit their players so much better than Amorim's usual back three set up. Dorgu was a revelation as a right winger, though it must be said Newcastle were terrible and made it very easy for him. In the second half, Man Utd sat back on their lead and looked a poor team, but Newcastle were just worse. It was a terrible game for the Toon, who looked like a relegation battler with no real quality to their play other than pace in wide areas. They look like a team going backwards under Howe now, it is hard to see him holding onto his job for next season. If things keep on as they are, he could well be looking for a new job much sooner.

Starmen:
Dorgu - excelled as a right winger, though he did look back to his usual lack of ability when he reverted to the left side later in the game.
Ugarte - grew into the game and gave the Newcastle midfield a real battle.
Hall - was the only player in a Newcastle shirt who turned up.

Flops:
Woltemade - got little service to be fair.
Murphy - his limitations held him back badly.



Saturday 27th December


Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester City

Forest will be really disappointed with this result, for a number of reasons, despite putting up a spirited performance. Firstly, they did not create anything like enough, against a City side which looked a bit leggy at times. Mainly though, it was the lack of a second yellow for Dias that will have upset the Garibaldi. How on earth he got away with it, I really will never know. If the referee had not seen it, I could have understood, but he saw the foul and gave a free kick. It was as blatant a yellow as they come. City still look like a team that are vulnerable, but they do play some nice stuff going forward, probably the most entertaining of the Guardiola era as they have added more directness to their play.

Starmen:
Anderson - looked the one player on City's level as a player.
Cherki - he did have one moment of stroppiness, throwing his arms up and standing around whining, but he was the key creator in the side other than that.

Flops:
Hudson-Odoi - failed to impose himself on the game enough.
Savona - looked a bit lightweight.


Liverpool 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

A game that saw Liverpool strolling to victory in the first half, only for Slot to make tactical changes at half time and allow Wolves into the game. Then Konate had his usual moment of stupidity and gifted a free header for them to score. Wolves were the most negative team I can remember seeing, they had completely ceded the game from the kick off, and probably could not believe their luck how Liverpool came out for the second half. They looked to be settling in just to keep the score down, only to find themselves suddenly under no pressure. They are such a poor side at the moment, that they failed to take full advantage.

Starmen:
Wirtz - finally opened his Liverpool account with a goal and was generally very good and at the heart of everything good Liverpool did. Particularly in the first half, when he was allowed to play with freedom.
Ekitike - unlucky not to score himself, but also did really well to win the ball back and then play Wirtz in for his goal.
Frimpong - created the first goal with an excellent run.
Mane - really impressed on his full debut, but just needed a bit of help from his teammates.

Flops:
Konate - at fault for another goal as he was too busy play acting to just deal with the ball in.
Mac Allister - all too familiar pair letting their teammates down, him and Konate. Mac Allister is having the worst season I can remember seeing any player have and continue to get picked. At best, he is anonymous.
Hee-Chan - flits in and out of the game.
Doherty - looks like a player whose legs went 3 years ago and is astonished to still be getting picked.


West Ham United 0-1 Fulham

The Hammers are in danger of going out of the Premier League with a whimper. Nuno seems determined to avoid playing their one and only striker, Wilson, no matter what, even though he has been scoring goals. Instead, he has been cycling through all their other players in the striker position. The negativity of his tactics has actually been astonishing considering the position they are in. A team in need of wins, playing to not lose. Crazy. Fulham are, as usual, up and down, though currently on a good run. They had an easy day of it at the London Stadium, not really needing to do much to win.

Starmen:
Jimenez - scored the winner.
Robinson - got forward pretty much at will.

Flops:
Scarles - he made an error, but it should be a good learning experience for the youngster in the long term.
Summerville - looked lightweight and failed to make an impact.


Arsenal 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

A bit of a grind, with Arsenal clearly the better side but failing to really press home their advantage and allowing the Seagulls to get back into it. This should have been a stroll in the park for the Gunners, Brighton are playing poorly and never really looked like having the quality to match Arsenal. It feels like the same story every week with the Gooners, they are just so cautious they give their opponent a chance, when they are good enough to overwhelm them. So far it has not cost them enough to stop them leading the Premier League, even though they have yet to really figure out how to work with Gyokeres up front. Is this finally the year Arteta's big spending begins to repay itself?

Starmen:
Odegaard - finally starting to look back to something approaching his best. They have needed him back and firing for a while.
Saka - like Odegaard, he is beginning to refind his top form.
Gomez - another goal for Brighton's Paraguayan attacker.

Flops:
Gruda - his error cost Brighton a goal.
Coppola - was run ragged until he was taken off.


Brentford 4-1 Bournemouth

Brentford demolished a struggling Cherries side, with a bit of help from another awful performance from Petrovic. Brentford have been able to mostly hold on to their players and have a settled team, while Bournemouth are a rebuilt defence, which suffers badly in terms of quality compared to last season. It is difficult to see what Iraola can do with this squad, which is stretched so badly over the busy Christmas schedule. The Bees were able to take full advantage and keep themselves in contention for European football.

Starmen:
Thiago - the striker caused Bournemouth no end of problems and got himself an assist.
Schade - his lightning pace is always useful and it helped him to a hat-trick.
Kayode - another good performance from the long throw specialist.
Semenyo - the rest of the team is struggling, but he is still looking good and it is little wonder there is so much interest in his services. He scored once more.

Flops:
Henry - looked rusty and his error resulted in Bournemouth's goal.
Bournemouth defence and keeper - shambolic. All of them were shambolic.


Burnley 0-0 Everton

If ever a game summed up bore draw, this was it. Two cautious managers more interested in not losing, it really did sum up the pair of them. Everton were the better side, they have better players, but they just did not do enough to get the win.

Starmen:
Dubravka - had a fine game in the Clarets goal.
Ekdal - defender well.
Keane - he looks a player transformed this season.

Flops:
Bruun Larsen - needs to offer more to the team.
Beto - the Toffees desperately need a striker.


Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa

Chelsea were much the better team in the first half, against a Villa side that looked flat. The problem was that they scored just one and that gave Villa hope. The second half saw Villa overrun Chelsea, who looked a mess at the back, causing themselves almost as many problems as Villa were. Villa still do not look good though, overall, despite the run of results they are on and position in the table. They are just very clinical, something which can fail a team at any time.

Starmen:
Sanchez - has improved massively.
Watkins - came on and scored two. Has he finally found his shooting boots?

Flops:
Badiashile - always capable of making a bad error and he did so again.
Chalobah - he does not look comfortable alongside Badiashile at all.
Caicedo - looked a bit leggy.
Malen - very poor.
Buendia - like Malen, failed to impress.



Sunday 28th December

Sunderland 1-1 Leeds United

A fiery encounter between two promoted sides who look very likely to survive to see a second season in the Premier League. An entertaining clash between two sides who could never face complaints about lack of effort from supporters, as they gave 100%. Leeds will be annoyed at the challenges on Rodon, which led to his injury, as they were borderline and caused an injury, which was then compounded by the second challenge. Though you would also have to question the decision to not take him off immediately after the first one, when it was clear he was injured and needed to come off. It was a game which saw Sunderland start off at a furious pace and threaten to overwhelm Leeds early on, but Leeds weathered the storm and grew into the game. It ended up being a game Leeds were unlucky not to win, as they were the better side overall. Admittedly this was a weakened Mackem team, but at this time of year all the teams are under strength, as injuries, suspension, AFCON and the need to rotate takes its toll on squads, and Leeds were certainly not at full strength, even before losing key man Rodon to injury. It must be said that the injury might even have ended up helping to a degree, as it led to a formation change, returning to a back four and Leeds looked a lot better in that system.

Starmen:
Adingra - his pace is always a problem and he got their goal.
Xhaka - still key for the Mackems.
Stach - looking a real powerhouse of a midfielder who is getting better and better by the game.
Aaronson - in the past he has always looked too weak to make it in the Prem, but this season he has finally become more robust and his game has improved so much due to it.
Ampadu - is starting to develop into the player Chelsea thought he would be when they bought him from Exeter City all those years ago.

Flops:
Geertruida - they really miss Sadiki in that role in midfield.
Brobbey - his goal threat is virtually non-existent.
Rigg - he has struggled to break into the team this season. The youngster has a lot to learn to step up to this level.
Nmecha - offered little after coming on.


Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Palace have hit a worrying patch of form, with their forwards all struggling for goals. Even more worrying as they lost to this Spurs side which, let's be perfectly honest here, is not a good side at all. And that is me being polite about just how bad they are under Frank. It says a lot that that man of the match was Richarlison, who is also not very good, though extremely hard working and always comes across as a nice lad off the pitch. On it though, his biggest skill is shithousery, and he is not even particularly good at that, as his playacting and diving rarely fools anyone, even a Premier League referee. I do wonder if the uncertainty surrounding Glasner's future, well I say uncertainty but we all know he is leaving at the end of the season as he thinks he is too big for Palace, is affecting the team. The next two transfer windows are going to be huge for the future of Palace.

Starmen:
Lacroix - always looks like he could do a lot more than he is allowed to do in Glasner's limited system.
Richarlison - very much suited to Frank's football.
Gray - scored the Spurs goal.
Danso - a very inconsistent player, but good on his day and this was one of those. The defence looked much better organised without the mayhem, rashness and idiocy of the vastly overrated Romero in it.

Flops:
Clyne - astonishing he finds time to play football between his trips to private islands with Instagram 'models' for days long parties!
Devenny - should have scored and looks a way off Premier League level right now.
Mateta - struggled badly.

Written by Tris Burke December 31 2025 08:16:16