Rosenior’s Super Subs and Gunners Masterclass - Premier League Round 24’s Saturday Matches As They Happen

Rosenior’s Super Subs and Gunners Masterclass - Premier League Round 24’s Saturday Matches in Review

The Premier League returned following the conclusion of the Champions League and Europa League group stages during midweek with five matches that would hold such importance on the standings.

Saturday brought fans 18 goals across the day's five matches, and Football Park are here to guide through the games as they happened.

Points Shared on the South Coast

Brighton 1-1 Everton Groß (73'); Beto (90'+7).

We start on the south coast in Brighton as the Seagulls welcomed high-flying Everton to the AMEX, where a win for the hosts would see them overtake their visitors.

The match got underway and it was absolutely dominated by the hosts, with the Toffees failing to register a shot on target in the opening period; despite this, the Seagulls failed to reflect any of their early dominance on the scoresheet.

Everton fought their way right back into the fixture in the second 45 minutes with Bart Verbruggen being forced into a strong save to deny Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall before James Tarkowski had his on target header blocked by his own teammate.

The Seagulls took full advantage of this blunder and took the lead just moments later, through Pascal Groß who put home a pinpoint Yasin Ayari cross. Toffees striker Beto would spoil Brighton's party by starting one of his own, with the 27-year-old bagging a late equaliser on his birthday.

Arteta's Arsenal Back on Track

Leeds 0-4 Arsenal Zubimendi (27'), Darlow (38' OG), Gyokeres (69'), Jesus (86').

Bad news came out of the Arsenal camp occurred before the game had even started, with visiting fans having to see Bukayo Saka get injured in the warm-up, leaving him a doubt for the Gunners crucial second leg tie against Chelsea in the EFL Cup.

Nonetheless, however, Arsenal brought in Noni Madueke to replace him, and the scoreline still left for very happy reading from the visiting support. Leeds conceded their first goal just before the half hour mark after defending well until then. It was a moment of magic from replacement Madueke, who swung in a perfect delivery for Martin Zubimendi to head home.

Just over 10 minutes later and Leeds saw themselves slip to two goals down, as 'keeper Karl Darlow punched the ball into his own net following yet another excellent curling cross from Madueke - this time from a corner.

The league leaders continued to pile on more pressure and looked to extend their lead even further after the interval, and found their third goal through Viktor Gyokeres with 20 minutes to go after yet another Arsenal cross outdid the home defence. Gabriel Jesus then added a fourth late in the piece as the Gunners secured a vital three points, reapplying the pressure on both Manchester City and Aston Villa, who are both yet to play this weekend.

Kroupi Stunner Gives Cherries Rare Consecutive Victory

Wolves 0-2 Bournemouth Kroupi (33'), Scott (90'+1).

In the third and final 3pm kick off of the day, 20th placed Wolves welcomed a midtable Bournemouth side looking for consecutive wins for the first time since September following their drama-filled victory over Liverpool the weekend prior.

This was a match many expected could be a goal fest, with these sides possessing two of the worst defensive records in the division. This was not the case, however, but Wolves did look the more likely to score early on, even having teenager Matheus Mane find an opening goal which was ruled out for offside.

Eli Junior Kroupi later broke the deadlock after the half hour mark with a ferocious strike to make it past Jose Sa for an opener for the visitors. Amine Adli and Alex Jimenez both came close to doubling their lead not so long after, but Sa was there to deny them.

Djordje Petrovic was then brought in for action, saving an effort from Tolu Arokodare before Jorgen Strand Larsen struck wide and Joao Gomes hit the post. The Cherries eventually got their three-point sealing goal when Alex Scott tapped home Rayan's cross.

The win moves Bournemouth up to 12th, while Wolves remain 17 points from safety with just 14 games to play.

Stoppage-Time Winner and Late Drama at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea 3-2 West Ham Pedro (57'), Cucurella (70'), Fernandez (90'+2); Bowen (7'), Summerville (36').

After a five-star performance from the Blues in their previous meeting back in August, you wouldn't think this game would be more entertaining - anyone who thought this would be proven wrong.

West Ham visited the Bridge knowing this was almost a must win, with them still in the drop zone and five points behind Nottingham Forest. They would have thought they were in dreamland too when talisman Jarrod Bowen made quick turn on the edge of the penalty area to cross the ball in... Only to find it trickled past everyone and into the goal.

The Hammers then made it 2-0 before the break through Crysencio Summerville from a strong curling effort. Chelsea were then booed off at half-time after an absolutely shocking display from their half-rotated team, with Liam Rosenior deciding to make three half-time substitutions, on top of one he had already made in the opening 45 when Jamie Gittens was taken off through injury.

The pendulum immediately swung, with Chelsea applying a lot of pressure on their guests, with Moises Caicedo firing one from range and Liam Delap also going close. One super-sub, Joao Pedro struck 15 minutes into the second period, and got the ball straight back to the halfway line as the Blues surged for an equaliser. The visitors were remaining in their position to defend and invite pressure. The issue for Nuno Espirito Santo's side is they couldn't handle much of it as a Delap header was swiftly blocked by Max Kilman before Marc Cucurella was first to the second ball, and scrambled home a glorious and ugly diving header.

The hosts then believed they could turn zero points into all three late on, and eventually found their time, when Pedro turned provider to slide one across goal rather than opting for a shot before Enzo Fernandez coolly slotted home past Alphonse Areola to give the Blues all three points. Things went from bad to worse for West Ham when Jean-Clair Todibo was shown a straight red card in stoppage-time after he appeared to hold Pedro by the throat in an awful altercation late on.

The victory puts pressure on Manchester United's game against Fulham on Sunday, but for now Chelsea sit fourth, while the Hammers remain 18th.

Ekitike Brace as Reds Glide Past Magpies

Liverpool 4-1 Newcastle Ekitike (41', 43'), Wirtz (67'), Konate (90'+3); Gordon (36').

Lastly, the topflight came to Anfield for a late kick-off as Liverpool welcomed Newcastle to Merseyside in a crucial game for both sides, with Liverpool either moving up to fifth or Newcastle up to seventh with wins.

Anthony Gordon gave the Geordies the lead after the half hour mark, thanks to a fine finish which left Newcastle in a position to win a game at Anfield for the first in almost 22 years. This hope did not last long, however, as Hugo Ekitike - a player who they had attempted to buy prior to his move to Merseyside - struck twice within two minutes of each other before the interval as his clinical finishing gave them a crucial 2-1 lead at the break.

After assisting the equaliser, Florian Wirtz continued his solid 2026 showing with another goal for the Reds, giving them a prized two-goal cushion. Ibrahima Konate went on to make it four late on in stoppage-time, following a Nick Pope mistake, and Liverpool kept the pressure on Chelsea and United in what now seems like a three-horse race for fourth.