Premier League 2019-20: 3 talking points from match week 25

Matchweek 25 saw just two goalless games with Burnley and Arsenal ending in a frustrating stalemate and Bruno Fernandes' debut for Manchester United ending in a draw. Although, other than that, plenty of goals were scored in one of the most action-packed weekends in the Premier League season so far. It was a weekend that saw Liverpool hit four past Southampton with Roberto Firmino recording a hat-trick of assists to ensure yet another Reds' victory. The win now leaves just 18 points between Liverpool and the Premier League title. Adding to this, it was also an important weekend at the other end of the table with Bournemouth coming up against Aston Villa and Watford up against Everton in two crucial games in the relegation battle. With that being said, here are 3 talking points from match week 25 of the Premier League.

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Fernandes impresses on debut despite stalemate

Bruno Fernandes was United's best player on the pitch

After the signing of Bruno Fernandes on deadline day, Manchester United would have been hoping to see a positive performance from the Portuguese midfielder's first game at the club. However, it was once again a tiresome attacking performance from United who were clearly missing an out and out number nine. The game lacked chances and in truth, what looked like being one of the games of the weekend, turned out to be one of the poorest. Nonetheless, United will still be happy with Bruno Fernandes' debut which highlighted both his passing and deadly long-range shooting ability which will become key assets for a United side in desperate need of a creative spark. The draw leaves United 6th and 6 points adrift of Chelsea in 4th.

Bruno Fernandes’ game by numbers vs. Wolves:• 88 passes (most on the pitch)• 44 final 1/3 passes (most on the pitch)• 5 shots (most on the pitch)• 5 tackles (3rd most from midfield)• 3 shots OT (most on the pitch)A constant threat from range. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/CXEPr0SlKC

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 1, 2020

West Ham's defensive frailties exposed again

With goals from Issa Diop and Robert Snodgrass in the first half, West Ham were in a good position going into the break and looked the likely winners in a crucial game at the bottom of the table. But it wasn't long before West Ham's defensive frailties were exposed once again in the second half when Brighton completed an astonishing comeback.

The first goal came in embarrassing fashion when a Łukasz Fabiański punch inadvertently found the body of Angelo Ogbonna who deflected the ball into the back of West Ham's net to put Brighton back into the game. Although, despite the end score, West Ham reacted well to the goal with a goal of their own when Robert Snodgrass' deflected striker found the net to seemingly end the game.

However, as it turns out, the game was far from over and another Brighton goal ensured this. The goal came from yet another defensive error at the back from the Hammers with Issa Diop the culprit when his poor pass back found Pascal Grob who made no mistake with the finish to make it 3-2.

And after this, it didn't take long for Brighton to complete the comeback. The third goal came when the ball fell to Glenn Murray whose clinical nature ensured the completion of the fightback and perhaps the Seagulls' (26 points) Premier League survival. The draw leaves West Ham 18th with 24 points and just a point adrift of survival.

Steven Bergwijn makes an instant impact

After signing for Spurs in the January transfer window, nobody could have predicted the start Steven Bergwijn would make. The Dutchman made his debut at the weekend against Manchester City in which he officially announced himself to the Premier League, scoring the first goal in a 2-0 victory. The goal came in stunning fashion when the debutant's classy chest control was followed by an unstoppable volley into the bottom corner to give Spurs a shock lead.

What a way to make your debut! 😲 Steven Bergwijn scores with his very first Premier League shot to help Tottenham defeat Manchester City 2-0. 🔥🔥#UCL pic.twitter.com/V4Q1uXWliN

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 2, 2020

And the second goal then came soon after when Heung Min Son found the back of the net with a deflected strike to put an end to the game and perhaps City's title hopes once and for all. However, despite the end result, it was City who looked the likely winners in the first half. And they perhaps should've taken the lead when Mike Dean awarded a penalty after the intervention from VAR.

The penalty though was missed by Ikay Gundogan to keep the scores level. What's more, things got worse for Guardiola's side in the second half when Oleksandr Zinchenko received a red card for a second bookable offence. And this summed up the game for Manchester City who made it 2 games without scoring to all but end their title defence.

To conclude, match week 25 was full of drama and has seen Manchester City's title defence near ever closer to its end with Liverpool needing just 6 more wins to confirm their first-ever Premier League title victory after City's shock defeat at Spurs, who jump to fifth on the table with 37 points.

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