10 things we learned from Week 37 of the 2023-24 Premier League season
Above all else, matchweek 37 showed us that the 2023-24 Premier League title race will go to the season's final day, Championship Sunday next weekend, after Arsenal and Manchester City leapfrogged each other back and forth once again.
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And all this with a quite high-profile Monday game still to come, as Aston Villa bid to seal a Champions League spot by upending Liverpool in its penultimate game with Jurgen Klopp at the helm (Watch live at 3pm ET on USA Network and streaming online via NBC.com).
Here are 10 thoughts from our writers, as Joe Prince-Wright, Andy Edwards, and Nick Mendola share their observations from the most recent PL games.
10 things we learned from Week 37 of the 2023-24 Premier League season
Man United avoid (some) further embarrassment with robust team selection
Manchester United began brightly enough as they weathered a heavy storm of Arsenal pressure in the first five minutes and found safe footing with four defensive midfielders through the spine of the team. Unfortunately for the Red Devils, one of the four, Casemiro, was deployed at center back once again, and it was he whose inexperience at the position led to Arsenal's goal. As Andre Onana booted the ball forward to the halfway line, Casemiro was caught out walking back into shape along the backline, which allowed Ben White, who quickly won the ball back, to play an aggressive ball forward to Kai Havertz on the right wing, in a spot that would have otherwise had him miles offside. Onside instead, Havertz streaked into the penalty area, played a simple cross (right by Casemiro, who sped up very little to recover as the play developed) to Trossard at the near post for a simple finish from two yards out. — Andy Edwards
Gvardiol’s late-season surge sums up Guardiola’s brilliance
When Josko Gvardiol signed for Manchester City from RB Leipzig last summer for close to $100 million, one of the meanest defensive units in Europe gained one of the best young defenders. But it has taken Gvardiol, 22, time to settle in at City and now we are seeing why Pep Guardiola is such a brilliant coach who can take even the top young talents on the planets to new levels. Gvardiol is playing as a left back in a fluid defensive system which actually encourages him to drift inside and play more as a wing-back and push forward. That is not an easy thing to do for a player who was largely seen as a physical, traditional center back. Not anymore. Gvardiol has scored five goals in his last seven games for City, including two in the rout at Fulham, and the way he’s remained patient this season is a testament to his mentality. He has improved on the ball and his timing of runs while still keeping defensive solidity. It has taken so many City players almost a full season to grasp what Guardiola wants for them when they arrive at the club, as he challenges them to do things that don’t come naturally, then tells them to use their strengths as it all comes together perfectly as part of this wonderfully-crafted Man City machine. Gvardiol is a perfect example of a player that Guardiola has improved over this season who is providing something totally different to what was expected from him. That is why Pep Guardiola is, and will continue to be: the best coach of players on an individual basis in the world. He of course is one of the best managers in history overall but if you look at the way he’s improved Rodri, John Stones, Phil Foden, Kevin de Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva in this City side and redefined their roles, there’s no doubting his genius to see things other managers wouldn't spot.— Joe Prince-Wright
Health means wealth for improving Blues
Go back to the day Chelsea completed their summer shopping and tell Mauricio Pochettino he'd get 29 minutes out of Romelo Lavia and get 10 or less Premier League appearances from Christopher Nkunku and Reece James. Tell him Ben Chilwell would get only 771 minutes and Wesley Fofana wouldn't play at all. It might change his expected points total a bit. Well, James and Nkunku finally returned for the Blues on Saturday and Raheem Sterling was back from a shorter but still significant spell on the sidelines. There's a reason Chelsea are hitting high notes late in the season and it's a combination of a full season playing Pochettino's system and a full(ish) complement of players for him to select on any given Saturday. The side's still young, but it's no longer a matter of whether Chelsea will be strong again, but how strong and how quickly. — Nick Mendola
Porro, Van de Ven goals highlight importance of full backs to Ange-ball
Tottenham were level seven minutes later after going behind, as Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson played a one-two to send the Spaniard into even more space than Jacob Bruun Larsen had on Burnley's goal. Goalkeeper Arijanet Muric was beaten at the near post from a difficult, tight angle. Ange Postecoglou’s side eventually took control of the game midway through the second half, after a few back-and-forth chances, and it was Micky van de Ven, who shifted to left back with Oliver Skipp coming off, who got the late winner. James Maddison found the big Dutchman on the edge of the penalty area, Van de Ven danced around the ball and slotted an off-balance, left-footed finish past Muric for PL goal no. 3 of his debut season.
— Andy Edwards
Luton Town entertained us like their Premier League lives depended on it
That Luton even had a (very real) path to beating relegation heading into matchweek 37 was a massive upset of the odds. At -300, they were leading favorites to be relegated when the season began back in August. Under Rob Edwards, they have scored 50 PL goals this season (10 and 15 more than Burnley and Sheffield United, the other two relegated sides) and played like they backed themselves to beat every side they faced. Leicester hit 51 goals en route to an 18th-place finish last season and Luton have 50 with a game still to play this season. Prior to that, the last relegated side to top 50 PL goals was Blackpool in 2010-11. The Hatters scored and conceded (there’s the catch, and ultimately the reason they’re going down) in 30 of 37 games so far, setting a new PL record in the process. — Andy Edwards
Seagulls get the goalkeeping to get the point
It's not easy to go to St. James' Park and get a point, especially when the Magpies have top-six aims and your visiting side is making one of the longer treks in the Premier League amid a relatively-meaningless run-in to the end of an exhausting, Europa League-congested season. Two things helped Brighton in a big way. First, it must be said that the still-injured Magpies were forced to lineup four fullbacks across the back, and only Dan Burn could be viewed as a traditional center back. The other facet was a very good day commanding the box by Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen. He has not been a big-time shot stopper in his first season replacing Robert Sanchez, but he had one of his very best days on Saturday and that got the Seagulls a point.— Nick Mendola
Eagles have to keep star playmakers around
Five wins from six is an incredible run for most Premier League teams. But for Palace to do it just when it looked like they could get dragged into the relegation battle late in the season is even more impressive. There are reasons they’re surging heading into the summer months: Eze and Olise. The star No. 10 duo tormented Wolves in Palace’s latest win as Olise scored a stunner and set up the move for Mateta’s goal with a non-chalantly lobbed pass; He and Eze could have scored before that, and Eze scored the clincher in the second half. The way they glide across the pitch individually and as a collective is a joy to watch. It’s like they’re connected by an invisible piece of string. The duo never stray too far from one another and are ready to find space for a pass or be in a position to make a flick to the other to take the pressure off Palace’s defense. Of course, playing the way they are means that the big boys are circling and it will be another summer of Palace trying to push away interest in their star talents. Eze looks set to go to EURO 2024 with England, while Olise could play for France at the 2024 Olympics on home soil but his international future remains open with Nigeria, Algeria, and England all possibilities. Both could see their stock rise further and that causes a problem for Palace. Yes, they may cash in and be rewarded handsomely on two players they plucked from the Championship a few years ago. But how on earth do you replace the quality these two possess, both individually and together as a pairing?— Joe Prince-Wright
Brentford aim to prove this season was a one-off
Thomas Frank and Brentford’s players are usually happy-go-lucky characters who are excited to be in the Premier League. That's not true this season. After Ivan Toney’s ban and the piling up of big injuries, this season has become a slog for the Bees. Collecting honey with a smile on their faces they were not. But with key players returning from injury all the time, it feels like this season of struggle was a one-off. Yes, even if Toney does leave this summer as expected. At least that is what Brentford want to prove. Having Rico Henry, Bryan Mbeumo, Toney, Thomas Hickey, Kevin Schade, Ben Mee, Joshua Dasilva and so many defensive players out for huge chunks of the season has hit them hard. But they survived and next season Mbeumo, Wissa and Schade have shown enough to suggest they will score 35 goals between them in the Premier League. The link-up play between Mbeumo and Wissa to set up their late goals in the win at Bournemouth demonstrated their quality. Plus, you know Brentford are going to invest the Toney money wisely and there is no way injuries will pile up like they did this season. When you add all of that up, bet on Brentford to trend in the right direction and push for a top 10 finish once again next season.— Joe Prince-Wright
Goodison Park remains a difference-maker for Everton
The Toffees have been terrific at home since the start of April, beating Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Brentford, and now Sheffield United to surge clear of the bottom three despite multiple points deductions this season. And the Goodison Park faithful were also so important last season when Sean Dyche engineered a very different safety push. Everton are a proud and historic club, and their fans just keep finding their voices and standing behind their club regardless of the issues behind them. Like Newcastle and Aston Villa before them, they deserve better. Along with Dyche, they’ll get a chance and played no small part in making sure that chance is in the top flight.— Nick Mendola
Moyes gets fitting farewell to career-rejuvenating tenure at West Ham
There's been fair criticism of the way David Moyes has used world-class attacking talent this season at West Ham, as too often the counter-attacking Irons played like a side that didn't understand they could be significantly better than the opposition. But think about where Moyes and West Ham stood back in 2019 when he took over for the second time. Moyes had gone from an admired decade-plus at Everton to one-and-done at Manchester United, Real Sociedad, and Sunderland, the last of whom ended ugly on and off the pitch as he lost his temper with a reporter in an ugly incident. The Irons? Oof. They were in the relegation zone when Moyes was hired the first time to guide them to safety, then repeated the feat when Manuel Pellegrini had the team a point above the line in December 2019. What followed was safety, then sixth place and seventh place. West Ham reached the Europa League semifinals under Moyes, then won the Conference League, and returned to the UEL semis to be cut down by a nearly-perfect Bayer Leverkusen in the quarterfinals. He did a remarkable job. Perhaps it's fair to call time in order to persuade Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, and Mohammed Kudus that they can hit their attacking heights at this club, but a large of number of clubs shouldn't hesitate to turn to the Scot as their next boss. — Nick Mendola
