Top 10 Premier League Matches of the 2023/24 Season

It cannot be denied: this Premier League season has been one of the most ridiculous, most chaotic, most entertaining in quite some time. A season full of goals and controversies, at various moments I was wondering what on earth was I actually watching: it doesn’t help that I support Man United. We’ll get to them later.

I thought a nice way to celebrate this fun season capped off by Man City making history would be to do a top 10 list of the best Premier League matches of the season. Now, I won’t tell you how I’ve come to compile this list: it’s just my opinion, and if you don’t like it you know where the x is on your desktop.

There are some honourable mentions: Liverpool 4-2 Tottenham, Man United 2-2 Liverpool, and Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal didn’t make the list despite their entertainment value and significance because either they simply didn’t live up to expectations or I didn’t watch the games. So, onward we trudge.

10: Crystal Palace 2-3 Everton

When Everton were dealt with the 10 point deduction, Sean Dyche and co knew they had a mission on their hands. But they went on a remarkable undefeated run, which included their impressive victory over a talented, albeit soft, Crystal Palace side. This bout showed the quality that players such as Abdoulaye Doucouré, Vitaliy Mykolenko, and Gana Gueye have. A competitive game with a thrilling finish, you wouldn’t think it was a three o’clock kick off game.

9: Luton Town 3-4 Arsenal

Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if some would say this match’s position on this list is rather harsh. Newly promoted Luton pushing title contenders Arsenal to their limit in a seven-goal thriller (yes, that word will be used over and over and over again in this list - I’m sorry). And yes: Luton played very well, Declan Rice got the Gunners the victory in stoppage time, there were seven goals in the game. But, in hindsight, this match revealed how Arsenal wasn’t ready to win the league. Although getting a late goal to win the match appeared to have signalled Arsenal was gunning for the league title, it actually showed that they still were a mentally weak side: they let in three goals against Luton Town. Enough said.

8: Liverpool 4-3 Fulham

I loathe Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp, and I’m glad that Klopp’s conceit in revealing that he was leaving at the end of the season backfired on him! But I won’t lie, the side scored some stunning goals this season. Many of them are found in their classic with Fulham. Now Trent Alexander-Arnold may not know how to defend, but he sure knows how to bend one in from qway. This game turned out to be a highlight reel of Liverpool’s best goals this season.

7: Bournemouth 4-3 Luton Town

The match that let me know that Luton was definitely getting relegated irrespective of their level of fight or Ross Barkley’s quality performances. 3-0 up against Bournemouth, a team that - noah fence - no one, absolutely no one - even their own fans, really cares about. Bournemouth are that inoffensive, milqutoast side that everyone knows will stay up but won’t perform beyond their expectations. So, when Bournemouth showed fight, and succeeded, by coming back from 3-0 down, everyone who had eyes to see the game, or ears to hear the final score, knew that Luton had their fun in the top flight, and will probably never be in it for a very, very, very long time.

6: Wolves 3-4 Man Utd

Yeah, here we go. Manchester United: I mean, this team this season has been something else. I wrote a match review of this game so I won’t go into so much detail but it summed up everything great (youth, talent, beautiful attacking football) and awful (defensive ineptitude and lack of resolve) about United this season. It was a breathtaking game nonetheless.

5: Newcastle 2-3 Man City

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle side is a team that I expect to do very well in the coming seasons and the match they had against champions Man City at St. James’s Park demonstrated to us that they will be a serious footballing side when Howe’s project comes together. A match full of quality goals, it’s probably the most even Premier League match I’ve seen in a while, only settled by a returning Kevin De Bruyne who reminded us that he will go down in history as one of the best footballers of his generation.

4: Man City 3-3 Tottenham

My friend who lives a stone’s throw away from the Etihad stadium (Hey Daniel, I hope you’re enjoying this list so far?) told me that throughout the game the Spurs fans were the only fans you could hear. Now, it’s common knowledge that City fans are some of the worst fans in the league, but I think this was also because everyone - even Spurs fans - were expecting Spurs to be given their arses back to them. But it didn’t happen. If anything, it was proposterous how Spurs came away from that game with a draw: Dejan Kulusevski scored probably the best headed goal he’ll ever score, and that refereeing decision at the end of the game was ridiculous. The match was full of drama to say the least.

3: Tottenham 1-4 Chelsea

The game that ignited the Premier League season. I would say the rivalry between Spurs and Chelsea is probably the most underrated rivalry in Premier League history. Hands down the Battle of the Bridge in 2016 is one the best derby matches the Premier League has ever witnessed. And this match, at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, with Mauricio Pochettino coming back to his old stomping ground, had everything. VAR decisions, red cards, penalties, chances galore, brilliant commentary on Sky Sports, and completely laughable moments such as Nicolas Jackson scoring possibly the shittest hat-trick I’ve ever seen. The game had a heavyweight boxing feel to it: it was a real treat to watch.

2: Chelsea 4-3 Man Utd

I mean, what the hell was this game. It was pure playground football. I remember when I was in year two, I was on a team with Nathan Fuma (who ended up being an academy player for Reading) and we came back from 5-0 down to draw 5-5 all through our hard work. It was a match that was just attack vs attack: no defences, no midfields, literally it was just who scored the most won. That type of match happened when we (United) travelled to Stamford Bridge late on in the season. The match left me speechless. Here’s my review of it.

1: Chelsea 4-4 Man City

Yeah, the match that told the world that Cole Palmer was the real deal. Peter Drury brilliantly summed up this revelation in a single quote: “City’s boy is now Chelsea’s man”. This match was end-to-end. Chelsea, for all their problems, showed real character. They never gave up, and they showed that they could push great teams to their limit if they had their heads screwed on. It was a genuine classic, a real thriller, a Premier League match that will be included in the brand’s video packages for years to come.