Down To Penalty Kicks

[Dianan]

"The final whistle sounded and the match went down to penalty kicks."
"The final whistle sounded and the match came down to penalty kicks."

Does one emphasize that the match temporally progressed to the penalty kicks, and the other emphasize that the match would then be decided by penalty kicks? Which one is which?

[SoothingDave]

They both mean the same thing.

[Dianan]

So, both have the COMBINED meaning that the match temporally progressed to the penalty kicks, and the match would then be decided by penalty kicks?

[Rover_KE]

It's simpler than that.

'The match had to be decided by penalty kicks.'

Rover

[Dianan]

Suppose we are talking about Premier League Football, and after 37 matches in a particular season, both Man United and Arsenal are tied for the top spot and they have one match left against each other. If I want to say how one match will decide the winner of the league, could the one of the following be correct?

"After 37 matches, the race for the top spot goes down to a single match."
"After 37 matches, the race for the top spot comes down to a single match."