Gameweek 19 saw Liverpool host Manchester City in a battle of the biggies and the Reds reigned supreme at Anfield, courtesy a Georginio Wijnaldum goal. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Spurs all won their games and so did the mightily impressive Burnley, Bournemouth and West Brom.
Manchester United came back from a goal’s deficit to take all 3 points against Middlesbrough, despite having their first goal chalked off. Leicester City closed off their dream year with a gritty win against West Ham, while Everton drew their game away against a resurgent Hull City.
The New Year heralded gameweek 20 with just over 40 hours of Premier League football break.
Boro and the Foxes fought out a goalless stalemate while Sunderland held Liverpool to a 2-all draw at the Stadium of Light. Manchester City beat Burnley while United trumped West Ham at the London Stadium. West Brom and Stoke City notched up 3 points while Swansea City finally showed some steel to beat Crystal Palace.
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Arsenal survived a scare at Bournemouth; Wenger’s men managed to come back into the game after falling two goals behind to end the game 3-3. The biggest result though was at London as Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs beat Chelsea 2-0 at the White Hart Lane to bring a halt to the visitors’ 13-game winning run.
In this article, we take a look at the best /worst performances, along with players and moments that proved to be turning points in their games.
Gameweek 19
#1 Best goal: Olivier Giroud
Match: Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
Olivier Giroud scored a second goal in as many starts for Arsenal this season, beginning the New Year celebrations with a goal-of-the-season contender.
Giroud’s scorpion kick was as spectacular as they come and the Palace defenders along with keeper Wayne Hennessey could only watch in wonder as the Frenchman flicked a superb Alexis Sanchez cross into the net.
Earlier, the Arsenal striker had dropped deep and was involved in a neat build-up play during the counter-attack before continuing a superb run to get on the end of the cross. His desire to get into the box in time was commendable.
What was unexpected though was the manner in which he scored, with the crowd gasping “Wow” in unison following the finish.
Honourable mentions: Willian (2nd goal vs Stoke City), Diego Costa (vs Stoke City), Hal Robson-Kanu (vs Southampton)
Gameweek 20
Best goal: Wilfried Zaha
Match: Crystal Palace vs Swansea
Palace fell behind at home against Swansea City but Zaha brought them level with a stunning volley in the second half. The Ivorian’s strike from 18 yards in the 83rd minute of the game gave his side hopes of taking something from the game.
Yohan Cabaye and Fraizer Campbell were involved in the build-up before the latter played the ball out to Martin Kelly. The former Liverpool man swung a low cross into the box which Zaha volleyed in while almost lying stretched on the ground.
His move caught the entire Swansea defence off-guard; in fact, he was behind the Welsh side’s players as he attempted what looked impossible. 2017 was ushered in with some excellent goals and Zaha’s takes the cake for the game-week.
Honourable mentions: Sergio Aguero (vs Burnley), Romelu Lukaku (vs Southampton), Lucas Perez (vs Bournemouth), Robert Snodgrass (vs West Brom)
Gameweek 19
#2 Defensive bedrock: Kasper Schmeichel
Match: Leicester City vs West Ham
The Foxes led through Islam Slimani’s goal within 20 minutes of the start but the game was seen off through sheer grit and guts by the home side.
Leicester’s slender lead – and therefore, 3 points – was preserved courtesy of a series of brilliant saves and blocks by the excellent Kasper Schmeichel, who kept his first clean sheet since the first week of October.
Schmeichel was alert, decisive and effective every time he was called to action, producing a series of stops off Payet and the dangerous Antonio. His most notable save came off Aaron Cresswell’s free kick – a goal-line save from a deflection.
Honourable mentions: Toby Alderweireld (vs Watford), Dejan Lovren (vs Manchester City), Wayne Hennessey (vs Arsenal), Nathan Ake (vs Burnley)
Gameweek 20
Defensive bedrock: Toby Alderweireld
Match: Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea
Given the unenviable task of keeping the league’s top scorer at bay, Alderweireld, stuck to his job (and man) and executed it to perfection as calm as a cucumber. The Belgian was rock solid at the heart of the Spurs defence as Chelsea’s unbeaten run was derailed in North London.
A lot of it, along with the fact that the hosts kept a clean sheet against the third most prolific scorers in the Premier League was down to this man. Alderweireld marked his man efficiently, leaving him with no room to manoeuvre and was alert to any potential threat.
Honourable mentions: David de Gea (vs West Ham), Ben Foster (vs Hull City), Papy Djilobodji (vs Liverpool), Leighton Baines (vs Southampton)
Gameweek 19
#3 Standout player: Andre Gray
Match: Burnley vs Sunderland
Gray continued from where he left off against Boro, notching up an impressive hat-trick in a brilliant performance for the Clarets. It makes him Burnley’s first striker since 1975 to score a top-flight treble since Peter Noble.
His feat saw Burnley rake up 3 crucial points at the Turf Moor and most importantly, stick close to the middle of the league table. His first goal was a result of a well-timed run to take advantage of a botched clearance by John O’Shea.
The second showcased his strength and ability as he shook off Papy Djilobodji, who was clearly trying to impede him by tugging and pulling. His third resulted from a lovely ball by Ashley Barnes that cleared the Sunderland defence; Gray got on the end of it and faced with an empty net, scored to delirious applause from the home fans.
Honourable mentions: Dele Alli (vs Watford), Willian (vs Stoke City), Anthony Martial (vs Middlesbrough), Matt Philips (vs Southampton), Marc Albrighton (vs West Ham)
Gameweek 20
Standout player: Dele Alli
Match: Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea
He may be all of 20 years but is the man of the moment. After a smashing display on New Year’s day against the Hornets away, Dele Alli continued his marauding form and delivered on a big occasion.
With a brace against league leaders, Chelsea – two wonderful headers from sumptuous crosses courtesy of the superb Christian Eriksen – the English youngster announced his arrival in 2017.
The timing of his goals was perfect and the finishes commendable. For his second of the night, there were probably three Chelsea players close to his face but that didn’t deter or discourage the Spurs forward from jumping tallest to head in at the far post, well beyond Courtois.
Honourable mentions: Marcus Rashford (vs West Ham), Ross Barkley (vs Southampton), Gareth McAuley (vs Hull City), Alexis Sanchez (vs Bournemouth)
Gameweek 19
#4 Best team performance(s)(a) Bournemouth
Jack Wilshere – on loan from Arsenal – starred for the Cherries who brushed aside a hapless, clueless Swansea side at the Liberty Stadium on New Year’s eve.
The Welsh side lacked in creativity, intent and penetration as Eddie Howe’s side dominated them throughout and deservedly won by an excellent margin of 3 goals while keeping a clean sheet.
While Benik Afobe, Ryan Fraser and Josh King scored for Bournemouth to ensure the Cherries saw off the last game of 2016 on a winning note, it was Wilshere along with Junior Stanislas, who dictated the tempo and direction of the game.
Swansea barely had any chances and when they did, Howe’s men were alert to any danger. Impressive performance indeed!
(b) Tottenham Hotspur
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Spurs decimated a tame opposition in Watford, a team that did not even look like they had turned up at all.
Mauricio Pochettino would have been a happy man and he had every right to be – his team did not even have to be at 100% to comfortably see off Watford. A crucial fixture for the Londoners – up against league leaders Chelsea next – saw the visitors toying with their opponents for the most part.
Harry Kane recorded a brace, assisted twice by an excellent Kieran Trippier; Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose were superb too, but it was Dele Alli who starred for his team with a thrilling performance.
Honourable mentions: Burnley, West Brom, Manchester United, Chelsea
Gameweek 20
Best team performance: Tottenham Hotspur
The Londoners are on a hot run at the moment and in a derby against Antonio Conte’s Chelsea, showed the visitors that there is still a long way to go before the Premier League title can be surely called in favour of the Blues.
Spurs dismantled Watford on New Year’s with ease; they dealt with Chelsea patiently, calmly and delivered when it mattered.
Pochettino’s men put a halt to the league leaders’ 13-match winning run, thereby ensuring that Conte’s side do not set a new PL record. The Argentine will have much to be proud of on a night when his team delivered all across the pitch and raked up 3 points to leap to third place.
Not only did the hosts manage to score two goals against the visitors, they also kept them from scoring, despite having to deal with the top scorer in the league – Diego Costa – and the dangerous Eden Hazard, who were quite wasteful on the night.
Honourable mentions: Everton, Manchester City, Sunderland, Bournemouth
Gameweek 19
#5 Worst / most ineffective player: Papy Djilobodji
Match: Burnley vs Sunderland
Djilobodji had an afternoon to forget at the Turf Moor as he put in a performance that belied his recent solid outings for the Black Cats.
The Senegalese defender has been dependable in recent Sunderland games but against the Clarets, he was probably at his worst. Djilobodji was culpable for more than one Burnley goal and the fact that he couldn’t keep up with Andre Gray was clear as daylight, what with his pulling and impeding the Burnley striker.
He will have to be better than on this evidence if Sunderland have any intention of climbing out of the relegation zone.
Honourable mentions: Jordi Amat (vs Bournemouth), Angelo Ogbonna (vs Leicester City), Étienne Capoue (vs Tottenham Hotspur), Cuco Martina (vs West Brom)
Gameweek 20
Worst / most ineffective player: Fernandinho
Match: Manchester City vs Burnley
Manchester City’s midfielder should have known better than to commit a rash scissor challenge so early into the game.
Fernandinho’s tackle was reckless, mistimed and as ridiculous as they come, and the referee was spot on in sending him off.
30 minutes into a crucial game in the New Year, the Brazilian made a two-footed lunge on Burnley’s Johann Berg Gudmundsson resulting in a straight red. In doing so, he was not only callous but also indifferent to the fact that his team would have to play with a man less for more than an hour.
It was also his second red card of the season in the league and third in six games across all competitions. At the time of writing this article, his appeal against the red card had been rejected and he is set to face a 4-game ban.
Honourable mentions: Andros Townsend (vs Swansea), Sebastian Prodl (vs Stoke City), Hector Bellerin (vs Bournemouth), Emre Can (vs Sunderland)
Gameweek 19
#6 Unlucky miss(es): Anthony Martial (vs Middlesbrough), Seamus Coleman (vs Hull City), Michail Antonio (vs Leicester City), Robert Snodgrass (vs Everton) and Dele Alli (vs Watford)
It is practically impossible to pick only one of these five strikes as unlucky.
Each was struck with power, intent technique and would have seen the scoreboard tick for their respective teams. Martial was the man for United as the Red Devils beat Middlesbrough, but the youngster’s equaliser came in much after his first superb strike from range, which ricocheted off the post.
If either of Coleman or Snodgrass had scored, there may have been a result to their 2-2 stalemate. But it was not to be; the former hit the post from near post while Snodgrass managed to knock at the post from outside the box.
Aaron Cresswell’s cross found Antonio but his volleyed shot struck the top of the crossbar before going over. Dele Alli could’ve had a hat-trick to cap off a superb performance against a tepid Watford side that looked incapable of coping with him.
If not for the posts and crossbars which cruelly prevent some lovely footwork from seeing the back of the net, this segment would not be part of this write-up though!
Honourable mentions: Riyad Mahrez (vs West Ham), Paul Pogba (vs Middlesbrough)
Gameweek 20
Unlucky miss: None
Gameweek 19
#7 Controversial decisions
(a) Referee Lee Mason had a shocker but should thank his stars for his decision not costing Manchester United 3 points. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had successfully managed to score off a Martial cross but Mason ruled it out for an apparent high foot. TV replays highlighted Zlatan going for goal, having eyes only on the ball with no intent to hurt Boro keeper Victor Valdes.
(b) First, Daniel Amartey and then Håvard Nordtveit should have both seen red at the King Power where the Foxes hosted West Ham. The hosts’ midfielder escaped for his dangerous tackle on Mark Noble while Nordtveit’s nasty challenge on Ben Chilwell was unpunished.
(c) Spurs could and should have had a penalty early on in the game when Étienne Capoue stuck out a hand in the box which directly obstructed a Spurs shot but referee Michael Oliver waved play on. The visitors, however, routed their abject hosts 4-1 and the decision did not prove too costly.
Gameweek 20
Controversial decisions
(a) Referee Mike Dean sent off Sofiane Feghouli 15 minutes into the game against Manchester United, altering the nature of the game. Feghouli was on the ground when Phil Jones came sliding into him – not the other way around – and got caught in the follow-through.
Not only was it a harsh call against the Hammers, it was incorrect too - the card was rescinded by the FA later following an appeal. Slaven Bilic’s men, however, were forced to battle with a man down for the majority of the game.
That was not all from Dean and his officials, though; United’s second goal should not have counted as Zlatan had strayed offside but the linesman and Dean missed it.
(b) Referee Robert Madley missed awarding a foul and penalty to Middlesbrough after Adama Traore went to ground just inside the edge of the box following Robert Huth’s leg stuck out to trip. The offender himself acknowledged post-match that it was a foul and the oversight may have cost Boro 3 points on the occasion.
(c) Watford could have had a penalty against Stoke before the hosts buried the game with two goals. The ball struck Glen Johnson’s arm but referee Neil Swarbrick did not deem it fit to call; whether a potential goal could have lifted an otherwise abject Hornets is not the point here.
