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It was the weekend before Christmas, when all hell broke loose in the Premier League.
The 17th round of matches began with the continuation of Manchester City’s strange relegation form and came to a breathless close with a wonderfully silly nine-goal thriller between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. There was even a wild edge in this weekend’s 0-0 draws.
Here are the players who gave the final push to Santa’s nice list.
Enzo Maresca was one of the few people who came away completely happy from Sunday’s draw between Everton and Chelsea. However, Robert Sánchez also deserved a little smile for himself.
For the second week in a row, the Blues relied on their divisive goaltender to stay in contention. Either side of half-time, Sánchez denied Everton a number of clear scoring opportunities, preserving just his fourth clean sheet of the season.
After scoring a hat-trick against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, many wondered if Gabriel Jesus would get the chance to start in Arsenal’s next match against the same rival. For Mikel Arteta, it was never a doubt. “I had no doubt,” insisted the Gunners coach. “When a player is in that moment, he has to play.”
Jesus rewarded his manager’s faith with his first Premier League goal in 11 months. The Brazilian added another in a chaotic opening 15 minutes before Arsenal finally claimed a 5-1 victory.
Unai Emery is not one for hyperbole, but the Aston Villa manager was so taken aback by Morgan Rogers’ performance against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon that he used the word “fantastic” three times in less than 60 seconds.
The former City youth player was at the center of both goals in Villa’s 2-1 home win, creating the first for Jhon Durán before finishing off a move that began with a blistering run from inside his own half.
On a night in which almost every Liverpool player impressed, Luis Diaz deserves individual recognition for his role in a 6-3 victory over Spurs that must have proved particularly cathartic.
The Colombia international who had been so controversially denied a goal at Tottenham last year scored twice on Sunday, capping the nine-goal bonanza with a pair of clinical (and legal) strikes.
The first Olympic athletes were awarded laurel wreaths, Roman gladiators were able to gain their freedom, and today’s footballers are being forced to perform increasingly specific statistics.
Mohamed Salah is a fan of any flattering data or tidbit, and Jurgen Klopp previously revealed that his striker is the first to know about any data milestone. Two goals and as many assists against Spurs in another minimalist masterpiece saw Salah reach double figures in both statistical categories faster in a given season than anyone else in Premier League history.
Alexander Isak has scored consistently since finding the net in the 38th minute of his Premier League debut against Liverpool in 2022. However, over the next two and a half years, the powerful Newcastle forward never went away with the match ball.
Isak completed his first hat-trick in English football during the 4-0 win against Ipswich Town on Saturday. While he was “excited” about the performance, the 25-year-old admitted: “It’s been a long time coming.”
