Chelsea continue to march on the right track towards the title, edging out a resilient Swansea City side at the Bridge on Saturday.
Sam Allardyce finally had a smile on his face as Crystal Palace saw off Middlesbrough by a solitary goal while West Brom recorded a comeback win against Bournemouth to stay on course in their quest for a European spot.
Everton showcased an exquisite team performance against Sunderland which ensured that David Moyes’ side continued to languish at the bottom of the table, while Watford were lucky to come away with a point against the evidently better West Ham team on the night.
Hull City’s faith in Marco Silva and the manager’s deliverance of points have given hope to the Tigers in their search for points to stay afloat. They drew against Burnley, who came away with a rare away point thanks to Michael Keane’s goal.
Tottenham Hotspur demolished Stoke courtesy of a Harry Kane hat-trick while Jamie Vardy bagged a brace in Leicester City’s stunning victory over Liverpool.
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.
Disclaimer: This article covers only the 8 Premier League games played this gameweek. Please note that the Manchester Derby at the Etihad and Arsenal’s trip to St. Mary’s were postponed due to the EFL Cup finals played between Manchester United and Southampton.
#1 Best goal: Danny Drinkwater
Match: Leicester City vs. Liverpool
Jamie Vardy had given the Foxes a crucial lead against Liverpool but Leicester’s players had enough hunger to continue to probe during the game’s early exchanges.
A set piece for the home side lurked around in the box for much longer than necessary before James Milner finally got rid of it, but his clearance only managed to find Danny Drinkwater.
The Foxes midfielder volleyed the clearance from range and scored a sublime goal while all Simon Mignolet and the rest of the Reds could do was watch on in awe. Drinkwater’s goal was only Leicester’s second in all of 2017 in the Premier League but it will certainly go down as a contender for the best of the season.
Honourable mentions: Idrissa Gueye (vs. Sunderland), Cesc Fabregas (first goal vs. Swansea City), Patrick van Aanholt (vs. Middlesbrough), Michael Keane (vs. Hull City)
#2 Defensive bedrock: Idrissa Gueye
Match: Everton vs. Sunderland
Idrissa ‘Gana’ Gueye chose the perfect time to put his name on the score-sheet for the first time in Everton colours in the Merseyside club’s game against Sunderland at Goodison.
The Toffees midfielder continued his run into the box and volleyed in a superb, low cross from the impressive Seamus Coleman.
Gueye was also rock solid in the centre of the park, winning challenges and regaining possession with his typical calmness and skill. With this showing, he became the first player across the top five leagues in Europe to reach the milestone of 100 tackles won this season.
Honourable mentions: Mamadou Sakho (vs. Sunderland), Jordan Pickford (vs. Crystal Palace), Ben Foster (vs. Bournemouth), Kasper Schmeichel and Wilfred Ndidi (vs. Liverpool)
#3 Standout player: Harry Kane
Match: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Stoke City
Harry Kane scored a superb hat-trick in the first half of the game before turning provider for Dele Alli for Spurs’ fourth of the evening, thereby putting the game out of sight for the visiting Potters.
The Englishman’s first was a wonderfully struck goal from within the box from an acute angle but it was so well-placed through the defender’s legs that goalkeeper Lee Grant had no chance of stopping it. This also marked Kane’s 100th goal for Spurs, a stupendous achievement indeed.
The second, a clinical left-footed finish from a Christian Eriksen corner, had all the hallmarks of the strike of an adept centre-forward while the third came with a share of luck.
A free kick rolled into the Spurs striker’s path found the net but was deflected off Peter Crouch en route. That does not take away from Kane’s performance though and he could as well have had at least a couple more goals – one a curling effort which missed by a whisker and the other drawing a diving save to the right from Grant.
Kane also set up his team’s fourth goal on a platter for Alli, who nudged it into the roof of the net beyond a stunned and humiliated Stoke defence.
Honourable mentions: Cesc Fabregas (vs. Swansea City), Gylfi Sigurdsson (vs. Chelsea), Idrissa Gueye (vs. Sunderland), Wilfried Zaha (vs. Middlesbrough), Jamie Vardy (vs. Liverpool)
#4 Best team performance(s):
(a) Tottenham Hotspur
Mauricio Pochettino’s side romped to a superb 4-0 win over a hapless Stoke City, who must have heaved a sigh of relief when the final whistle was blown.
Mark Hughes’ men did try to make inroads but Spurs were solid through the middle and the flanks, with Kyle Walker and Hugo Lloris making vital blocks and saves at key moments, never allowing Stoke to come back into the game.
The North Londoners’ win takes them to second place in the table, 10 points shy of leaders Chelsea and one ahead of Manchester City, who have a game in hand.
Pochettino’s charges may have exit the Europa League midweek but showed no signs of fatigue or loss of form while completely obliterating the visitors.
(b) Leicester City
The Foxes notched up a vital 3-1 win against Liverpool, which gave them an impetus in their fight to avoid becoming only the second side since Manchester City in 1937 to get relegated the season after winning the league title.
Jamie Vardy returned to crackling form with two well-taken goals on either side of a Danny Drinkwater stunner. Wilfred Ndidi bossed the midfield, breaking up play and not allowing the Reds to keep control of the ball or penetrate into the opposition half.
As the Merseysiders launched a series of attacks at the Leicester goal, Kasper Schmeichel stood strong between the posts and commanded his area well to deny the Reds multiple times. It was a complete team performance from the defending champions, who were under scrutiny following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri at the weekend.
If Leicester City keep up the form they demonstrated against Jurgen Klopp’s men, it should guarantee their place in the top flight for next season.
Honourable mentions: Everton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace
#5 Worst / most ineffective player(s):
(a) Michail Antonio
Match: Watford vs. West Ham United
The Englishman received the first red card of his professional career against Watford in a feisty encounter at Vicarage Road.
Having gone into the referee’s book earlier for a needlessly silly high tackle, he flicked the ball while lying sprawled on the ground. Referee Craig Pawson had a clear view of the offence and immediately showed the player a second yellow, reducing the Hammers’ strength to 10 men during the vital closing stages.
The West Ham forward came close to scoring three and should have put away at least one from a delicious cross by Aaron Cresswell. The absence of clinical finishing in the final third cost his side two points in which the visitors were clearly the better side but failed to capitalise on their chances.
Antonio’s presence and pace is massive for Slaven Bilic’s men; as they took the fight to Watford in the dying minutes, they could have done with one of their main goal-scorers not to mention a full strength team to defend counterattacks.
(b) Artur Boruc
Match: West Bromwich Albion vs. AFC Bournemouth
West Brom came from a goal behind to snatch victory from an impressive Bournemouth. Eddie Howe’s side would rue the missed chances but most of all, individual errors continue to haunt the Cherries and prove to be their undoing.
On this occasion, it was keeper Artur Boruc whose feeble punch at an incoming cross from a corner fell kindly into the path of Gareth McAuley who made no mistake from two yards.
After taking an early lead through a Josh King penalty, the tie was evenly poised at 1-1, with Bournemouth’s attack managing to trouble the Baggies sufficiently.
But it all came to naught as Boruc gift-wrapped the 3 points and presented them to Tony Pulis’ men.
Honourable mentions: Ashley Barnes (vs. Hull City), Stewart Downing (vs. West Ham), Ryan Shawcross (vs. Tottenham Hotspur), Gini Wjnaldum (vs. Leicester City)
#6 Unlucky miss(es)
(a) Cesc Fabregas (vs. Swansea City)
The fixture was evenly poised at 1-1 after Fernando Llorente’s header cancelled out the Blues’ lead scored by Fabregas.
A few minutes into the second half, Marcos Alonso’s pass down the left flank found Eden Hazard and the Belgian nudged the ball to the onrushing Fabregas who had run to the edge of the box.
The Spaniard’s shot struck the underside of the crossbar before going over, with Swans keeper Lukasz Fabianski well-beaten. Fortunately, the former Arsenal man’s miss did not prove to be the Blues’ undoing.
(b) Tom Davies (vs. Sunderland)
The Toffees midfielder had a go at goal in the final minute of the first half but saw his volley come off the outside of the post with Jordan Pickford having no chance of clearing it otherwise.
Earlier, an Everton free kick was cleared in the box before Morgan Schneiderlin headed it down in the box. The ball was intended for Lukaku; Billy Jones intercepted it but his clearance was half-hearted and only found the lurking Davies on the edge of the six-yard line.
(c) Jermain Defoe (vs. Everton)
The underside of the bar and a hair’s breadth is all that kept Sunderland from scoring a crucial equaliser against the Toffees.
Darron Gibson had won the ball in his own half and touched it on for Adnan Januzaj who started off on a brilliant run before sliding the ball beautifully for the incoming Defoe.
The Sunderland striker’s shot cleared the keeper but was blocked cruelly by the crossbar, giving Everton a lease of life. Could the storyline have been different if the Englishman had scored?
(d) Michail Antonio (vs. Watford)
West Ham were by far the better side at Vicarage road but it was Walter Mazzarri’s side who had the lead, courtesy of a Troy Deeney penalty just a couple of minutes into the game.
As the Hammers launched wave after wave of attack, one particular counterattack breached the Watford defence as Antonio received the ball and launched into a run, leaving the Hornets backline in their wake.
In the box, Antonio’s shot struck both posts but remained clear of the goal-line, proving to be extremely unlucky for the Englishman. Fortunately, Andre Ayew had run into the box to bury the simple tap-in after the second rebound from the post to bring Slaven Bilic’s side on level terms.
#7 Controversial decisions
(a) Referee Neil Swarbrick gave Chelsea a massive breather when he missed Cesar Azpilicueta’s handball in the box while taking on Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Blues’ man had his arms outstretched and the ball certainly made contact with his arm in an unnatural position. We have seen softer penalties given and with the tie level at 1-1, this decision could have swung the momentum in favour of the visitors.
(b) Craig Pawson proved to be inconsistent in his refereeing as he awarded a penalty to Watford for Cheikhou Kouyate’s lean-in on Mauro Zarate in the box but failed to point to the spot for an identical offence by M'Baye Niang. The official’s error could have changed the result in favour of West Ham as the game ended in a draw.
(c) Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross had his right hand in the air as it made contact with the ball in the box late in the second half. Fortunately for Spurs, it did not affect the end result as Mauricio Pochettino’s side were leading the Potters by 4 goals at the time.
(d) Steve Cook could have seen red for his blatant foul on Salomon Rondon as he made no attempt to play the ball but just crossed over onto Rondon’s path and shoulder-challenged him when the Brom striker was the last man. Mark Clattenburg though, surprisingly, chose to ignore the offence despite consulting with his assistant.
(e) Robert Madley could have awarded two potential penalties to Crystal Palace but completely missed the offences. Daniel Ayala leant into Wilfried Zaha and brought him down near the edge of the touchline while James McArthur was booked for diving when it was crystal clear that Stewart Downing brought the Eagles man down with a clumsy trailing leg.
