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Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
Generally, foreign strikers find it difficult to adapt to the Premier League; Benteke, though, had no such problems. He hit the ground running and was pivotal in keeping Aston Villa in the Premier League. Like Lukaku, he too is a Belgian, and shares similar features. Quick feet are complemented by extremely quick pace and an infallible finisher’s instinct. Perhaps a better all-round player than Lukaku, Benteke has a bright future ahead of him.
Moment of the season: Against Liverpool, Benteke was at his determined best. He and Weimann were irresistible together and tortured Liverpool. Benteke scored two beautiful goals, the first a 22-yard strike filled with venom, and his second was from a beautiful individual run that left half the Liverpool squad trailing in his wake. It was Villa’s second goal however, that showed Benteke’s true ability. After an 18-pass move, Weimann and Benteke played a couple of one-twos and the final touch by Benteke was an exquisite back-heel that Zidane would have been proud of. If this performance is anything to go by, the Belgian prodigy is going to be on top of the goal-scoring charts for a long time to come.
Goals: 19
Assists: 4
Rickie Lambert (Southampton)
Not exactly young at 31 years of age, the Southampton marksman has been a breakthrough player nonetheless. He has been prolific for the Saints and has at times battled alone to keep his team alive and kicking. The joint highest English scorer has been a late-bloomer but right now is one of the best English strikers in the league. A dominating physical presence, Lambert is a terrific player with his back to the goal. He may not have a lot of time left at the top level of football, but he gave a brilliant account of himself during the season gone by.
Goals: 15
Assists: 5
Moment of the season: The best victory of the season for Southampton was the 3-1 win against Manchester City at St. Mary’s. In all the 22 players that played, Lambert was the best player on the pitch that night. He did not get a goal but was the chief reason for them being scored. He was too quick to track and too mobile to be marked and the Manchester City defense chased his shadow all through the game. If ever there was a striker who won a game without scoring a goal, it was Rickie Lambert against Manchester City.
