#6 Unlucky miss(es)
(a) Divock Origi (vs. Arsenal)
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Origi was brought on with just over 10 minutes of regular time left and immediately began to assert himself in at the top end of the pitch with his hold-up play. An aerial ball was well-controlled by the Belgian using first his head and then his feet; he drew a foul for his troubles after Shkodran Mustafi had tried to peg him back with a hold of his shirt.
The resultant free kick was taken by James Milner whose inviting cross was met by Origi’s header in the box but the shot rattled off the inside of the post.
At the closing stages as Arsenal were pushing for an equaliser, this goal - if in - would have put the game to bed.
(b) Jermain Defoe (vs. Manchester City)
Fabio Borini and Defoe combined well together, also involving Didier N’dong in a well-crafted attacking move against the Citizens.
The Italian striker’s flick through to Defoe was taken on superbly by the Englishman but he only managed to find the post from a central position a few yards outside the box.
This was an extremely crucial and the most unlucky of misses; buoyed by a goal, the Black Cats could have gone on to get something out of the game but alas, it will go down as another instance of ‘what could have been’.
(c) Alfie Mawson, Luciano Narsingh and Fernando Llorente (vs. Burnley)
With less than a quarter of the game gone, Burnley’s left back Stephen Ward had been booked and Swansea had a free-kick in an attacking position.
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s cross was met by Mawson but his header came off the top of the crossbar and back into the six-yard box. A couple of turns and touches later the ball fell for Narsingh who was unmarked but his strike came off the edge of the post as well.
A few minutes later in the first half, the Swans were denied by the frame of the post for the third time. Fernando Llorente struck the crossbar after Sigurdsson had flicked a through ball to Martin Olsson who crossed in.
(d) Ramadan Sobhi (vs. Middlesbrough)
The Egyptian winger was everywhere on the evening and was hard done by not to have his name on the score-sheet.
He engineered an attack in the final third for the Potters and struck the post with a well-taken volley off a sumptuous Arnautovic cross but was unlucky to see it come off the top of the frame of the goalpost.
