#2 Defensive bedrock: Lamine Kone
Match: Crystal Palace vs. Sunderland
Sunderland thrashed fellow relegation-battlers Crystal Palace with a stunning display all across the pitch and key to their fortunes was Lamine Kone. The defender opened the scoring by reacting quickest to a rebound after Wayne Hennessey had managed to save his first shot.
And from then, there was no looking back for the Black Cats and they thwarted the Palace attack with ease. Kone was an assured presence in the heart of the defence and neutralised the threat posed by Christian Benteke in and around the box.
The Ivory Coast international set off Sunderland to a flying start and his rock solid performance in the backline ensured that it remained impregnable by the Palace attack.
Honourable mentions: Cesar Azpilicueta and Thibaut Courtois(vs. Arsenal), Andrea Ranocchia (vs. Liverpool), Ben Gibson and Fabio (vs. Tottenham Hotspur)
