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Today’s Premier League games saw plenty of action, a couple of surprises, and most importantly, Liverpool extend their lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 win over Watford in a closer game than most expected.
Second-placed Leicester City lost some ground on the Reds with their 1-1 draw against Norwich City, while fourth-placed Chelsea suffered a shock loss at home to struggling Bournemouth.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa were beaten 2-0 by Sheffield United, Burnley defeated Newcastle United 1-0, and in the evening kick-off, West Ham took all three points away at Southampton.
Here are the Premier League’s 3 most outstanding performers from the games on 14th December 2019.
#1 Mohamed Salah
League leaders Liverpool had a tougher time than anyone expected against bottom-of-the-table Watford at Anfield, as despite bossing possession (68% to Watford’s 32%) and having far more attempts on goal, the Hornets proved to be a tricky side to break down under new boss Nigel Pearson.
In the end, it was a likely source that saved the Reds, giving Jurgen Klopp’s men their 16th win of the season. Mohamed Salah hasn’t been in the same kind of goalscoring form he showed back in 2017-18, but his brace today was genuinely brilliant, and the quality of the Egyptian hitman’s goals deserved to win any match.
The first one saw Liverpool break from a Watford corner, and after chasing down a ball from Sadio Mane, Salah wrong-footed Kiko Femenia before curling a right-footed shot around Ben Foster, who was unable to do a thing.
The second – scored in the 90th minute after Watford had applied a lot of pressure on the home side – was a beautiful instinctive finish, as the Egyptian somehow flicked a scuffed shot from Divock Origi into the net from an improbable angle.
To win the Premier League, Liverpool will need to continue to grind results out without playing at their best, and today they managed that – and for the most part, they have Salah to thank.
Also check out: Premier League Premier League Table Champions League table
#2 John Fleck
Perhaps the most unexpected thing about the 2019-20 Premier League season thus far has been the form of Sheffield United. Tipped for relegation by many experts when they were promoted from the EFL Championship last summer, Chris Wilder’s men have instead surprised everyone with their form, and after winning 6 of their 17 games, they currently sit in 5th position in the table.
Today saw them pick up another strong victory – over fellow promoted side Aston Villa – and it was Scottish attacking midfielder John Fleck who was their most outstanding performer. Not only did Fleck pick up his side’s two goals – moving his total for the season to 4 – but he also had a great overall game.
The Scotsman scored with his only two shots on goal, but it wasn’t just his shooting that was accurate; he registered 29 passes and was accurate with 24 of them for a high 83% success rate, and he also completed more successful dribbles than any other player in Chris Wilder’s side.
With two wonderfully instinctive goals today, he completely outshone the more illustrious names playing for his opponents – the likes of Jack Grealish and John McGinn – and remains a key component of the Blades’ unexpected success this season.
#3 Dan Gosling
The day’s most surprising Premier League result came at Stamford Bridge, as high-flying Chelsea were beaten 0-1 by Bournemouth. Eddie Howe’s Cherries had been struggling greatly coming into the match – on a five-match losing streak – and looked like easy pickings for Frank Lampard’s men, but instead Bournemouth stood firm and eventually picked up a huge win.
Their defence was incredibly tricky to break down throughout the game – meaning Simon Francis, Chris Mepham, Diego Rico or Jack Stacey could easily have been named here – but it was unsung midfielder Dan Gosling who really shone for Howe’s side today.
Not only did the former Everton and Newcastle man score the winning goal for his side – an audacious overhead flick that was initially ruled offside, only for VAR to overrule the referee and allow it – but he had more attempts on goal than any other Bournemouth player, and made more key passes than any of his teammates too.
Bournemouth have now moved into 14th following their victory, and after a very testing run, this could be the result that changes their season. Cherries fans can largely thank Gosling for that, making him one of today’s most outstanding performers.
