The Premier League season is approaching its peak and the weekend witnessed a number of high-quality games. Here are some of the winners and the losers from the action
Winners
Arsenal
Arsenal fought back to beat Tottenham 4-2 on Sunday in a lively and heated North London derby. This was Unai Emery’s biggest win in charge of the Gunners and the result ensured that they moved to fourth in the table. The fans will be particularly happy in the manner in which the game was won as we saw Arsenal at their scintillating best. They played aggressively and did not look like they would duck from the fight, even after going 2-1 down in the first half. The performances of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lucas Torreira will not have gone unnoticed as both of them got their names on the scoresheet to top up an all rounded outing.
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp could not contain his excitement following their 96th minute winner at home in the Merseyside derby against Everton. Divock Origi was the man at the center of all the late drama as he patiently waited for Jordan Pickford to keep the ball in play before heading in from close range. Origi has been on the sidelines for some time now but he ensured that he made an impact for the few minutes that were handed to him. The goal can be safely described as the goal that keeps their 2018/19 title race alive and he might have just forced himself into the gaffers plans for the remainder of the season.
Raheem Sterling
Manchester City maintained their two-point lead at the top of the Premier League table following their 3-1 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday. Raheem Sterling was the most influential player in the second half as he scored to hand his side the advantage in the 57th minute and move the scores to 2-1 in their favour. Ilkay Gundogan finished off the scoring but all eyes were on Sterling who had achieved a personal feat. His goal ensured that he became the first player in Premier League history to score in his first six appearances against an opponent. The Englishman is also top of the scoring and assists chart.
Losers
Jordan Pickford
Pickford’s mistake allowed Liverpool to grab a last-minute win at Anfield when the two met on Sunday. This was probably the only flaw in what would have been an exceptional afternoon for the Toffees. They had worked very hard to frustrate Liverpool’s attack and as the match approached the end of added time, Origi latched on to a lose ball by Pickford to send the stadium into a frenzy. Pickford had been solid but he was harshly punished for failing to clear the ball that could have been helped out of play on another day.
Mourinho’s poor selection
Jose Mourinho has refused to blame his makeshift defence for the draw away to Southampton despite the popular perception that he chose the wrong team to start. His back three included two natural midfielders in Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay and they were stepping in for Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly who are all out due to injury. The exclusion of Antony Martial and Juan Mata has also been criticized as the two have been very good going forward in recent weeks. United’s woes are not just about to come to an end and their midfield configuration is largely responsible for this.
Newcastle
Newcastle failed to extend their three-game winning streak and they fell 3-0 at home to a struggling West Ham side. Javier Hernandez got himself a brace as he scored his first in the 11th minute to condemn the hosts to chase the game from very early on. Rafael Benitez will have been disappointed by the results as it allowed West Ham to move above them in the table. The club’s faithful are increasingly becoming impatient with the poor displays and they registered their displeasure from the stand. They will have to do better in such fixtures if they are to keep the confidence of their supporters.