It was another exciting weekend Premier League games, starting with a 1-1 draw between West Ham and Leicester City and ending with Man City beating Huddersfield 2-1.
There were a number of brilliant performances, along with some real duds too, according to whoscored.com.
Using the stats, talkSPORT looks at the star men in each of the games.
Beginning with Cheikhou Kouyate in West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Leicester City at the London Stadium, scroll through the gallery to see the players.
SOUTHAMPTON, England (Reuters) - Southampton forward Charlie Austin’s performance on Sunday bodes well for the team after he marked his recall with two goals in a 4-1 win at home to Everton, said manager Mauricio Pellegrino.
On his first Premier League start of the season, Austin’s smart movement and incisive finishing tormented Everton’s defence as the 28-year-old suggested he could be the consistent goalscorer Southampton need with a second-half double.
Pellegrino’s side had scored just nine goals in 12 Premier League games prior to Sunday’s victory, but Austin has now scored or assisted eight times in his last 11 league starts.
And, as the busy Christmas period approaches, Pellegrino believes Austin’s form and attitude could make him a decisive player as Southampton bid to climb the table.
“I felt he was ready to play,” Pellegrino told reporters.
“This is good news for us. We have many games in the next few months. We will need all the players,” he added after Dusan Tadic opened the scoring and Steven Davis wrapped up the win.
”I decided to choose another eleven (today), I thought other players were better before. Charlie has been training much better in the last few weeks and deserved his chance.
”Sometimes when you are not playing, you are a little bit disappointed. We have a squad of 25 players. It is difficult to keep going when you are used to playing more games, like last season when Southampton were in the Europa League.
”You have to take responsibility for yourself. You have to be ready, you do not know when the manager will come calling. The manager chooses eleven players, nothing is fixed, next week it will change.
”To manage the mentality of 25 players is difficult. When you (as a player) get the opportunity you have to show why the manager gave you that chance. I want to feel from my players that they are committed, we want to play with ambition.
“I am really happy, the players have been working really hard this week. We deserved this week.”
Southampton, in 10th with 16 points, visit league leaders Manchester City on Wednesday.
It was a superb performance by Saints, and as bad as Everton were, Mauricio Pellegrino’s boys looked slick and well-organised.
It all started with Dusan Tadic’s 18th minute strike.
Glyfi Sigurdsson levelled on the stroke of half-time, but Saints didn’t look back in the second half.
Charlie Austin netted his first of the day on 52 minutes, heading home Ryan Bertrand’s cross, before netting a second headed goal six minutes later from Tadic’s ball in.
Steven Davis added the gloss to the display late on, sweeping home from the edge of the box on 87 minutes.
Chief photographer Stuart Martin was at St Mary’s Stadium to capture all the action between Southampton and Everton in the Premier League, so be sure to check out the pictures above.
After each round of Premier League fixtures, ESPN FC brings you its Team of the Weekend. Our panel of experts carefully selects 11 star performers along with a manager.
Do you agree or disagree? You can have your say on those picked or overlooked in the comments section at the foot of the article or on Twitter using the hashtag #ESPNFCTOTW.
To kick us off, it’s Cech who takes his place in between the sticks. While Alexis Sanchez’s late winner for Arsenal at Burnley will grab all the headlines, it was Cech’s fine work in the first half – denying Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Robbie Brady – that built the foundation for victory. “Those early saves guaranteed the three points,” Steve Nicol says, with Paul Mariner impressed by Cech’s “commanding of his area and good handling.”
Next up is a player whose recent performances have kept David Luiz twiddling his thumbs on the sidelines. Christensen turned in another mature display for the Premier League champions in their 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Saturday. “Despite the pressure, the 21-year-old makes it look easy,” says Nicol, while Mariner feels the youngster is “getting better and better with every game for Chelsea.”
Our panel have been in full agreement with their picks so far and that continues with the unanimous selection of Sakho. The ex-Liverpool man was his usual rock at the back for Crystal Palace, helping to keep Stoke’s attackers quiet for the most part, but more importantly he popped up at the death with the winner that makes the club’s spot at the bottom of the table suddenly seem a little less precarious. “He defended well and came up with the winner,” Mariner notes, with Nicol marvelling at Sakho’s “last-minute drama.”
Completing our three-man defence is Azpilicueta who, alongside Christensen, played his part as Chelsea claimed a point at Liverpool. Nicol’s pick of Brighton’s Shane Duffy deserves a special mention after his brave display at Manchester United, but Azpilicueta gets the nod following a performance that included several key interceptions and an excellent block on Daniel Sturridge. Mariner says: “He’s the best one-on-one defender in the Premier League. He was simply outstanding at Anfield.”
Watford kept up what has been a superb start to the season with a routine 3-0 victory at Newcastle, and key to securing those three points was Zeegelaar. On just his second appearance for the Hornets, Zeegelaar was a constant menace down the left to Rafa Benitez’s side, teeing up Will Hughes for the opener and also forcing DeAndre Yedlin into an own goal for the second. “Magnificent on the left and worked tirelessly,” was Mariner’s assessment, while Nicol was left asking: “Where did he come from?”
Another Watford man to make our XI this week is Hughes. Having been restricted to just a handful of minutes in the Premier League before last week, Hughes now has two goals in two games, with his latest a delightful finish that set Marco Silva’s side on their way to victory at St James’s Park. “He’s got a lovely left peg,” Nicol purrs, with Mariner stating the midfielder is “thriving in his new role with Watford.”
At half-time against Huddersfield, a shaken Manchester City looked like they could be in for their first defeat of the season – yet 45 minutes later, it was business as usual. Vital to this turnaround was Fernandinho with a typical display that involved breaking up a number of opposition attacks before giving the ball to teammates better equipped to make a difference in the final third. “He’s just the glue that keeps it all together for City,” Nicol says, summing up the midfielder’s performance perfectly.
Rounding off our central-midfield trio is a player who will be hoping November never ends. If turning in a man-of-the-match display on his England debut wasn’t quite enough for Loftus-Cheek, he’s now landed a slot in our XI after opening his Crystal Palace account in their crucial victory over Stoke. “He’s now scoring and looking a very good player with the run of games he is getting,” Mariner says, with Nicol adding: “It was a cheeky goal from Cheek.”
Lining up on the right of our team is man who needs no introduction after his lightning start to life at Liverpool. Salah’s strike against former club Chelsea on Saturday took him up to 15 goals for the season – and it’s only November – while he was constantly looking to pose Antonio Conte’s side problems throughout. “He just gets better and better,” states Nicol, with Mariner adding: “Salah looks like he is loving life at Anfield, another electric performance.”
The first of our two classic strikers to make the XI is Rondon following his goal-scoring heroics for struggling West Brom at Wembley. Rondon’s fourth-minute opener stunned Tottenham and their supporters, while his all-round game caused Spurs just as many problems. Mariner was impressed by his “superb hold-up play, strength and power, as well as a great finish for the goal.” Nicol adds: “He’s just an old-fashioned centre-forward.”
Partnering Rondon up top is another striker in a similar mould. Austin was a thorn in the side of Everton’s defence at St Mary’s on Sunday and he assured himself of a place in our XI with a wonderful pair of second-half headers as he made his starting return in Southampton’s 4-1 rout. “Two great headers but Austin could have had five today,” Mariner notes, while Nicol was left pondering: “If only he could stay fit for Southampton?”
Mariner’s pick of Marco Silva could well have been in our dugout this week but for the gritty late turnaround by Manchester City. With 10 minutes left at Huddersfield, and the scores level at 1-1, Guardiola threw caution to the wind by throwing on Gabriel Jesus for Vincent Kompany. Four minutes later and it was Gabriel’s rebounded shot that sparked Raheem Sterling’s winner as City overcame one of the toughest tests of their season so far. “Taking a defender off and putting on a striker takes some guts, but Pep pulled it off,” says Nicol. “Manager of the week for me.”
View the best of our images from St Mary’s, as a brace from Charlie Austin and goals for Dušan Tadić and Steven Davis fired Saints to a 4-1 victory in their Premier League clash with Everton.