We finish the calendar year with this mind boggling fact for the table toppers Chelsea and the defending Champions Manchester City; this year both the teams have played a total 27 league games, drawn 7, lost 4 and scored 88 points in all and with three points advantage to Chelsea there is nothing to choose between the two. However with Chelsea’s last two titles they have been on the top of the table heading into January. With a draw being the order of the day there wasn’t much movement in the table, the grinding football played by Arsenal resulted in them moving within three points of third place Manchester United and could be seen as the biggest gainer from Round 19 of English Premier League. Let’s look at our eleven man squad from the matches played this weekend.
Goal Keeper
Hugo Lloris
The first half between Tottenham and Manchester United was dominated by Manchester United. There were several clear cut opportunities for the visitors to score, however the brilliant display of Tottenham’s skipper Lloris heroics saved the day for his team.
Defenders
Federico Fazio, Phil Jones, Matt Target, Kieran Trippier
Centre back positions in our squad are taken up by Federico Fazio and Phil Jones; both were opponents in the match played at White Hart Lane. While Lloris ensured that there were no goals scored against Tottenham, Fazio timely interventions and surging runs forwards in the second half of the game ensured that the Argentine made the cut for our team. While Manchester United’s defense is still not at its convincing best we expect reinforcements in January, however Phil Jones is the likely one to retain his place in the playing eleven. His no nonsense defending and crucial interventions played a role in the team’s clean sheet against Tottenham.
We have an unusual choice for our Right and Left back positions. The young English & Burnley defender Kieran Trippier makes the cut for our team, his spirited display against the defending champions Manchester City and nonstop deliveries in the box were a highlight of the match. One of his crosses even lead to a goal for Burnley and helped them earning a well deserved point. On the other hand Matt Target’s display against Chelsea is a testimony to the young players credential and bright future. Not looking too far in the future but maybe the two would together feature for England National Team one day in the left and right back positions.
Midfielders
David Silva, Santi Cazorla, Edin Hazard, Fernandinho
Our midfield is similar to our Boxing Day lineup; however the continued impressive performances by these players ensured them a certain berth in the team. Fernandinho showed great work ethic and gave it his all in the game; he also scored a thunderous strike to showcase his goal scoring ability. When in full flow there is no better sight in Premier League Football than David Silva, with deft touches, accurate passes, and a terrific goal he was the shining star in a match which Manchester City should have won comfortably rather than ending it as a stalemate,
The other two players in the squad are Santi Cazorla and the genius Edin Hazard. Santi Cazorla has been on fire for Arsenal, and has been instrumental in driving the team forward and getting a run of victories. On the other hand Eden Hazard keeps producing moments of magic as he again did against Southampton. It is everyone to witness that he is on his way to becoming one of the biggest football stars in world football in the near future.
Strikers
Sadio Mane, Mame Baram Diouf
We have a Senegalese strike force upfront to lead the team and score goals. Obviously we have support from the midfield to add to the goal scoring tally in the team but both Mane and Diouf have been knocking the doors on our weekly teams for the last couple of weeks. Diouf has been enjoying his run of games and is justifying his selection with scoring goals for Stoke City. Sadio Mane almost made to our squad in the Boxing Day lineup but his display against Chelsea ensured his place this time around. His burst of speed left John Terry behind and quick finish took Courtois by surprise, to add to that Mane was a constant threat throughout the game.
Next up are the New Years day fixtures, that will surely bring another round of exciting games and with couple of tricky fixtures in store we could see a lot of movement in the closely stocked English Premier League table.
Image Source: Sky Sports & The Sun