As yet another tumultous weekend in the Premier League came to an end, we here at Sportzwiki decided to bring you five stars who shined over the course of the blistering action in England’s top tier competition.
Kevin Nolan – West Ham United
Kevin Nolan did himself no favours on being sent off on New Year’s day at Craven Cottage for an unnecessary challenge on Fernando Amoerabieta. With his recklessness and carelessness in the spotlight after being sent off twice within the space of 15 days, his captaincy and attitude were also questioned. One of best players in the league to play off the frontman, the return of Andy Carroll has perhaps brought the best out of Nolan. With Carroll suspended and opponents Villa trying to stay as far as they can from the bottom three, Saturday’s game seemed to be like a really tough one. However, two quick-fire second half goals within the space of three minutes meant that West Ham secured their full points and in the course, got their captain back to his inspiring best.
Wayne Routledge – Swansea City
The former Spurs academy graduate has become part of the furniture at the Liberty Stadium. Quick-feet coupled with a deceptive change of pace and upper body strength Routledge has become a fan favourite at the Liberty. The aim on Sunday was to exact revenge for the derby loss away from home three months ago. Three second half goals from the Swans sealed the deal in South Wales on Sunday. Routledge put in a man-of-the-match performance by firstly, scoring the opener couple of minutes into the second half and 11 minutes from time setting up Nathan Dyer to secure the victory for the Welsh outfit.
Martin Skrtel – Liverpool
It was the start of this very season that Martin Skrtel seemed to be on his way out after falling out of favour and not being able to break into the starting eleven. However a brilliant performance against Manchester United at Anfield saw him cement his place back in the heart of Liverpool’s back four. The Reds’ most consistent defender all season proved his big match pedigree on Saturday not once but twice in the opening minutes against the table toppers. Two goals in the opening minutes and another steady performance at the back reminded EPL watchers why he must be considered amongst the best defenders in the league.
Raheem Sterling – Liverpool
It has been nothing short of a revelation what this 19 year old winger from Liverpool has shown in the past month or so. Blessed with raw pace and trickery as his manager Brendan Rodgers says, he probably is ‘among the best wingers of the country.’ Deployed on the left wing against Arsenal to keep a check on Bacary Sagna, it was Sagna who had to keep a check on the 19 year old as the Red ran riot at Anfield. 2 goals (probably a couple more too) and a performance worth raising a few eye-brows; you cannot rule him out of staking a claim to being part of Hodgson’s England in Brazil.
Eden Hazard – Chelsea
The Belgian winger aspires to play at the level of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi; and with performance like the ones this weekend it’s only a matter of time before people talking about him among the very best in the business. A hat-trick against a toothless Newcastle United was proof that this 23 year old is playing at a completely different level from the rest. The first – a brilliant instinctive finish, the second – classic counter-attacking wing play accompanied with a cool finish and an expert penalty to cap off a brilliant performance by the Chelsea number 17. He truly was the star of game week 25.
