Despite the absences of many of its star players due to injuries picked up during the international break, the Premier League returned in its usual enthralling manner this week. Here are the some of the stand-out performances from week nine…
Ander Herrera, Manchester United
Manchester United bounced back from their humiliating 3-0 defeat to rivals Arsenal before the international break by subjecting Everton to the same scoreline when they visited Goodison Park this weekend.
Morgan Schneiderlin was restored to the starting line-up and it was he, at the base of United’s midfield, who provided the perfect platform for Ander Herrera to flourish in the number ten role. With less defensive responsibility in behind front-man Wayne Rooney, the Spaniard added to Schneiderlin’s opener midway through the first-half with a header, before providing Rooney for the third in the second half.
The third goal was typical of the game. Great tactical awareness and positioning from United’s midfield left Phil Jagielka with limited options for a pass, and after Schneiderlin cut out his hopeful through ball to break up a potential attack – as he did so often during the game – Herrera had the opportunity to launch a quick counter-attack. The former Athletic Bilbao man took full advantage laying on a perfectly weighted pass for Rooney, who rifled past the advancing Tim Howard.
Herrera has now scored eight goals from ten shots on target in the Premier League, which might give his manager a welcome selection headache after seeing the midfielder flourish in the role behind the striker. Even ignoring the goal, Herrera’s link-up play and a number of graceful touches on the ball will please Louis van Gaal and United fans alike.
This is the way we have to react after a defeat,very happy!//así se reacciona tras una derrota! Muy feliz
pic.twitter.com/MKY0M9HQ3M
— Ander Herrera (@AnderHerrera) October 17, 2015
Raheem Sterling, Manchester City
With no Sergio Aguero or David Silva this weekend Manchester City were more dependent on the likes of Raheem Sterling – a player many consider to be of undoubted potential, but not yet capable of delivering a reliable end product. That verdict was put to the sword almost as ruthlessly as City’s opponents this weekend; Sterling scored an impressive hat-trick as City won 5-1 against newly-promoted Bournemouth.
The 20-year-old once again performed well above the level expected of a player of his age, but with a £49 million price tag above his head Sterling has needed to hit the ground running at the Etihad, and he appears to be doing just that.
The youngster took full advantage of Bournemouth’s naïve attacking approach to score three well-taken goals. His positioning was a particularly impressive highlight – City cut through Bournemouth’s open style of play with relative ease, largely thanks to fellow big-money summer signing Kevin De Bruyne – and Sterling was in the right place at the right time more often than not.
Sterling’s three strikes were the first hat-trick of his senior career, but with the composure he demonstrated this weekend – particularly for his second goal in which he left two Bournemouth defenders on the floor with two simple drops of the shoulder before pulling the trigger – it might not be too long before he bags another.
SEE ALSO: How Raheem Sterling made QPR rich
Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
Claudio Ranieri lived up to his ‘Tinkerman’ reputation when his two substitutes, Nathan Dyer and Riyad Mahrez, each laid on a goal for Jamie Vardy, but it was the England striker who earned the plaudits – his two strikes making him only the fourth English player since the millennium to net in six consecutive Premier League games.
Vardy scored in the 60th minute and in stoppage time to draw Leicester level with a Southampton side who had been leading 2-0, earning his side a valuable away point. But it is the personal achievement that stands out. His two goals have opened up a sizeable gap at the top of the Premier League top scorers chart, a position few would have predicted a player who was at Fleetwood Town only four years ago would be in.
Nevertheless, Vardy’s three goal advantage over Sergio Aguero (in second place with six) speaks volumes about the striker’s hard-working attitude. His recent England caps are deserved recognition of his tireless work for Leicester City, and his composure in front of goal that is more befitting of a more experienced Premier League striker.
Vardy’s header on the hour mark owed as much to his positioning as it did the excellent cross from Dyer, and when Mahrez stabbed a through ball behind the Southampton defence with minutes to go, Ranieri wouldn’t have wanted anyone else on the end of it.
Georginio Wijnaldum, Newcastle United
Newcastle manager Steve McClaren must have been pinching himself just over an hour into his side’s game this weekend.
5-2 up and with chants of ‘we love Newcastle, we do’ echoing around St James’ Park, the former England manager could have been forgiven for expecting to wake up any minute, but the impressive score line was a reality. And Newcastle weren’t done there. Georginio Wijnaldum netted his fourth of the game in the final five minutes to give the North East side their first win of the season – 6-2 at the expense of a shell-shocked Norwich City.
Newcastle’s £14.5m signing from PSV Eindhoven ultimately proved to be the difference, his four goals separating Newcastle from Dieumerci Mbokani’s equaliser at 1-1, and Nathan Redmond’s volley to make it 3-2, which came either side of Ayoze Perez tucking away the third and Aleksandar Mitrovic netting Newcastle’s fourth.
The 24-year-old, who is Newcastle’s third most expensive signing after Michael Owen and Alan Shearer, became only the second Newcastle player to score four goals or more in a Premier League match, after Alan Shearer in September 1999.
Whilst the fact that Wijnaldum isn’t going to score four goals every game to earn Newcastle points might be of concern for McClaren, the midfielder’s link-up play with Moussa Sissoko is something he is much more likely to see replicated in the future. The Newcastle boss will hope that partnership can go some way to being as productive as it was this weekend – Sissoko ended the game with three assists to his name.
Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal
Arsenal’s 3-0 victory at Watford was arguably one of those scorelines that doesn’t quite tell the story of the game – or at least that’s what Hornets fans will be thinking.
Watford had a number of chances to open the scoring in the first half, and might have had many more chances had it not been for Laurent Koscielny, who made a number of crucial interceptions to keep the score at 0-0.
The Frenchman came in for Gabriel at centre-back, alongside Per Mertesacker, and his pace – something Mertesacker infamously lacks – proved to be crucial on a number of occasions as he got back to protect Arsenal’s clean sheet.
Koscielny’s impressive defensive display ultimately allowed Arsenal’s attacking players to steal the show in the second-half. Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey were the beneficiaries of a 12 minute period in which Arsenal scored three well-worked goals, earning the three points necessary to return to second in the table.
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