An own goal, a last minute leveller, a controversial decision and a furious manager all feature in this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures. But enough about Chelsea’s 3-3 thriller with Everton – here are the star Names of the Premier League we’re talking about after week 22…
Jonjo Shelvey, Newcastle United
It’s rare you see transfer deals between relegation rivals in January, but we saw one last week with the arrival of Jonjo Shelvey at St James’ Park. Whilst Swansea might have thought the £12 million they got for Shelvey was a good bit of business, given they more than doubled the fee they paid Liverpool for him in 2013, Newcastle might think it money well spent after Shelvey was instrumental in a 2-1 victory over West Ham.
Shelvey showed the quality of passing which earned him a call up to the England squad earlier this season, and had a role in both of Newcastle’s goals. His 60-yard pass to find Daryl Janmaat free on the right, who then crossed to give Georginio Wijnaldum an easy finish, was exceptional, and the 23-year-old had a noticeable impact on Newcastle’s play.
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“The speed of his passes gives you that extra two seconds and defences can’t recover. That’s the difference between top midfielders and average ones. Jonjo was like a quarterback,” Steve McClaren said after the game.
Wijnaldum put Shelvey’s impact in simpler terms: “Jonjo brings us football. He brings more football to this team.”
James Ward-Prowse, Southampton
Even at the age of 21 James Ward-Prowse has earned himself a reputation as a set-piece specialist. The midfielder scored twice from two such opportunities this weekend to help Southampton to a convincing 3-0 victory over West Brom.
The England Under-21 captain curled a fantastic free-kick into the top corner from 25-yards to open the scoring, and then doubled the Saints lead from the spot after Matt Targett was brought down in the area by Craig Dawson.
Soo happy to get the win and 2 goals today!! They're for you Roy #WeMarchOn Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.⚪️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/MTkIDQih18
— James Ward-Prowse (@Prowsey16) January 16, 2016
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Ward-Prowse’s two goals were more than he’d scored in his previous 92 Premier League appearances for Southampton, and his opener was the Saints’ first goal from a direct free-kick since February 2014, but his overall performance will be the most reassuring thing for fans.
Southampton’s form has dropped in recent weeks, but they looked much more like the team that achieved a seventh-place finish last season against West Brom, with Ward-Prowse at the centre of a midfield which controlled the game.
Christian Eriksen, Tottenham Hotspur
21-year-old Jordan Pickford made his debut between the sticks for Sunderland for their visit to White Hart Lane this weekend, but despite a number of excellent saves the young shot-stopper couldn’t prevent his side losing 4-1 to Tottenham.
Patrick van Aanholt put Sunderland ahead against the run of play, but the rest of the Black Cats’ defence didn’t do their young keeper many favours. Christian Eriksen in particular took full advantage to score two goals.
Eriksen’s first came just 90 seconds after van Aanholt’s opener; Pickford managed to deny Harry Kane, but when the rebound fell to Eriksen Lee Cattermole missed a straightforward chance to clear his shot off the line.
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Eriksen’s second came thanks to another debutant, Jan Kirchhoff, who stuck out a leg in an attempt to block the Danish midfielder’s long range effort but only succeeded in looping the ball over a helpless Pickford.
Despite his best efforts, conceding four goals in your first Premier League game seems to be a right of passage for Sunderland goalkeepers; Victor Mannone and Costar Pantilimon also both conceded four goals in their first Premier League games of this season.
John Terry, Chelsea
If there’s a way to make up for scoring an own goal, scoring an equaliser at the other end in the 98th minute is probably about as dramatic as it gets.
After opening the scoring in Chelsea’s game against Everton by clumsily putting through his own net, John Terry then levelled the scores at 3-3 in the game’s dying seconds with a piece of improvisation we’re not accustomed to seeing from a 35-year-old centre back.
Everton lost three consecutive headers following a long ball forward, and Terry managed to backheel the ball past Tim Howard with seconds remaining of his 700th league appearance for the Blues.
John Terry's equaliser against Everton was the latest #BPL goal scored this season (97:53) and since November 2011 pic.twitter.com/ZeLQ70xOyK
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 18, 2016
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Roberto Martinez was understandably aggrieved to have drawn the game after replays showed Terry to be clearly offside, but the fact that the Toffees let a two-goal lead slip will also be disappointing for the Everton manager; since November 28 Everton have dropped a league-high 11 points from leading positions in nine Premier League games.
Ashley Williams, Swansea City
Swansea went into their game against Watford on Monday night on the back of a run of form which had seen them win just once in 11 Premier League games, but with new manager Francesco Guidolin watching from the stands they earned a huge three points in their battle to avoid relegation with a 1-0 victory.
Swans captain Ashley Williams made arguably the greatest impression on his new manager when he headed home a Ki Sung-Yueng to score his first goal at the Liberty Stadium in five years, but his resolute defending to keep Watford at bay will be the contribution Guidolin most hopes he can repeat more frequently.
Swansea had conceded nine goals in their last three games going into the match, but a clean sheet boosts their hopes of avoiding the drop. They climb to 17th.
Who were the Names of the Premier League for week 22 in your opinion? Let us know below, on our Facebook page, or on Twitter @JustFootball.
(main image credit: @NUFC via Twitter)
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