Premier League Match Day 17 TOTW-Ings, Jesus, Shaqiri and Mkhitaryan all score braces

The fourth lot of Premier League games in December featured new league leaders Liverpool to host Jose Mourinho’s struggling Manchester United, Southampton to face Arsenal who were on an unbeaten game streak and Watford would battle Cardiff in an attempt to get a win since October.

My TOTW for matchday 17

Goalkeeper-Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace)

Vincente Guaita is a Spanish goalkeeper with enormous amounts of experience. The 31-year-old has played in 8 seasons in the La Liga (Spanish first division), appearing in over 170 games for a variety of Spanish games.

That experience proved vital in Palace’s victory over Leicester City, as Guaita made a numerous amount of saves to give his side a clean sheet on his Premier League debut.

I’ve always felt Crystal Palace have had an issue with their No.1 spot, with the likes of Steve Mandanda who couldn’t maintain consistent performances and current goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey has always made mistakes.

Therefore, Palace should do well now they have an experienced, decent goalkeeper who can perform consistently for them.

Defenders- Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle) and Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Virgil Van Dijk: Currently the best defender in the world. Even though his performance against Manchester United appeared even better than it was because he was playing against Romelu Lukaku, he has all the factors of a great central defender.

He’s fast, strong and tall to match against opposition attackers such as Lukaku, but he is also a superb passer of the ball and has plenty of composure on it. However, in this Liverpool team I believe it’s his leadership skills which make him stand out.

Jurgen Klopp’s best 11 does not feature Jordan Henderson, he just isn’t good enough when compared to the other midfielders. Therefore, Van Dijk has taken control of the team when Jordan can’t get in it and it has made Liverpool better.

Jamaal Lascelles: Huddersfield fans have argued that Lascelles should have been sent off for his foul against their team’s striker Laurent Depoitre. However, he was only showed a yellow.

But for the rest of the game at the Kirklees Stadium, the Newcastle captain showed a much-improved performance, then his previous one against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and helped his side to get 3 points against Huddersfield.

Kyle Walker: Manchester City fullback Kyle Walker had a comfortable afternoon against Everton. Everton winger Bernard was of little threat to City’s back line and allowed Walker to threaten his own team mate Lucas Digne throughout the game.

As a result of the pressure, Everton never got a proper attack going (minus the odd cross where Dominick Calvin Lewis scored) and struggled to put pressure on City.

Midfielders- Gerard Deulofeu (Watford), Fabinho (Liverpool), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal) and Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool)

Gerard Deulofeu: On the Spaniard’s return to the starting 11, Deulofeu had a terrific night (minus a slight late scare from Cardiff).

For his goal, Deulofeu darted past Cardiff defenders in their own box and slotted the ball past Etheridge, who needs credit for attempting to keep Cardiff in the game through some unbelievable saves.

BBC football analyst Garth Crooks summed up Gerard Deulofeu’s performance best- “Diego Maradona-esque.”

Fabinho: Former AS Monaco player and Brazilian international Fabinho had a slow start to his Liverpool career as he struggled to make it into the matchday squad let alone the starting 11, however after his star performance against Manchester United it’s clear he will be first team for some time now.

He shined on Sunday as he outclassed and dominated United’s midfield. Plus, he wasn’t shy to try and increase the lead with a number of close long shots but was unsuccessful.

Overall, he looks very dominating whilst playing the holding midfielder and was very capable of shutting down most Manchester United attacks.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: Arsenal had been on a fine run of form, 22 games unbeaten, and even with two goals from Mkhitaryan they couldn’t extend their run against a Southampton side who had recently appointed Ralph Hasenhuttl as the club’s manager.

His first came from a classy counter attack, finished off by an accurate header from the Armenian. The second was not so classy, but the deflected effort from range thwarted Alex McCarthy and got the London side level.

In the end though, the goals were not enough to get any points after the game due to mistakes from Bernard Leno and excellent clinical finishing from Danny Ings and his strike partner Charlie Austin.

Xherdan Shaqiri: ‘Super sub Shaqiri’ strikes again Liverpool. Shaqiri now has 5 goals with league leaders Liverpool and is starting to make a huge impact when coming off the bench.

He continued Liverpool’s desire to get forward and attack United-as a result he was rewarded with two goals to his name, even if the pair were deflected off United players, and got the win for the home side.

Shaqiri is turning into a reliable player to get Liverpool goals when time is running out in games-he will be vital if they are to challenge for silverware. For the £13 million he has to be the best bargain buy of the summer.

Forwards- Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) and Danny Ings (Southampton)

Eden Hazard: Chelsea wizard Eden Hazard continues to impress as he scored another goal and got another assist in the Premier League this season.

Terrific solo play to break into the Brighton box and get the cross off to his teammate Pedro and Matt Ryan had no chance of stopping the Belgium’s clinical strike to put Chelsea 2-0 up before half time.

With Eden Hazard in world class form, surely he will leave Chelsea in the summer?

Gabriel Jesus: Young Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus has struggled recently to get into the City starting 11, let alone score goals when on the pitch. His fellow team mates such as Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane performing as well as they are, Jesus is struggling to get a chance in the team.

Nevertheless, Jesus took his chance when chosen to start against a strong Everton when he scored two goals in a 3-1 win for the Manchester club. Sneaky run into space to give himself room to shoot past Pickford and doubled the lead with a powerful header from another assist by Leroy Sane.

Danny Ings: Ings had a bad spell at Liverpool due to injuries but managed to get a summer move to Southampton to get game time. Seems to have paid off as he scored two important goals to help Southampton’s mission to avoid relegation.

The striker’s brace featured two stunning headers: one powerful, one looping, both ended up in the net past the Arsenal goalkeeper.

At only 26, Ings has a huge opportunity with Southampton as it’s clear new manager Hasenhuttl is a fan of the former Burnley and Liverpool striker, and he could make a name for himself at a club who’ve been lacking a consistent goal scorer.

Overview

The title race is still extremely close. Liverpool dominating Manchester United still keeps them Premier League leaders, but only by a point. Manchester City are still hot on their heels as they beat Everton, but both sides conceded sloppy goals which is an interesting point to see as they both deserved the win for their attacking display. Hasenhuttl

The Saints move out of the bottom three due to a home victory over a high-flying Arsenal but loses from Burnley and Huddersfield cause them to fall deeper down the table. I can’t see Fulham staying up after their loss to West Ham United and it just goes to show money can’t buy you wins.