The Premier League never ceases to keep the fans glued to the score sheet with hearts beating at tremendous pace until the final blow of the whistle. Even the last kick of the ball, many a time, changes the structure of the league table and the same was evident in Arsenal’s sneaky 1-0 win over Burnley in the dying seconds of the extra time which summed up another nail-biting and thrilling week of the top tier of English football.
In a week that saw many twists and turns, here are five players who played an exceptional part to cater to the needs of their side and deserve a special mention for doing the same.
Diego Costa
Chelsea needed a win at the KCOM Stadium after a forgettable outing at the Emirates Stadium and Diego Costa didn’t fail to impress in the Blues’ 2-0 win over Hull City.
The controversial striker was the architect behind Chelsea’s wonderfully constructed second half as he was brilliantly linking up the attackers, being a constant threat to Hull City and reaped the benefits of doing the same, as he assisted Willian for the first goal and then scored superbly to seal the game.
Roberto Firmino
Roberto Firmino has not taken much time to impose himself as the fulcrum of Liverpool’s attacking nous. With an inch-perfect header to grab the equalizer against Swansea, Firmino’s movements in the final third were frustrating the Swans to an unimaginable extent and his repeated mayhem up there won the Reds the penalty which was eventually scored by James Milner. Slowly but surely, the Brazilian is becoming the most important player for Jürgen Klopp.
Dele Alli
Mauricio Pochettino’s white army terminated Pep Guardiola’s handsome streak of six league wins in a row and no prize for guessing, it was the Dele Alli who was instrumental in darkening Manchester City’s shiny start to the season.
The English international was sumptuous with the ball more often than not, toyed with Aleksandar Kolarov and baffled Manchester City’s otherwise resilient defence constantly. Alli made Tottenham click up front, finished his goal cleanly and won a penalty for his side in Spurs’ 2-0 win over the blue half of Manchester.
Lee Grant
Stoke City managed to salvage a point against Manchester United, thanks to Lee Grant’s exceptional display with the gloves. The on-loan Derby County goalkeeper made a string of good saves right from the start and apart from Anthony Martial’s strike, he stood firm on every occasion.
Frankly speaking, Manchester United could have won the game by four or five goals, had it not been the resilience of Lee Grant between the sticks.
Nacer Chadli
Nacer Chadli is proving to be an unparalleled asset for Tony Pulis’ West Bromwich Albion. A steal from Tottenham Hotspur for a paltry sum of £13million in the summer, he has been seamlessly terrific with the ball, a serial threat in advanced areas and bullies defenders by being very powerful with every stride.
Against Sunderland, Chadli was the central figure for every counter attacks from the Baggies. The 27-year-old provided a great deal of support to Solomόn Rondόn, was very sound in his positioning and took his goal with sheer perfection after out-pacing Lamine Koné.
