The Premier League returned to our screens this weekend after the last international break till March, thankfully. It was Arsenal and Spurs that kicked off the weekend in a derby, which many people suggested could decide who was the dominant team in North London. It was Arsenal that came out on top this time beating Spurs 2-0.
Elsewhere, league leaders Manchester City beat Leicester City 2-0 in a 3 pm kickoff in order to put pressure on Manchester United who started the day in 2nd place. United responded well later in the day as they smashed Newcastle United 4-1.
This weekend also saw Crystal Palace take on Everton in a hugely important game for both sides. It finished 2-2 at Selhurst Park, thanks to an alleged “dive” from Niasse.
The remaining games on Saturday saw Bournemouth smash Huddersfield 4-0, Burnley beat Swansea 2-0, Liverpool beat Southampton 3-0 and Chelsea destroy West Brom 4-0.
As for Sunday, there was just one Premier League game which saw Watford and West Ham clash. Watford came away with the three points in that games as they won 2-0. The final Premier League games this week took place on Monday night and it saw Brighton and Stoke City draw 2-2.
Here are T40’s player of the week nominees for week 12.
Callum Wilson vs Huddersfield
Wilson is a player who has been hit with some seriously bad injury luck. Those injuries also kept him out for much of this season. However, this weekend would see Wilson start just his second league games this season for Bournemouth vs Huddersfield.
The match vs Huddersfield was very much a must win for Bournemouth as they started the day just one point above the relegation zone. Huddersfield, also, are likely to be one of the teams trying to survive relegation towards the end of the season alongside Bournemouth. Therefore, it was clear Bournemouth needed to pick up three points on Saturday.
They did exactly that, smashing the Terriers 4-0. The main reason for that and certainly Bournemouth’s MVP of the day was Callum Wilson.
Wilson had a good game for Bournemouth. Despite only recently returning from injury and not having to much game time under his belt, Wilson looked superb. He made excellent runs into the box, his finishing was prim and Huddersfield simply couldn’t cope with him. This resulted in Wilson scoring three of Bournemouth’s four goals vs Huddersfield, which would see him take home the match ball.
Mohamed Salah vs Southampton
Since arriving at Liverpool over the summer, Salah has been Liverpool’s best player. Before this weekend Salah had played 17 games in all competitions for Liverpool and scored an impressive 12 goals as well as getting four assists.
This weekend, Salah added another two goals to that tally when he helped Liverpool beat their feeder club Southampton 3-0. The Egyptian opened the scoring for Liverpool on Saturday with a breathtaking strike.
He picked up the ball on the edge of the Southampton box, took one touch and then curled a great shot straight in the top corner of the net.
Salah doubled Liverpool’s lead after making a great run into the box and calmly slotting past Forster to make it 2-0. This would put Salah’s Premier League tally to nine goals this season, making him the league’s top scorer ahead of the likes of Harry Kane, Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku.
Eden Hazard vs West Brom
After returning from injury earlier this season, Eden Hazard has not really clicked at Chelsea, managing just one goal and one assist in eight appearances. However, when Chelsea took on a struggling West Brom side at the weekend, Hazard stole the show.
Alvaro Morata did open the scoring for the Blues but Morata’s tap-in was only possible because Foster had to parry a venomous shot from the Belgian ace. He got his first goal of the day as he used his pace to beat Foster and finished precisely to make it 2-0 to Chelsea.
Hazard also scored his second and Chelsea’s fourth of the day, as he picked up the ball just inside the West Brom box before curling it past Foster. Both Chelsea and Hazard have struggled somewhat this season. But it was clear this weekend that Eden Hazard was back to his best vs West Brom.
So if you want to vote for your favourite player from the last matchday, just do so by selecting your favourite player below.
Premier League Match Week 12: Nominees for The 4th Official’s player of the week are from #afcb, #lfc & #cfc. Mesut Ozil very narrowly misses out from being on this list. Vote for your winner and RETWEET.
— The 4th Official (@Official_T4O) November 21, 2017
