MY ACCOUNT
Yet another thrilling Premier League weekend saw a host of eye-catching results at the top and bottom of the table.
Manchester City took advantage of Arsenal’s draw with Brentford to reduce the gap behind the leaders to only three points with a comfortable victory over Aston Villa.
Manchester United struck twice late on to beat bitter rivals Leeds as Fulham continued their shock push towards a Europa League place by downing in-form Nottingham Forest.
Leicester hit four against Tottenham to race clear of danger, while 10-man Wolves’ dramatic win over Southampton spelled the end for Saints boss Nathan Jones.
Ahead of Liverpool facing Everton in the Merseyside derby tonight, we pick out the stars of Matchday 23 so far.
Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester)
Six days after beating champions City, Tottenham were sent crashing back down to earth with a sorry 4-1 defeat at the King Power Stadium.
But while Spurs’ deficiencies dominated many of the post-match talking points, Brendan Rodgers’ men deserve plenty of credit for the way they dispatched the North Londoners.
None more so than Kelechi Iheanacho, who continued his excellent recent form with a goal and an assist.
Moments after Nampalys Mendy’s piledriver drew the Foxes level, the Nigerian teed up James Maddison to slot home before he swivelled and fired a superb finish past Fraser Forster just before the break.
Harvey Barnes’ second-half effort means Leicester scored four for the second successive game and Iheanacho has impressively contributed to five of those eight strikes.
Willian (Fulham)
Fulham continued to rubbish those tipping them for a relegation battle before the season started by moving within six points of fourth place with a 2-0 win over Forest.
If not many expected the Cottagers to be flying so high at this point, similarly few would have foreseen 34-year-old Willian being one of the driving forces behind that form.
The ex-Chelsea and Arsenal forward opened the scoring at Craven Cottage with a brilliant turn and finish into the top corner with his weaker left foot.
He threatened to better that effort in the second half but his rasping strike from the edge of the box struck the wrong side of the post, before Manor Solomon’s finish sealed victory over the Reds.
Manager Marco Silva said of the Brazilian’s display: “What he’s doing for us is not a surprise. You see it week in, week out. I am a privileged guy because I can see it every single day.”
Ruben Neves (Wolves)
Wolves secured yet another crucial win in their fight against relegation as they came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 despite Mario Lemina’s controversial sending off.
Jan Bednarek’s own goal cancelled out Carlos Alcaraz’s opener before Joao Gomes struck the winner on his debut three minutes from time.
And much like he has throughout their return of 13 points from 21 available under Julen Lopetegui, midfield maestro Ruben Neves led by example throughout the clash.
The Portuguese completed more passes (70), tackles (two) and won possession in the defensive third (eight) more times than any other player at St Mary’s.
His efforts provided the platform for his side to complete the dramatic turnaround and subsequently move five points clear of the relegation zone and into 15th.
Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Marcus Rashford’s place in our weekly stars column is becoming a near certainty as his 21st goal of the season set United on their way to beating Leeds in a feisty Elland Road clash.
There had not been much to choose from the arch rivals before the 80th minute, when the England man rose highest to head home Luke Shaw’s cross for yet another telling contribution.
Alejandro Garnacho’s brilliant finish sealed a hard-fought win for the Red Devils and hand them a healthy six-point cushion inside the top four.
After netting his 13th goal in 15 games since the World Cup, manager Erik ten Hag was asked if Rashford, 25, is one of the best forwards in Europe.
The Dutchman responded: “He’s definitely one of them.
“He has the skills. I was convinced from the first moment. I was really excited to work with him. Yeah, I thought I could get more out of him.
“But he has so many skills, such high potential and I think there can be even more.”
Rodri (Manchester City)
It had been a chaotic week for City after being hit with a Premier League charge for more than 100 alleged financial breaches.
But on the pitch, they looked back to their best as they breezed past Villa 3-1 thanks to a mesmeric display from Rodri.
The Spaniard headed the Citizens in front inside four minutes before pulling the strings in a comfortable win.
As well as his goal, the 26-year-old created four chances, completed 93 passes and found a team-mate 26 times in the final third — with no other player bettering those totals.
With the gap behind Arsenal now just three points ahead of Wednesday’s blockbuster clash between the pair, Pep Guardiola knows his influential deep-lying playmaker will be as important as ever.
