The relegation rat race continues to hot up as Bournemouth found their way out of the bottom three with a massive win over Liverpool, only for a draw from West Ham seeing them fall straight back into the drop zone.
A win for relegation-threatened Everton also helped them, while draws for Leeds, West Ham and Southampton kept the points ticking over, giving them the edge of Forest and Wolves, who both fell to defeat.
Meanwhile, Arsenal continued to march on with a comfortable 3-0 win over Fulham, while Newcastle and Tottenham bolstered their top 4 hopes with wins.
Here’s who we think starred from the weekend’s action.
📰 Table Of Contents
GK: David de Gea
10-man Manchester United could have come away from Old Trafford with nothing had it not been for the heroics of David De Gea, and some luck from the woodwork.
The Spaniard, who has rightfully been scrutinised for his inability to play with the ball at his feet, still remains one of the top shot-stoppers in the Premier League and made some excellent saves to keep his side in the game even after Casemiro’s red car.
The team wanted more but sometimes you have to take these games and move on. We battled together 🔴 pic.twitter.com/e9lCLhVkc1
— David de Gea (@D_DeGea) March 12, 2023
RB: Kieran Trippier
Kieran Trippier played more passes into the opposition box than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this weekend.
And look at this leap. 😳 pic.twitter.com/nGEcM1m7OO
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 13, 2023
CB: James Tarkowski
Everton were never going to score too many goals this season, so their defending needed to be perfect. Against Brentford it was just that, led by a re-energised James Tarkowski, who made 11 clearances and won 9 of his 13 duels against the Bees.
James Tarkowski. Classy player. Classy guy. 🧱💙 pic.twitter.com/PPlAEc3Vc2
— Everton (@Everton) March 12, 2023
CB: Nathan Ake
Has there been a better defender in the Premier League this season? Often asked to play out of position at left back by Pep Guardiola, Ake has been excellent and, even when faced with Palace’s tricky wide players, produced another top performance for the Cityzens to keep them within touching distance of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
3 Points ☑️ clean sheet ☑️ happy weekend citizens @ManCity pic.twitter.com/o2sYMbCr9w
— Nathan Aké (@NathanAke) March 11, 2023
LB: Ben Chilwell
Booed with virtually every touch of the ball against his former club, Chilwell must have enjoyed the end result. Giving his side the lead in the first half with a half volley, the Englishman set his new side on their way to a third straight victory, and only worsened Leicester’s position in the relegation battle.
Ben Chilwell against his former team 😅 pic.twitter.com/1gxtUj5oq3
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 11, 2023
RM: Dango Ouattarra
Could he be the most important January signing in the bottom half of the Premier League? Ouattara terrorised the Liverpool defence with his quick feet and lightening speed, and could well have had two goals himself in the first half before finding Phillip Billing for the only goal of the game.
At £20m, the Cherries seem to have found a gem who could well help them steer clear of relegation this season.
Dango Ouattara’s game by numbers vs Liverpool:
36 touches
10 duels won (most)
5 passes completed
4 dribbles completed (most)
2 possession won
1 chance created
1 assist
0.44 xGExciting talent. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/rflPIQNypo
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 11, 2023
CM: Thomas Partey
Arsenal’s title charge marched on with a routine 3-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage, a game which looked like a potential banana peel for Mikel Arteta’s men.
No one could get close to Thomas Partey in the Gunners engine room, however, with the Ghanaian midfielder pulling the strings and ensuring that his side controlled the game, and strolled to victory.
CM: Philip Billing
Billing made it two goals in two games as he shinned in the winner against Liverpool, handing his side a mammoth three points in the process to lift them out of the relegation zone.
The Dane often goes under the radar but has been quietly excellent for Gary O’Neil’s side and, as the top goalscorer, will be needed between now and the end of the season.
Philip Billing taps home the opener and it’s lift-off for Bournemouth 🚀 pic.twitter.com/mFVK90hIyj
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 11, 2023
LM: Leandro Trossard
Arsenal’s bid for Mykhaylo Mudryk being hijacked doesn’t seem so bad now. There is no doubt that the Ukrainian is talented and could still become a world-class player, but in Leandro Trossard the Gunners found a player able to hit the ground running in a title chase.
The Belgian was unplayable at Craven Cottage, grabbing all three assists in the game, and in truth he could have had several more.
21’ 🅰️ Trossard ➡️ Gabriel ⚽️
26’ 🅰️ Trossard ➡️ Martinelli ⚽️
45+2’ 🅰️ Trossard ➡️ Ødegaard ⚽️Leandro Trossard is the 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 player in Premier League history to make a hat-trick of assists in the first half of an away game.
[via @OptaJoe]. pic.twitter.com/wxE1mdRV7f
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 12, 2023
ST: Harry Kane
No matter the state of Tottenham, they can count themselves lucky that they have Harry Kane. After a dreadful couple of weeks which saw them knocked out of the Champions League and FA Cup without much of a fight, the Englishman found the back of the net twice to get them back to winning ways.
Harry Kane joins Alan Shearer and Sergio Agüero as the only players to hit 20+ goals in six Premier League seasons 💥 pic.twitter.com/vkPLpEVRu7
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 11, 2023
ST: Kai Havertz
A somewhat fortuitous penalty from Kai Havertz in midweek appears to have restored some confidence in the German attacker.
Against Leicester City, he once again found the back of the net, and also hit the woodwork as well as seeing an assist chalked off for offside.
That Kai Havertz finish 👌👌 pic.twitter.com/qpeyPYifcU
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 13, 2023
