Winners and losers from Premier League week 28 as Sadio Mane inspires Liverpool to big victory

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  • Sadio Mane.

    The drama of week 27 had barely subsided before the 28th round of fixtures was upon us. Midweek Premier League fixtures are loved by everyone and this round of matches certainly didn’t disappoint.

    Liverpool and Manchester City both won, meaning the Reds maintained their slender one point lead at the top of the table.

    Tottenham fell further behind with their second successive defeat, this time at the hands of London rivals Chelsea, who are now three points away from fourth place.

    Arsenal moved four points behind their north London rivals with a convincing victory over Bournemouth, whilst fifth placed Manchester United remained within touching distance of the Gunners with a 3-1 away win over Crystal Palace.

    Everton’s win over Cardiff sees them leap into the top half of the table, whilst Leicester City’s victory over Brighton takes them one point behind tenth placed West Ham.

    Newcastle’s second successive win eases their relegation fears, but Brighton are in real trouble, sitting only two points above 18th placed Cardiff.

    Huddersfield won only their third match of the season against Wolves, giving the Terriers a glimmer of hope of survival.

    Who made themselves a hero and who were the villains? Here are our winners and losers.

    WINNERS

    Gylfi Sigurdsson.

    Gylfi Sigurdsson.

    Gylfi Sigurdsson – Everton

    Everton have been one of the most inconsistent sides in the top flight this season, but Sigurdsson has been their shining light.

    The Icelandic international netted a brace to inspire the Toffees to victory in Wales against Cardiff, taking his total tally in the league this season to 11.

    With Liverpool up next in the Merseyside derby, Everton fans will be quietly confident of coming away with a positive result.

    Sadio Mane – Liverpool

    Mane’s quick brace at Anfield opened the floodgates for the Reds against Watford, but special mention should go to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk. Both of Mane’s goals were expertly assisted by the impressive Arnold, whilst Van Dijk also netted twice in the 5-0 rout.

    It seems Liverpool have regained their offensive swagger ahead of the crucial clash with Everton.

    Romelu Lukaku – Manchester United

    Injury-hit Manchester United needed someone to step up and deliver at Selhurst Park and boy did Lukaku do just that.

    Two very well taken finishes gave United the platform to secure the three points, but it was his willingness to get on the ball that was most impressive.

    Lukaku proved to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he still has the quality to hurt Premier League defences.

    LOSERS

    James Tarkowski – Burnley

    In week 27, Tarkowski’s name was on the list of winners, but the Englishman endured a torrid evening at Selhurst Park.

    He missed a glorious chance for the Clarets just before half-time and found it hard to contain Salomon Rondon.

    Kieran Trippier – Tottenham

    Trippier became a national hero when he curled in a delightful free kick for England in the World Cup semi-final against Croatia, but since, his club performances have deteriorated drastically.

    The full-back scored a comical own goal at Stamford Bridge to give Chelsea a two-goal lead.

    It was a lack of communication between Trippier and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, with the right-back passing the ball backwards and into his own net.

    Riyad Mahrez – Manchester City

    Riyad Mahrez.

    Riyad Mahrez.

    Mahrez was given a rare league start against West Ham, but he failed to make the most of the opportunity.

    It looked like the Algerian had never played with his teammates before as he was not in sync with Kevin De Bruyne on several occasions.

    Mahrez was hauled off ten minutes into the second half and with a performance like that, he probably won’t be starting many more matches in the near future.

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