Winners and losers from Premier League week 29 as Romelu Lukaku shines for Man United

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  • Romelu Lukaku

    Week 29 of the Premier League season may well have been the most crucial in terms of the title race and the relegation battle.

    Manchester City’s 1-0 away win over Bournemouth on Saturday took them two points clear of Liverpool, who could only draw with Merseyside rivals Everton, meaning Pep Guardiola’s side remain on top of the table.

    Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 at home to north London rivals Arsenal, keeping Mauricio Pochettino’s side in third place.

    Manchester United’s dramatic victory over Southampton sees them rise to fourth place at the expense of the Gunners, while Chelsea closed the gap on their London rivals by beating Fulham.

    Seventh-placed Wolves won for the first time in four matches, while Watford’s last gasp win over Leicester keeps them in eighth place.

    Crystal Palace’s crucial win over fellow strugglers Burnley has eased the relegation pressure on the Eagles, and Brighton’s narrow victory over Huddersfield takes them five points away from the drop zone.

    All of the bottom five teams lost this weekend, meaning Cardiff remain 18th, two points behind Southampton.

    Who inspired their team and who crumbled under the pressure? Here are our winners and losers.

    WINNERS

    Hugo Lloris – Tottenham Hotspur

    After a nightmare performance against Chelsea last time out, Lloris knew that he would need to be at his best against Arsenal at Wembley.

    The Frenchman deserves huge praise after he saved Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty late in the north London derby, preserving a point for his side.

    Romelu Lukaku – Manchester United

    Romelu Lukaku

    Romelu Lukaku has scored four goals in two games.

    The Belgian was among the winners in week 28 and here he is again after another fine brace, this time against Southampton.

    The striker is in clinical form and, at the moment, everything he touches seems to turn into goals.

    United face Arsenal next in the league and with Lukaku in such fine form, they will be confident of leaving the Emirates with all three points.

    Riyad Mahrez – Manchester City

    Riyad Mahrez

    Riyad Mahrez scored the winner at Bournemouth.

    Mahrez was on the list of losers for the last round of fixtures, but he made up for a poor showing with the winning goal against Bournemouth.

    He started the match on the bench but got his chance to prove himself when Kevin de Bruyne came off injured.

    The Algerian finished well from a difficult angle and will be feeling confident again.

    LOSERS

    Lucas Torreira – Arsenal

    Lucas Torreira

    Lucas Torreira saw red in the north London derby.

    Torreira surprisingly started the north London derby on the bench and his afternoon only got worse when he was substituted on by Unai Emery.

    The Uruguayan flew into a reckless challenge with Danny Rose and was given a straight red card. He’ll now miss the crucial clash with United.

    Mohamed Salah – Liverpool

    Mohamed Salah

    Mohamed Salah and Liverpool were lacking quality against Everton.

    Salah is enduring a poor run of form in front of goal and that continued against Everton at Goodison Park.

    He missed the best chance of the game for Liverpool and looked a shadow of the Salah from last season. If Liverpool want to win the league, they need Salah at his best.

    Bournemouth

    Sevilla v AFC Bournemouth - Pre-Season Friendly

    The Cherries made it clear from the first minute that they were content with defending deep against City.

    However, they failed to have a single shot in the whole game, meaning Ederson was a spectator like the rest of the fans at the Vitality Stadium.

    That’s poor from Eddie Howe’s men, considering that they blew Chelsea apart 4-0 not long ago at home.

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