The 2018-19 season of the Premier League has already produced plenty of drama and excitement and things are set to heat up even more as the season enters the ever-busy festive period ahead of the January transfer window.
Just like any other round of Premier League football, there was more than enough for all sets of fans to savour and admire in Match Week 16 while plenty of talking points were also on offer for the media to dissect.
Liverpool went 14 points clear of reigning champions Man City, who suffered a 2-1 defeat to Man United in the much-anticipated Manchester derby on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Leicester City strengthened their credentials as Liverpool’s nearest title rivals with a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa, with the Foxes stretching their winning run to eight games in the Premier League.
Everton, on the other hand, returned to winning ways with a 3-1 demolition of Chelsea at home under caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson, who took over the reins from Marco Silva in wake of the Toffees’ midweek derby defeat to Liverpool.
Arsenal sparked a dramatic turnaround in the second half to beat West Ham 3-1 while Sheffield United, too, returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Norwich City.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the top 3 moments from PL Match Week 16.
Tottenham were under pressure to return to winning ways against Burnley at home under Jose Mourinho, who suffered his first defeat as Spurs manager against his former club Man United in the previous outing.
Harry Kane and Lucas Moura made it 2-0 in favour of the hosts inside ten minutes but it was Heung-min Son who lit up the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with his sensational solo goal.
The Korean picked up the ball deep inside his own half and completely bamboozled as many as seven retreating Burnley players with some lightning pace and magical acceleration before beating Nick Pope with a neat finish to make it 3-0.
Spurs eventually secured all three points and a much-awaited clean-sheet with a 5-0 victory, with Son’s incredible solo goal reminiscent of Sofiane Boufal’s heroics against West Brom in the 2017-18 season.
Nicolas Pepe’s big-money move to Arsenal has become a big talking point for large sections of the fans and the media, with the Ivorian clearly struggling to live up to the hype surrounding his arrival in North London.
Pepe had only scored once in 13 Premier League outings for the Gunners heading into Monday night’s home game against West Ham and he looked set for some more criticism, with Arsenal trailing 1-0 for the majority of the game.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, Pepe stepped up to the occasion and silenced the stadium with a sensational curler with his left foot to make it 2-1 in favour of Arsenal after Gabriel Martinelli had put them back on level terms.
The Ivorian has often been played down by his critics for being way too over-reliant on his magical left foot but his goal on Monday was a clear message that he doesn’t always need to use his weaker right foot to deliver the goods.
Despite their somewhat inconsistent form in the Premier League this season, Man City were the outright favourites on paper when they played host to Man United in the local derby on Saturday, and few would have given the Red Devils a realistic chance of upsetting City on their home territory.
VAR has sparked so many controversies this season ever since its introduction in the Premier League, and technology once again came into play after Marcus Rashford’s fall inside the penalty area following some kind of contact with Bernardo Silva had been deemed unworthy of a penalty, despite vociferous appeals of a foul from the United players.
On-field referee Anthony Taylor’s decision was eventually overruled by the VAR, with replays confirming that Silva’s foot had, indeed, impeded Rashford’s run. Rashford then stepped up to send Ederson the wrong way from the spot, putting United 1-0 up and setting the stage for a major upset.