EPL 2016/17 - SK Turning Point – 7 moments/performances from Gameweek 18
Boxing Day action saw Chelsea beat a resilient Bournemouth side handsomely to extend their winning run to a club-record 12 games. There were no major upsets as Manchester City and Manchester United convincingly beat Hull and Sunderland respectively.
Arsenal were saved the blushes against West Brom, courtesy a late winner from Olivier Giroud; Liverpool came back from a goal down to see off Stoke 4-1 in a thrilling encounter at Anfield to keep their second place in the table.
Also read: SK Power Ranking: Top 10 EPL attackers - Gameweek 18
Leicester’s fortress was breached as Everton subjected them to a loss at the King Power whereas Burnley escaped unscathed at Turf Moor against a resurgent Middlesbrough. West Ham routed Swansea City 4-1 at the Liberty Stadium and Spurs beat Southampton by the same score-line, but Palace conceded a needless penalty to allow Watford to snatch a point at Vicarage road.
In this article, we take a look at the best / worst performances, along with players and moments that proved to be turning points in a game.
#1 Best goal: Fabio Borini
Match: Manchester United vs. Sunderland
United were leading by 3 goals and the game was put to bed but Fabio Borini, who had been on the prowl all game, ensured that the home side did not keep a clean sheet.
A cross into the penalty area from Jason Denayer was headed out by Marcos Rojo; the ball bounced twice in front of Borini who volleyed it into the far corner over a host of players including David de Gea.
It was a cracker of a strike and our pick of the week, but one that came too late for the Black Cats to gain anything from it.
Honourable mentions: Pedro (vs. AFC Bournemouth), Andy Carroll (vs. Swansea), Adam Lallana (vs. Stoke City)
Note: Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored a beauty but was offside by a considerable margin; although the goal stood, we see it inappropriate to consider it among the best, given video evidence.