Gameweek 25 was a fun one from start to finish.
Huge wins from Liverpool and Arsenal really set the tone for a week of excitement, before Chelsea blew the title race open by holding Manchester City to a draw. There was a bit of something for everyone in a week which could go a long way to shaping how the final standings look in May.
Here are 90min’s top performers from the latest round of action.
Ross Barkley is one of many Luton players who could walk away from the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United with their heads held high.
Playing in a disciplined, box-to-box role, Barkley is showing a side to his game that we’ve never seen before and, at 30 years old, looks to be at the peak of his powers.
There are calls for Barkley to return to the England squad for the first time since October 2019, and we’re all for it.
It’s easy to sign “Brighton have done it again” whenever a non-household name does something good, but it looks like Brighton might have actually done it again.
Simon Adingra is a lot of fun to watch and caused all sorts of problems for Sheffield United, walking away with two goals to keep his breakout season going.
Expect a £100m bid from Chelsea soon.
With Harry Kane no longer on these shores, Ollie Watkins is staking his claim to be the most complete striker in the Premier League.
He bagged another two goals to fire Aston Villa to a 2-1 win over Fulham, but also stood out with his smart link-up play and passing. It’s no wonder he has 12 assists to his name as well.
Unai Emery has worked wonders at Villa, but what he’s done with Watkins is nothing short of sublime.
Sheffield United aren’t exactly the gold standard in this season’s Premier League but that shouldn’t take anything away from just how impressive Pascal Gross was against the Blades.
He ended Brighton’s 5-0 win with just one assist but his impact goes far deeper. He created eight chances and became the first Premier League player on record to reach that figure with over 100 passes completed at 90% accuracy.
The dictionary definition of ran the show.
2024 has been pretty kind to Rasmus Hojlund.
The young striker, who was so widely mocked after a slow start to life in Manchester, netted another two goals at the weekend to maintain his scoring streak and take his tally to seven in his last six games.
He had to work hard to get through Luton, but this new, confident version of Hojlund clearly embraced the challenge and walked away with the spoils.
When Bukayo Saka is on form, there aren’t many defenders on the planet who can stop him, and Burnley learned that the hard way this week.
Two more goals for Arsenal’s starboy, who now has six in his last four Premier League outings, but Saka was an all-round threat who tormented Burnley from start to finish.
If Arsenal are going to win the Premier League title, they’re going to need Saka to keep this form up for as long as possible.
Chelsea had to be organised and disciplined if they were to avoid getting absolutely hammered by Manchester City. Malo Gusto clearly got the brief.
The French full-back metaophorically laughed in the face of Jeremy Doku as he stuffed the City winger into his back pocket, making countless big tackles but also pulling his weight in attack as well.
Chelsea bought Gusto as cover for captain Reece James, but the 20-year-old has quickly given the Blues a welcome dilemma.
Mohamed Salah was only on the pitch for half of Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Brentford but still managed to emerge as the game’s most impressive player.
The Egyptian bagged a goal and an assist but could have sent his stats through the roof with at least two more goals of his own, such was his dominance when he came off the bench.
Had he been given the full 90, Salah could easily have earned a spot on the top of the rankings.
While Saka’s two-goal haul dominated the headlines from Arsenal’s win over Burnley, it was Martin Odegaard at the heart of everything positive from the Gunners.
Odegaard opened the scoring but his job continued from that point as he helped win the penalty from which Saka scored his first – even holding on to the ball before giving it up at the last minute to swallow all the pressure from the Burnley fans.
A sumptuous assist would come for the third goal of the game as Odegaard did everything possible to pick Burnley apart.
Not many defenders emerge from their battles with Erling Haaland unscathed, let alone laughing, but the charismatic Axel Disasi loved every bit of his challenge.
Disasi attracted comparisons to John Terry after making 16 clearances – the most by any Chelsea player in the last eight seasons – as he gave everything to try and keep Man City at bay.
Whether he’s stage-diving into fans or throwing his head into danger, Disasi has really won Chelsea fans over in the past few weeks.
