The final week before Christmas saw four clubs emerge victorious in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, each moving a step closer to lifting the first major silverware of the 2024/25 season.
Liverpool and Arsenal enjoyed narrow wins over Southampton and Crystal Palace respectively, while Newcastle United were slightly more comfortable away from Brentford. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United then went head-to-head in north London to wrap things up 24 hours later.
With the help of Photomob player ratings, 90 min choose the best player from each of the four draws…
The best player on the field as Liverpool narrowly beat Southampton without a manager at St Mary's there was no Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, or even goalscorer Darwin Nunez. Instead, Wataru Endo took that honor for his solid and empowering performance.
The Japan international started unusually in the back four due to injuries and Virgil van Dijk being rested. But he was outstanding, barely misplacing a pass, winning all four of his tackles, eight of his ground duels and three of five aerial duels.
For Dominic Solanke, this week's equalizer marked his fourth and fifth goals against Manchester in the 18 months since the start of last season – he simply likes to score against themno matter who you're playing for.
The former of the pair was of a true poacher's instinct, reacting quicker to a rebound and keeping his cool to fool the keeper by finishing at the near post when the far post was the obvious choice. The second saw him cut inside from the left and fire low into the net from 18 yards.
After serving a ten-month ban for betting offenses and returning to football in August, it looks as though Wednesday night's performance against Brentford may have been a catalyst for Sandro Tonali to justify his status as Italy's most expensive player in history.
The Newcastle United midfielder scored twice in the first half alone at St James' Park, the first a drilled strike from distance and the second a quiet goal from a corner. Goals aren't usually his game, but Tonali had five strikes in total and, overnight, matched his tally from the entire 2022/23 season with AC Milan. He clearly has the potential to be a real star in this Magpies team.
Imagine waiting a year and a day for a home goal, and then three come in less than half an hour. This is it exactly what happened to Gabriel Jesus this week.
The erratic Brazilian hadn't scored at the Emirates Stadium since December 17, 2023 when the Gunners hosted Crystal Palace and that didn't look set to change as the visitors took a shock lead and Arsenal looked particularly soft.
The first half substitutions changed everything. That, in turn, gave Jesus three chances and he took each one with the clinical confidence of someone who scores routinely.