It was the weekend before Christmas when all hell broke loose across the Premier League.
The 17th round of matches started with continuation of Manchester City's strange form of relegation and was brought to a breathless conclusion by one wonderfully silly nine-goal thriller between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. There was also a wild edge to this weekend draws 0-0.
Here are the players who made a final push for Father Christmas's fine list.
Enzo Maresca was one of the few to leave Sunday's stalemate between Everton and Chelsea. unreservedly happy. However, even Robert Sanchez deserved a little smile for himself.
For the second week in a row, the Blues relied on their disruptive goalkeeper to keep them in contention. Either side of the first half, Sanchez denied Everton a number of clear scoring chances, keeping just his fourth clean sheet of the season.
After catching one hat-trick against Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, many wondered if Gabriel Jesus would be given the chance to start in Arsenal's next game against the same opposition. For Mikel Arteta it was never a question. “I had no doubts,” insisted the Gunners boss. “When a player is in that momentum, he has to play.”
Jesus rewarded his manager's faith with his first Premier League goal in 11 months. The Brazilian added another inside a chaotic opening 15 minutes before Arsenal eventually secured the 5-1 victory.
Unai Emery is not one for hyperbole, but the Aston Villa manager was very surprised by Morgan Rogers' all-round performance. against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon that he used the word “awesome” three times in less than 60 seconds.
The former City academy graduate was at the center of both goals in Villa's 2-1 home win, setting up the first for Jhon Duran before finishing off a move which he started with a hard run from within half of it.
On a night when almost every Liverpool player impressedLuis Diaz wants individual recognition for his role in a 6-3 win over Spurs that must have felt particularly cathartic.
The Colombia international, who was so controversially denied a goal at Tottenham last year, scored twice on Sunday, bookending his nine-goal haul with a pair of clinical – and legal – strikes.
The first Olympians were equipped with laurel wreaths, Roman gladiators could earn their freedom, and modern day footballers increasingly have special stats on them.
Mohamed Salah is smart for any fun facts or tidbits, with Jurgen Klopp previously revealing that his striker is the first to know about any data points. Two goals and as many assists against Spurs in another minimalist masterpiece saw Salah reach double figures in both statistical categories in a given season faster than anyone else in Premier League history.
Alexander Isak has scored consistently since scoring on 38 minutes on his Premier League debut against Liverpool in 2022. However, over the following two-and-a-half years, Newcastle's powerful forward never walked away with the match ball.
Isak completed his first hat-trick in English football during a 4-0 game against Ipswich Town on Saturday. While “collecting” from the performance, the 25-year-old admitted: “It's been a long time.”