Top 5: Premier League Players of the Week
12th January 2016 - Barclays Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester United - Wayne Rooney of Man Utd looks dejected as he hits the wall - Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside.
Leicester City moved level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League after the Foxes’ 1-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur and the Gunners’ 3-3 draw at Liverpool.
Elsewhere, there were wins for Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, West Ham United and Aston Villa, who recorded their first victory in 19 league matches.
But in a round of fantastic midweek games, who were the top performers?
Here’s Shoot’s Top 5 Premier League Players of the Week…..
5. Dimitri Payet (West Ham United)
Payet has quickly got back to his best after recovering from injury.
The Frenchman shone in an inspirational performance as West Ham came from behind to win 3-1 at Bournemouth, grabbing both an assist and a goal at the Vitality Stadium.
Midway through the second half, Payet struck a sensational free-kick which clipped the underside of Artur Boruc’s crossbar to level the scores at 1-1.
He then showed great skill to take the ball past two Cherries defenders before crossing to set up Enner Valencia to put the Hammers 2-1 ahead.
Valencia then scored a free-kick of his own as Slaven Bilic’s side moved up to the dizzy heights of fifth place in the Premier League, leapfrogging Manchester United in the process.