The midway point of the 2021-22 Premier League season is upon us, but the festive fixtures were thrown into disarray amid the surge in Omicron cases up and down the country.
However, the teams that were able to take to the field for Boxing Day put on quite the show, with leaders Manchester City remaining six points clear at the top after a thrilling 6-3 win over Leicester City.
Third-placed Chelsea returned to winning ways with a 3-1 success over Aston Villa, while fellow top-four challengers Arsenal hit Norwich City for five without reply.
Tottenham Hotspur managed to keep the pressure on their North London rivals by seeing off Crystal Palace 3-0, but West Ham United's slump continued with a 3-2 defeat to Southampton.
Brighton & Hove Albion ended their barren winless run with a 2-0 success over Brentford, and Monday's encounter saw Manchester United take an undeserved point from their clash with Newcastle United.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for gameweek 19 of the 2021-22 season.
DEFENCE
© Reuters
Not many Man United players could walk off the St James' Park turf with their heads held high, but David de Gea was one of the few who did, as the Spaniard made a total of seven saves - including a full-stretch stop from Miguel Almiron - to ensure that his side would not suffer an embarrassing defeat.
It was difficult to identify many standout defensive performances as goals flew in left right and centre on Boxing Day, but with one assist, four key passes, six tackles and a 94% pass accuracy, Emerson Royal was on top form for Spurs against Palace.
Southampton and West Ham were far from exemplary on the defensive front in their festive clash, but Jan Bednarek stood out head and shoulders above the rest - meeting James Ward-Prowse's free kick for the winning goal while also making nine clearances, three blocks and two interceptions.
The final member of our three-man rearguard also had quite the impact in the final third at the weekend, as Kieran Tierney fired home expertly for Arsenal against Norwich while also winning four of his five aerial duels and four of his six ground duels to post another clean sheet.
MIDFIELD
© Reuters
The Arsenal representation in this TOTW does not stop with Tierney, as Bukayo Saka's rapid rise continued at Carrow Road with two of his side's five goals - the second of which was very Arjen Robben-esque - with the youngster thriving under the tutelage of Mikel Arteta.
There were no prizes for guessing who would bail Chelsea out of trouble against Aston Villa, as Jorginho once again demonstrated his prowess from the spot with two penalties on the day, and the Italian also posted an 87% pass accuracy while winning five of his seven ground duels.
With Brighton's torrid winless run finally coming to an end on Boxing Day, there just had to be a spot in the team for midfield marshal Enock Mwepu - deputising for the suspended Yves Bissouma - as the Zambia international claimed one assist, made three tackles and won seven out of nine ground duels in a dominant display.
For a short while, Man City's clash with Leicester City appeared to be heading in the direction of the famed Newcastle United vs. Arsenal 4-4, but Raheem Sterling ensured that would not be the case, as he rounded off the scoring on the day with his second goal while also completing four of his five dribble attempts successfully.
The permanent signing of Martin Odegaard was not well-received by the entire Arsenal fanbase at the time, but the ex-Real Madrid man is consistently proving the doubters wrong and made quite the impact at Carrow Road, recording two assists, three key passes and three accurate long balls as the Gunners' creator-in-chief.
ATTACK
© Reuters
His side may not have come out on the correct end of the nine-goal scoreline, but Kelechi Iheanacho led the Leicester charge at the Etihad, scoring one goal and setting up two more to threaten an astounding comeback before the quality of his former club came to the fore.
In contrast, Lucas Moura's goal and two assists for Tottenham ensured that his side would be coming away with maximum points in their London derby with Crystal Palace, with the Brazilian having a direct hand in every goal on the day as he seeks to stake a claim under Antonio Conte.
PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-1-2): De Gea; Emerson, Bednarek, Tierney; Saka, Jorginho, Mwepu, Sterling; Odegaard; Lucas, Iheanacho
Ben Knapton
