Premier League winners and losers: Win the Manchester derby, win the league
By Ty Finch
The Premier League delivered plenty of excitement over the weekend. Here are the winners and losers from matchweek 16.
Two derbies — Manchester and Merseyside — overshadowed the Premier League weekend. Even though the two rivalries have largely been dominated by one side recently, there’s hardly a better slate of matches than when the two take place on the same day. The Merseyside derby ended in a draw thanks to a Wayne Rooney penalty, and the Manchester clash was a thrilling contest that ended in a familiar way.
Beyond the two obvious big matches of the weekend, there were other thrilling contests and storylines to be found, from surprising overachievers to those battling for survival. Here are the winners and losers of the weekend.
Winner: Mohamed Salah
It may not be the most surprising story to many, but it might be the most intriguing. Mohamed Salah is quickly becoming one of the best players in the Premier League, and proving that sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders for a player.
Salah knows how the Premier League operates. In early 2014, Jose Mourinho spent £11 million to bring the Egyptian to Chelsea. After playing in a handful of games for the Blues, Salah was already surplus to requirements. He was moderately successful in his brief stint, but was not given the necessary minutes to prove his worth.
After two years on loan in Serie A, Liverpool made a club-record bid for Salah in the summer. Even at £42 million, the winger has proven to be a bargain. Salah is top of the league in goals scored with 13, and has the best percentage of shots on target to boot. He scored the opener in the Merseyside derby, and has been terrorizing opposition defenses all season, making Chelsea and Mourinho rue the decision to let him go for a pittance a few years ago.
Not only is Salah excelling in the Premier League this season, but his country made their first World Cup since 1990 thanks to his two goals against Congo, and was drawn into the easiest group imaginable. Egypt has hosts Russia, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in Group A, which has been mathematically proven to be the easiest group in modern World Cup history.
Despite their first appearance since 1990, the Pharaohs have a legitimate shot at reaching the knockout round. It’s good to be Mohamed Salah.