Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester United stars all feature.
The Premier League provided no shortage of talking points this week with games called off, travel chaos and persistent rain which leaves the die hard fans deserving a pat on the back. For the matches that did take place, we’ve taken a look at the players who underperformed and didn’t pull their weight in important Premier League games.
Shots off Target
| Player | Club | Pos | Shot Off Target | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Brunt | West Brom | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Olivier Giroud | Arsenal | FW | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Jay Rodriguez | Southampton | FW | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Luis Suarez | Liverpool | FW | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Leandro Bacuna | Aston Villa | MF | 2 | 1 | 90 |
There are a couple of surprising names on that list, with Luis Suarez and Olivier Giroud the most obvious. Suarez was saved by his Liverpool teammates but Giroud couldn’t find a goal against Manchester United which allowed the champions to hang on for a point.
Big Chances Missed
| Player | club | Pos | Big Chance Missed | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papiss Demba Cissé | Newcastle | FW | 2 | 1 | 90 |
| Olivier Giroud | Arsenal | FW | 2 | 1 | 90 |
| Rickie Lambert | Southampton | FW | 2 | 1 | 77 |
| Robin van Persie | Man Utd | FW | 2 | 1 | 90 |
| Emmanuel Adebayor | Spurs | FW | 1 | 1 | 84 |
Giroud features again, missing one header in particular which would have made the difference against Manchester United. However, Robin Van Persie was equally wasteful, failing to make the most of a mistake from Mikel Arteta in the opening exchanges of the game.
Own Goals
| Player | Club | Pos | Own Goals | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kolo Touré | Liverpool | DF | 1 | 1 | 90 |
Our apologies go out to Kolo Toure but he probably couldn’t have scored that own goal again if he tried a thousand times. He completely misjudged a ball into the box and fluffed it into the back of his own net, which allowed Fulham to take the lead. Fortunately, Liverpool went on to win the game.
Challenges Lost
| Player | Club | Pos | Challenge Lost | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erik Pieters | Stoke | DF | 6 | 1 | 90 |
| Claudio Yacob | West Brom | MF | 5 | 1 | 63 |
| Charlie Adam | Stoke | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Sammy Ameobi | Newcastle | FW | 4 | 1 | 71 |
| Peter Odemwingie | West Brom | FW | 4 | 1 | 90 |
Pieters is surprising because statistically he was one of the best defenders in the league last month, even make our January team of the month. He struggled to get challenges right last night as Stoke could only manage a point at home against Swansea City.
Aerial Duels Lost
| Player | Club | Pos | Aerial Lost | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Benteke | Aston Villa | FW | 10 | 1 | 90 |
| Shane Long | West Brom | FW | 10 | 1 | 90 |
| Luuk de Jong | Newcastle | FW | 9 | 1 | 63 |
| Nathan Baker | Aston Villa | DF | 8 | 1 | 90 |
| Nemanja Vidic | Man Utd | DF | 8 | 1 | 90 |
It’s not surprising to see strikers on this list but an interesting one is Nemanja Vidic. He struggled to cope with the size and presence of Olivier Giroud, losing several aerial clashes, with the perception that Vidic is one of the strongest defenders aerially in the league.
Fouls
| Player | Club | Pos | Fouls | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leroy Fer | Norwich | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Morgan Schneiderlin | Southampton | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Robert Snodgrass | Norwich | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Nemanja Vidic | Man Utd | DF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Charlie Adam | Stoke | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
Vidic appears again, giving away several fouls which could have landed Manchester United in more hot water than they did. It’s encouraging for United that he’s getting stuck in but his timing was way off last night.
image: © wonker
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