Today was another enthralling day of Barclays Premier League football. We saw Sunderland stun Everton in the early kick-off, Burnley relegated and vital wins for Aston Villa, Leicester City and Manchester United.
We take a look at the top five Premier League performers of the day;
Jermain Defoe (Sunderland)
Jermain Defoe has scored bags of crucial goals throughout his illustrious career, and today he struck another very important one. The ex-England international ran all game in a tireless performance, and topped his day off with Sunderland’s second goal in a superb 2-0 away with at Everton.
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
The youngster has really come of age under the management of Tim Sherwood. Grealish was outstanding once again against West Ham United this afternoon – setting up the only goal of the game for Tom Cleverley in a huge 1-0 win over the Hammers. The 19-year-old is getting better and better, and is quickly making a real name for himself at Villa Park.
Tom Cleverley (Aston Villa)
Tom Cleverley is another player who seems to be flourishing under new Villa boss Sherwood. The midfielder, who is on loan from Manchester United, has netted three goals in his last three games – and who knows just how vital his winner over West Ham today will be come the end of the season?
Ayoze Perez (Newcastle United)
Perez has enjoyed an extremely successful first season in English football. Newcastle had lost their last eight Premier League games on the bounce before today – but Perez’s goal stopped the rot and earned Newcastle what could be a very important point.
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City)
And last but by no means least is Leicester City star Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian, who hadn’t scored since December, hit two in the excellent 2-0 home win over Southampton. Nigel Pearson’s side have now won six of the last seven Premier League games and have given themselves a huge chance of survival.