Newcastle United’s shocking victory over the weekend might very well have had more to do with Tottenham failing to show up than anything else. The Hotspurs’ failure to show up with a chance to clinch second spot in the Premier League table was simply baffling but it should be no surprise that Newcastle is well represented in this column following an offensive explosion in their final Premier League game ahead of their pending relegation. Here is a look at the top individual EPL fantasy performances by position from this past weekend.
GK: Tim Howard, Everton
Everton bounced back from consecutive losses to finish the season on a high note with Howard closing the door on Norwich City in a 3-0 win. Howard stopped all three shots he faced for one of two clean sheet victories on the board for the final weekend, edging out Arsenal’s Petr Cech for the best EPL fantasy score at his position. Everton ended up allowing 55 goals in 38 games this season.
Honorable Mention: Petr Cech, Arsenal
D: Leighton Baines, Everton
Baines certainly delivered a strong performance on the back end for Everton in their win over Norwich City on Sunday, scoring a goal on a penalty shot and finishing with three shots. Baines also received a clean sheet bonus for his work at the defensive end of the floor to wrap up his season on a high note. Everton finished the season 11th in the table.
Honorable Mention: Daryl Janmaat, Newcastle United; Ryan Bertrand, Southampton; Hector Bellerin, Arsenal
M: Georginio Wijnaldum, Newcastle United
The biggest surprise of the weekend came from St. James’ Park where Newcastle delivered an absolute stunner in their final Premier League game before relegation. The midfield carried the Newcastle attack with Wijnaldum scoring twice on as many shots in a 5-1 win over Tottenham as the top EPL fantasy performer at his position for the first time all season. Newcastle finished 18th in the standings table, which means they’ll be relegated. It’s easy to see why as they scored just 44 goals in 38 games this season while allowing 65.
M: Rolando Aarons, Newcastle United
Aarons came off the bench to provide a spark for Newcastle and help them put Hotspurs away with a goal and an assist. The 20-year-old midfielder didn’t have a point through his first nine appearances of the season but it didn’t take him long to factor in to the equation versus Tottenham as he recorded his only two points of the year to earn a spot on this list and help keep Hotspurs from clinching second in the table.
Honorable Mention: Jermain Lens, Sunderland; Sadio Mane, Southampton; James McCarthy, Everton; Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
F: Olivier Giroud, Arsenal
Newcastle’s win over Hotspurs opened the door for Arsenal to clinch second place in the table with a win over Aston Villa and unlike Tottenham the Gunners didn’t let their foot off the gas pedal in their finale. Giroud was the star for Arsenal up front with a hat trick, which began when he opened the scoring with the eventual game-winning goal in the fifth minute. Giroud raised his Premier League goal total to 16 goals and 38 games on the year and closed out the season in style with the best fantasy score of all Premier League forwards on the final weekend. Arsenal finished the season giving up just 36 goals this season, which was second-fewest in the EPL this season.
F: Graziano Pelle, Southampton
On a relatively quiet weekend for forwards in EPL fantasy, it was Pelle that made his mark coming off the bench for Southampton in a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace. Pelle scored a goal and added an assist to raise his final totals to 11 goals and six assists in 30 games this season. Southampton finished the season fifth in the EPL table mostly because their defense was so strong. They allowed just 41 goals this season, which was the fifth-fewest in the league.
Honorable Mention: Aleksander Mitrovic, Newcastle United; Salomon Rondon, West Brom; Jordon Ibe, Liverpool
