May saw the Premier League and European football come to a close for the 2021/2022 season, and as several sides began to celebrate their successes or survivals, for others, it’s a time of reflection and opportunity to start fresh next campaign. In the former category, sits several contenders for the prestigious NextGoalWinner POTM award in the Premier League.

This months award had possibly the biggest shortlist of any this year, with several key players stepping up on the final run-in for their respective sides, and putting in huge performances to the very end. The likes of Son, Kane and Kulusevski all helping spurs make the top 4, Richarlison helping Everton’s survival, and many big names at the very top of the table, including the winner for this month; Kevin De Bruyne.

The Belgian put aside early disappointment in the Champions League, by ensuring his club could add yet another league title to their growing collection. With 6 goal involvements in 4 games, they avoided any major slip ups and saw out the title race as Liverpool bit at their heels. De Bruyne once again showed up when his side needed and was highly influential all round in City’s 4 final games, and showed why he is so highly rated within the league and across Europe.

This months’ award offers special recognition as it is the final edition for the club season, and so De Bruyne will return later in the year to defend his title when the new season begins.

If you have anything to add to our NextGoalWinner POTM decision, or disagree with our pick, head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and let us know what you think.

*NextGoalWinner POTM awards will return in August when the new season commences.*

Match By Match

May 8th: Manchester City 5-0 Newcastle United – Despite Newcastle having a highly impressive second half to the season, it’s fair to say any potential slip-up in this one was brushed aside within 20 minutes when Sterling put his side 1 up. Midway through the second half, De Bruyne got in on the goal action as he set up Rodri who headed home City’s 3rd of the game and rubber-stamped the crucial 3 points. With this being De Bruyne’s only goal contribution, he was still highly influential on the game, earning an 8.5/10 FotMob rating for his effort in the 90 minutes. Creating the most chances of any player (6), 3 of which were ‘big chances’, keeping a 91% pass accuracy and making 4 recoveries, his effort contributed massively to helping make this game so comfortable for City. Considering they were just 4 days out from their Champions League disappointment, this game showed it hadn’t broken their confidence, and were still hungry for the title.

May 11th: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-5 Manchester City – Wolves were underrated this year for their efforts, and defensively so resolute, conceding fewer goals than 15 other sides across the whole campaign. Despite this impressive record, and the worry of putting a real spanner in the works for City’s title challenge, the champions and Kevin De Bruyne in particular ignored all of what we just said, and netted 4 of the 5 goals his side put away against Bruno Lage’s side. In what was certainly his best performance of the month, and bagging a haul to secure 3 points for his side, De Bruyne was obviously player of the match with a 9.7/10 rating, marred only for his yellow card. Along with his 4 goals, he also hit the woodwork, made 3 recoveries and kept a respectable 82% pass accuracy. This game belonged to the Belgian, and certainly put forth his case for the POTM award.

May 15th: West Ham 2-2 Manchester City – We keep mentioning banana skins, slipups and dropped points for City, as it was the main talking point going into every game, and eventually a slip did come away to West Ham, as they had to fight back from 2-0 down at half-time to secure a point and keep ahead of Liverpool going into the final game. Of all 4 games, this one was City and De Bruyne’s worst despite still keeping their lead in the table. With a 7.6/10 rating, he was unable to make a mark in front of goal, with 4 shots but only 1 on target. He did still try and make things happen, creating 4 chances, and dug in by maintaining a 100% tackle success and making 6 recoveries to help his side dig deep and get themselves back in it. Not a pretty performance by any means, but enough to keep them in pole position going into the final day.

May 22nd: Manchester City 3-2 Aston Villa – At half-time, the league title could have gone anywhere, and suddenly despite their dominance over the past few months, City were almost at breaking point as they went in 2-0 down at the break. With Liverpool also struggling to make things happen in their game, Pep worked his magic at half-time, and City returned to the field, with De Bruyne yet again dragging his side through the final 45 minutes of the season to secure a terrific comeback and confirm the trophy will remain in their grasp for another year. Kevin De Bruyne secured his 2nd player of the match award with an 8.5/10 rating, got his 6th goal contribution with an assist for City’s 3rd and their winner, created the most chances (5) and once again did his defensive work, making 6 recoveries and winning 6 duels. As his side looked for a leader, De Bruyne stepped up and helped drag his side back into the game and secure their 6th Premier League title (*8 including Division 1 titles) and the Belgian’s 4th. A dramatic close to the season but a great watch for neutrals around the world tuned into the title race, and De Bruyne was a key man throughout the entire campaign.