The 2022/2023 Premier League season is now into its sixteenth game week, and the entertainment continues to be relentless and thoroughly enjoyable.

As a result, we will be breaking down each round of fixtures by picking out 3 of the biggest talking points, covering the biggest results, goals and general talking points from the week. We then will round off by picking our player of the week and game of the week based on what we saw in that round of games.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you have seen anything in a game that you think we should be talking about, or have anything to share from what you’ve seen at a game that week. Any funny stories, tactical analysis or general comments will be featured.

Viva Garnacho…

Arriving onto the field in the 72nd minute, with the match between Fulham and Manchester United level at 1-1, the 18 year old Argentine stepped up when his side needed it, to bag his first professional Premier League goal, in the 93rd minute to win the game and take United fans back to the 00s where Fergie time would see a young exciting winger grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck… whatever happened to that player.

This game was a highlight of the weekend for several reasons, mainly being the final action of Premier League football before the World Cup break, and for almost switching off the TV on the Sunday evening after a respectable 1-1 draw, until the very last moment which has Man United and their young star heading into the break in a much more positive light. It’s a shame for the young winger that he won’t get an opportunity to follow up on this quickly, but with games coming thick and fast post World Cup, he has surely done enough to earn his chance upon the return of the club game.

Willock Wins It

Making it 5 wins in a row, and 10 without a defeat (9 wins 1 draw), Joe Willock has sent Newcastle into the World Cup break comfortably in the European places. What Eddie Howe has done this season cannot be understated. Although many will say this is expected with the takeover, this is still in its infancy, and while a top half finish was expected and anticipated, potentially Champions League football has come around years before the expected timeline.

This result over strugglers Chelsea has serious significance this season, as it shows a changing of the guard between the traditional top 6 and this new batch of contenders, for however long this continues. This wasn’t a smash and grab for Newcastle either, as the stats are all in their favour. With possession even, Newcastle had an xG of 1.03 to Chelsea’s 0.3, they had 10 shots to Chelsea’s 5 and 3 on target to Chelsea’s 2. As mentioned, this is not a lucky win, this is a sign of a team that are compact in defence, and a danger up top.

It will be fascinating to see whether or not this run continues, as surely there will be hiccups along the way, especially with still being in the Carabao Cup, but if they can hold on to Champions League/Europa League football, and with a summer transfer window with the selling point of European football ahead, they could make big moves for next season also.

Comeback Kings

This weekend saw a whole host of shock results, and late winners. We mentioned previously the Garnacho last minute winner, but also between Brentford and Manchester City, where Ivan Toney kept cool, calm and collected to bag a 98th minute winner over the title holders and put a huge spanner in the works right before the break. Spurs meanwhile had to turn around a 3-2 deficit to win 4-3 thanks once again to Bentancur. A quickfire 2 minute brace will give Spurs something to be pleased about, however I am fairly sure they will want some improvements post World Cup. Finally Aston Villa also had a comeback after falling 1-0 down away at Brighton in just the 1st minute. Danny Ings levelled things up to make it 1-1 and then claimed all 3 points in the 54th minute to keep Emery’s league form as 2 wins from 2.

Matchday 16 Player of the Week: Ivan Toney After bagging a brace against reigning champions Manchester City to dent their title challenge further, Ivan Toney is our player of the week for the second time this season, and surely he has to have Southgate questioning his selection choice, with this seeming like a statement performance from the forward. With complete composure and calmness to score a 98th minute penalty to win the game, he could well end up being the missing piece of what England need at the World Cup, but the decision has been made.

Matchday 16 Game of the Week: Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 Leeds United Already mentioned in the highlights of the week, this game had Leeds almost grabbing something from a tough opponent and playing in a high scoring matchup, while Spurs managed to take all 3 points, despite another poor showing. Relying on Bentancur once again to bail them out with a 2 minute brace, Conte will be glad to finish this part of the season with a win, but I can’t imagine it was all smiles and jokes in the dressing room after this one.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) what you made of the sixteenth round of fixtures, and what you’re looking forward to in the next game week.