JESSE LINGARD was the name on everyone’s lips after Manchester United swept Everton aside in a 2-0 New Year’s Day win.
The England winger, 25, struck a sublime shot from outside of the box into the back of Jordan Pickford’s net in the 81st-minute to seal the vital three points.
Often criticised at United, Jose Mourinho has shown real faith in the forward in recent weeks.
In fact, since the start of December, only ONE player has scored more Premier League goals than Lingard’s six – Tottenham star Harry Kane, with eight.
For the season, Lingard has now scored seven and assisted four more in the Premier League – averaging a goal involvement every 84 minutes.
Going into the 2017-18 season, the United star’s average minutes per goal involvement was a meagre 378 – comfortably demonstrating how well he has come on this season alone.
This term, Lingard’s average of 84 minutes per goal or assist ranks as the fourth-best in the Premier League – ahead of Kane (88).
Streets ahead at the top of the table is Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah – quickly becoming the bargain of the season at “just” £36.9million from Roma in the summer.
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The Reds speedster has scored a league-high 17 and assisted five more this season, to average a minutes per goal tally of an astonishingly low 73.
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp has made it clear he has no intention of losing Philippe Coutinho this month, with Barcelona set to come knocking again… and you can see why.
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The Brazilian “Little Magician” has scored seven and laid on six assists to average a goal involvement every 86 minutes – good for fifth in the league.
Runaway Premier League-leaders Manchester City were dealt a blow over the festive period, as Gabriel Jesus suffered a nasty-looking injury.
But the stats say they have little to be concerned about, with TWO players in the top three for best minutes per goal involvement.
Sergio Aguero sits second only to Salah with a goal or assist every 78 minutes – having scored 12 and helped a team-mate four times.
Raheem Sterling comes in third, with 13 goals and four assists – better than Aguero – but at a slightly lower clip, for one involvement per 84 minutes.
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