After a good run of form, both Manchester teams – City and United who remain first and second on the table respectively, have been rewarded for their fine performance in the month of September.
First, it was Manchester United’s wing back, Antonio Valencia who won the Carling goal of the month award after a thumping strike against Everton which opened the door to a flurry of goals.
The Ecuadorian beat off competition from 7 other contenders to win the award.
“I am delighted to receive this award for Carling Goal of the Month and I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me,” Valencia said. “It is a goal that I am proud of, I just hit it into the back of the net and then heard the crowd erupt at Old Trafford.”
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Next up is the Barclays Manager of the month award which Pep Guardiola clinched without a shadow of doubt. In September, Man City won all four games by a 17-0 margin conceding none.
Guardiola’s team defeated Liverpool 5-0 (H), Watford 6-0 (A), Crystal Palace 5-0 (H) and Champions Chelsea, 1-0 (A). The Spaniard won the award ahead of fellow nominees Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger and Mauricio Pochettino.
In the end, it wasn’t to be an all Manchester affair as a London club got in the mix, with Harry Kane of Spurs winning the EA Sports Player of the Month.
After a barren August campaign, the English man got off the mark with a brace in his first game in September, scoring a total of 6 goals in 4 games. This makes it the 5th Player of the Month Award for the England international. He is one more award away from equalling Steven Gerrard’s 6 – the highest for any player in the EPL.
He wins the award with the most votes from a combined panel of experts, EPL captains and fans ahead of City’s Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne, United’s Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata, Newcastle’s Jamaal Lascelles and Brighton’s Pascal Gross.
