The Premier League have now opened voting for the Manager, Player and Goal of the Month awards for December.
Four Managers find themselves shortlisted following the December fixtures of the Premier League season, so battling for the fifth Manager award of 2016/17, and with the PremierLeague.com’s reasoning behind the choices, are:
Antonio Conte (Chelsea) P6 W6 GF13 GA3 GD+10
Conte made his claim for a third straight manager award as his side equalled the Premier League record of 13 consecutive victories in a single season with maximum points from their six fixtures. Chelsea never looked back after opening the month with a come-from-behind victory at the Etihad Stadium to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Man City 1-3 Chelsea; Chelsea 1-0 West Brom; Sunderland 0-1 Chelsea; Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea; Chelsea 3-0 AFC Bournemouth; Chelsea 4-2 Stoke City
Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) P6 W4 D1 L1 GF14 GA7 GD+7
Klopp guided Liverpool to second place in the table with 13 points from a possible 18 last month. They recovered after a thrilling defeat at AFC Bournemouth and drawing at home to West Ham by winning four matches in row, including the Merseyside derby and at home to Manchester City on New Year’s Eve.
AFC Bournemouth 4-3 Liverpool; Liverpool 1-1 West Ham; Middlesbrough 0-3 Liverpool; Everton 0-1 Liverpool; Liverpool 4-1 Stoke City; Liverpool 1-0 Man City
Jose Mourinho (Manchester United) P6 W5 D1 GF11 GA4 GD+7
The United manager can claim his first monthly award after an unbeaten December boosted United’s top-four challenge. They won five in a row after opening the month with a draw at Everton, including a late come-from-behind victory at home to Middlesbrough.
Everton 1-1 Man Utd; Man Utd 1-0 Spurs; Crystal Palace 1-2 Man Utd; West Brom 0-2 Man Utd; Man Utd 3-1 Sunderland; Man Utd 2-1 Middlesbrough
Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham Hotspur) P5 W4 L1 GF14 GA3 GD+11
A convincing victory over Swansea City kickstarted an impressive month for Spurs, who won four of their five league matches. Their cause was helped by three goals from Dele Alli, with two against Southampton as he helped his side end 2016 with a 4-1 win at St Mary’s Stadium.
Spurs 5-0 Swansea City; Man Utd 1-0 Spurs; Spurs 3-0 Hull City; Spurs 2-1 Burnley; Southampton 1-4 Spurs
Fans have until 11.59pm on January 9 to register their votes, and those votes (10%) will be included with the choices of the awards panel.
Click Here to vote.
A shortlist of eight has also been selected for the Player of the Month award:
Adam Lallana (Liverpool) Goals: 4 Assists: 2
Lallana scored in the 2-2 draw with West Ham and was instrumental in the four victories that followed, with a brace against Middlesbrough, a goal in the 4-1 win over Stoke and two assists.
Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) Goals: 4 Assists: 3
Starting the month with a hat-trick in the 5-1 victory at West Ham United, Alexis Sanchez went on to get four goals and three assists in five matches during December. Only Diego Costa has more than his 13 PL goals this term.
Christian Eriksen (Spurs) Goals: 4 Assists: 2
Christian Eriksen helped Tottenham Hotspur to four wins from five fixtures in December, netting twice apiece against Swansea City and Hull, as well as creating another two goals.
Dele Alli (Spurs) Goals: 3 Assists: 0
The 20-year-old midfielder returned to the goals with an equaliser in a 2-1 home win over Burnley, before a brace at Southampton as Spurs finished December with four victories from five matches.
Diego Costa (Chelsea) Goals: 4 Assists: 1
Diego Costa scored four goals, including decisive strikes against Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion.
Gary Cahill (Chelsea) Goals: 1 Clean Sheets: 4
The centre-back was ever-present as Chelsea claimed four clean sheets from their six victories in December. He also netted the opener in the 4-2 success against Stoke City.
Paul Pogba (Man Utd) Goals: 2 Assists: 2
Manchester United only dropped two points in six December outings with Pogba at the heart of their midfield. The Frenchman scored in wins over Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace and also supplied two assists.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Man Utd) Goals: 5 Assists: 3
Ibrahimovic took his tally to 50 league goals in 2016 with five strikes in six December fixtures. He netted the winner at Crystal Palace and also scored against Everton, West Brom and Sunderland.
Fans have until 11.59pm on January 9 to register their votes, and those votes will be included with the choices of the awards panel and the decisions of Premier League captains.
Click Here to vote.
There are eight contenders for the Goal of the Month prize:
Alexis Sanchez (West Ham v ARSENAL) 3 December
Steve Cook (AFC BOURNEMOUTH v Liverpool) 4 December
Jeff Hendrick (BURNLEY v AFC Bournemouth) 10 December
Wilfried Zaha (Hull City v CRYSTAL PALACE) 10 December
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (West Brom v MANCHESTER UNITED) 17 December
Jay Rodriguez (AFC Bournemouth v SOUTHAMPTON) 18 December
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (MANCHESTER UNITED v Sunderland) 26 December
Fabio Borini (Manchester United v SUNDERLAND) 26 December
Click Here to vote.
