Divock Origi – Wolfsburg
Divock Origi put in a man of the match performance in the thrilling six goal encounter with Hertha Berlin. The match ended 3-3, which was incredibly their eighth draw in league, despite having played only 11 games. Origi was highly impressive out on the right wing and finished the match with 96% pass success rate.
Origi was clinical at pouncing on the second ball and, after Wolfsburg had two goals disallowed in the first half, he picked up an assist for his team’s opening goal. Berlin couldn’t clear from a cross and Origi was the first to react as he delicately hit the ball on the half volley back across the face of goal for Yunus Malli to head home.
The Belgian got a goal for himself in the second half, to put Wolfsburg 3-2 ahead. A corner was flicked on at the front post and again, Origi was quick to react and bundled the ball in with what appeared to be his stomach. This was a performance that Wolfsburg had been waiting for for a while from their loan signing.
Toni Gomes – Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green have already progressed to the knockout stages of the Check-a-Trade Trophy, but a win against Swansea Academy in midweek would’ve seen them advance as group winners. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, as they lost 2-0 in front of a home crowd. Toni Gomes look lively up front and forced two good saves with two shots from the edge of the box either side of half-time. The second of these came after a lovely chest and volley. He tried his luck from 18 yards a third time, but saw his effort float travel harmlessly wide.
Gomes stayed on the bench at the weekend, when Forest Green beat Macclesfield 1-0 in the FA Cup.
Connor Randall – Hearts
Playing in central midfield, Connor Randall could do nothing to stop Hearts falling to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Kilmarnock. The Englishman had a solid game, spreading the ball around nicely and playing a handful of top-notch passes. He was pulled off in the 77th minute, just after his side made it 1-1, but they conceded late on and the match finished 2-1. This result leaves Hearts sixth in the team league, but closer to the bottom of the table, on points, than the top.
Pedro Chirivella – Willem II
Willem II picked up another loss at the weekend, as they found themselves on the wrong side of a 3-2 score line. Despie AZ Alkmaar having a man sent off late on, Willem II couldn’t find a way back into the match in what was their eighth league loss of the season. Pedro Chirivella is getting a reputation as a quietly consistent player. Although he isn’t getting the goals or the assists, his contributions appear to be very valuable as he sees a lot of the ball in midfield and regularly has one of the highest pass success rates on the pitch.
Allan Rodrigues – Apollon Limassol
Apollon Limassol secured a 1-1 draw against Atalanta on Thursday night, to keep their very outside chance of progressing from the Europa League group stages alive. With Everton already knocked out of the group, the Cypriot outfit will need two wins from their last two games to have a chance of going through. Allan played the full match in the centre of midfield and was very good at winning the ball back and start attacking movements for his side. His single shot on goal didn’t cause too many issues, as Apollon required a stoppage time equaliser to steal a point.
Taiwo Awoniyi – Royal Excel Mouscron
It was a frustrating Saturday afternoon for Taiwo Awoniyi and his team. Despite having more of the ball and almost twice as many shots, Royal Excel Mouscron lost 2-0 to Waasland-Beveren. It was a performance not to dissimilar to ones we’ve seen from Liverpool this season and Awoniyi was left ruing missed chances during his 90 minutes on the pitch.
Shamal George – Carlisle United
Shamal George remained on the bench as his Carlisle side edged past Oldham 3-2, in the First Round of the FA Cup. Oldham are one league above Carlisle, but the home side found themselves 3-0 up after an hour and valiantly held on for the win.
Jordan Williams – Rochdale
The services of Jordan Williams weren’t required when Rochdale dispatched Bromley 4-0 in their FA Cup tie.
Ryan Kent – SC Freiburg
Ryan Kent wasn’t even in the matchday squad for Freiburg’s 1-0 loss at home to Schalke.
