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EPL Table: 2016 Standings After Saturday's Week 20 Results and Top Scorers
January 2, 2016
On a day that saw most of the English Premier League's top goalscorers get shut down, Manchester United's Wayne Rooney took centre stage with a historic goal that gave the Red Devils a much-needed win over Swansea City.
While it was only Rooney's third goal of the season, it made him the No. 2 goalscorer in the history of the EPL, according to the Premier League's official Twitter account:
The 2015-16 season's main marksmen weren't so lucky, as the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Olivier Giroud couldn't find the back of the net.
In the wake of an offensively challenged Saturday in the EPL, here is a look at the updated results and standings, as well as a rundown of the goalscoring race.
EPL Week 20 Scores
| Saturday's EPL Results | ||
| Home | Score | Away |
| West Ham United | 2-0 | Liverpool |
| Arsenal | 1-0 | Newcastle United |
| Leicester City | 0-0 | AFC Bournemouth |
| Manchester United | 2-1 | Swansea City |
| Norwich City | 1-0 | Southampton |
| Sunderland | 3-1 | Aston Villa |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2-1 | Stoke City |
| Watford | 1-2 | Manchester City |
| PremierLeague.com | ||
EPL Goalscoring Leaders
| Top EPL Goalscorers | ||
| Player | Club | Goals |
| Jamie Vardy | Leicester City | 15 |
| Romelu Lukaku | Everton | 15 |
| Odion Ighalo | Watford | 14 |
| Riyad Mahrez | Leicester City | 13 |
| Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | 11 |
| Olivier Giroud | Arsenal | 10 |
| Sergio Aguero | Manchester City | 8 |
| Georginio Wijnaldum | Newcastle United | 7 |
| Marko Arnautovic | Stoke City | 7 |
| Alexis Sanchez | Arsenal | 6 |
| WhoScored.com | ||
EPL Standings
| EPL Table Saturday | |||||||
| Position | Club | GP | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Arsenal | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 42 |
| 2 | Leicester City | 20 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 40 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 39 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 19 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 35 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 33 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 20 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 31 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | -2 | 30 |
| 9 | Watford | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 29 |
| 10 | Stoke City | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 29 |
| 11 | Everton | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 26 |
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | -5 | 26 |
| 13 | Southampton | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 24 |
| 14 | Norwich City | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | -9 | 23 |
| 15 | AFC Bournemouth | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | -12 | 21 |
| 16 | Chelsea | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | -6 | 20 |
| 17 | Swansea City | 20 | 20 | 7 | 9 | -9 | 19 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 20 | 20 | 5 | 11 | -16 | 17\ |
| 19 | Sunderland | 20 | 20 | 3 | 13 | -17 | 15 |
| 20 | Aston Villa | 20 | 20 | 5 | 14 | -21 | 8 |
| PremierLeague.com | |||||||
Wayne Rooney: 3 Goals
This season has been a difficult one for Rooney and Manchester United, but things finally went their way Saturday in a 2-1 win over Swansea City.
While Rooney still only has three goals this season, and United have scored just 24 times in 20 contests, the 30-year-old veteran's 77th-minute strike was a huge one.
As seen in this video courtesy of NBC Sports Soccer, Rooney ended his slump in style with a gorgeous flick into the back of the net:
In addition to giving the Red Devils the win and putting himself second on the EPL's all-time scoring list, Rooney also moved into second on Manchester United's scoring list across all competitions, according to ESPN Stats and Info:
Rooney's tally came just seven minutes after Gylfi Sigurdsson tied the match for the Swans, which made the moment even more special.
While Rooney has plenty of work to do in order to get himself into the top-10 of the scoring race this season, scoring such a spectacular goal may be exactly what he needed to get on a hot streak.
Rooney tends to score in bunches, and United supporters are certainly hopeful that Saturday was the beginning of a big-time tear.
Jamie Vardy: 15 Goals
Although he maintained his EPL goalscoring lead along with Everton's Romelu Lukaku at 15 Saturday, Vardy certainly missed an opportunity to gain some separation.
Leicester City were forced to settle for a scoreless draw against AFC Bournemouth, and they have now failed to score in three consecutive contests.
Vardy certainly had his opportunities, though, as a dream chance deep in Bournemouth's box hit the post in the 27th minute.
He was later hauled down and drew a penalty kick, which has been among Vardy's greatest assets over the past two seasons, according to OptaJoe:
Team-mate and fellow scoring-race contender Mahrez was called upon to take the penalty, but he missed, which prevented him from gaining some ground on Vardy and Lukaku.
Even more importantly, the Foxes' draw opened the door for Arsenal to take sole possession of first place in the EPL standings by virtue of their win over Newcastle United.
Vardy and Co. have stalled in recent weeks, and if they want to be contenders for both a scoring crown and an EPL title, they must regain the form that made them the league's top club earlier in the season.
Sergio Aguero: 8 Goals
The only top-10 scorer to convert Saturday was Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, and it was a big one as his 84th-minute marker pushed the Citizens past Watford.
That represented the Argentinian star's eighth goal of the season, and it moved him into sole possession of seventh place on the EPL's scoring list.
The Sky Blues went down 1-0 due to an own goal in the 55th minute, but Yaya Toure tied it in the 82nd minute, and Aguero struck with a header off a cross from Bacary Sagna just two minutes later.
According to OptaJoe, Aguero has now scored against nearly every club he has encountered during his time in the EPL:
Saturday's goal moved City within one point of Leicester City in the EPL standings, and it put them just one win away from matching Arsenal as well.
Aguero may not be a realistic candidate to challenge Vardy and Lukaku for the goal-scoring title, but his performance against Watford certainly put Manchester City in a much better position to make a run at the EPL championship.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.