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EPL Table: 2016 Top Scorers, Standings After Post-Week 21 Premier League Scores
January 13, 2016
Olivier Giroud took a big step in his quest to become the Premier League's top scorer in Week 21, as he bagged a brace in Arsenal's 3-3 draw against Liverpool and his main competitors all failed to find the net.
Roberto Firmino added a brace of his own in that match, while Sunderland's Jermain Defoe stole the show against Swansea City with a hat-trick.
Here's a look at Wednesday's results:
| EPL Week 21 Results: Wednesday | ||
| Swansea | 2-4 | Sunderland |
| Chelsea | 2-2 | WBA |
| Manchester City | 0-0 | Everton |
| Southampton | 2-0 | Watford |
| Stoke | 3-1 | Norwich |
| Liverpool | 3-3 | Arsenal |
| Tottenham | 0-1 | Leicester |
| BBC Sport | ||
The current Premier League standings:
| EPL Standings | |||||||||
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Arsenal | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 37 | 21 | +16 | 43 |
| 2 | Leicester | 21 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 43 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 21 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 40 |
| 4 | Tottenham | 21 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 34 | 17 | +17 | 36 |
| 5 | West Ham | 21 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 33 | 24 | +9 | 35 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 21 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 27 | 20 | +7 | 34 |
| 7 | Stoke | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 32 |
| 8 | Crystal Palace | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 20 | +3 | 31 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 27 | -2 | 31 |
| 10 | Watford | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 29 |
| 11 | Everton | 21 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 36 | 29 | +7 | 28 |
| 12 | Southampton | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 27 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 27 | -5 | 27 |
| 14 | Chelsea | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 28 | 31 | -3 | 24 |
| 15 | Norwich | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 35 | -11 | 23 |
| 16 | Bournemouth | 21 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 23 | 37 | -14 | 21 |
| 17 | Swansea | 21 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 30 | -11 | 19 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 21 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 26 | 41 | -15 | 18 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 21 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 22 | 38 | -16 | 18 |
| 20 | Aston Villa | 21 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 17 | 37 | -20 | 11 |
| BBC Sport | |||||||||
The Premier League top scorers:
| EPL Top Scorers | |||
| Pos | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Jamie Vardy | Leicester | 15 |
| 1 | Romelu Lukaku | Everton | 15 |
| 3 | Riyad Mahrez | Leicester | 13 |
| 3 | Odion Ighalo | Watford | 13 |
| 5 | Olivier Giroud | Arsenal | 12 |
| 6 | Harry Kane | Tottenham | 11 |
| 7 | Jermain Defoe | Sunderland | 9 |
| 8 | Georginio Wijnaldum | Newcastle | 8 |
| 8 | Sergio Aguero | Man. City | 8 |
| 10 | Marko Arnautovic | Stoke | 7 |
| BBC Sport | |||
Recap
Romelu Lukaku, Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Odion Ighalo and Harry Kane all failed to find the net on Wednesday, and that's great news for Giroud, whose brace against Liverpool means he has now scored 12 goals this season, good for fifth place in the top-scorer's race.
The Frenchman should have added a third, as he somehow managed to miss an open goal from just a few yards out, but his performance on Wednesday was magnificent, regardless.
England international Gary Lineker thinks he's still among the most underrated players in the league:
Giroud scored Arsenal's second and third goals, the first one with a reaction move after a corner kick fell into the box. His second was a thing of beauty, a typical striker's move where he controlled the ball on the turn before slotting it past the helpless Simon Mignolet.
His hold-up play was also excellent, and the only real black spot on his performance was the comical miss in the first half.
With Mignolet off his line, Giroud had the goal begging when he slid toward a cross. But, somehow, he managed to turn the ball back toward Mignolet and the Liverpool defenders as opposed to putting it in the back of the net.
Bleacher Report UK couldn't believe it:
Speaking to BT Sport (h/t Football Insider's Alex Stevens), Giroud couldn't hide his disappointment about the final result:
It is disappointing because we were 3-2 up one minute from the end of the game. It was a nice game for the fans because of the intensity and there were a lot of chances to score.
But when you lose three goals in an away game it is hard to win these games. We should have been stronger at the end because we did well in the second half.
It's hard to fault Giroud's performance, however, and he was arguably the top player on the pitch at Anfield. Another man vying for that recognition is Firmino, who twice gave Liverpool the lead in the first half.
First, he reacted quickly when Petr Cech was only able to push a shot as far as the Brazilian, and following Aaron Ramsey's equaliser, he produced a truly stunning effort.
Taking control of the ball outside the box, he shuffled between two defenders before taking aim and curling a strike past Cech and into the top corner.
Per ESPN FC's Paul Carr, his output against Arsenal came as something of a surprise:
It has taken Firmino quite a bit of time to get settled at Anfield, but he has looked more confident in the last few weeks, and a better statistical output was perhaps due.
It's probably too late for the Brazilian to make a run at the top-scorer's title, but he'll have a big role to play in the second half of the season, regardless.
In Wednesday's other matches, Defoe certainly made the biggest impact in Sunderland's 4-2 win over Swansea City, scoring three of the Black Cats' four goals.
Kyle Naughton's red card just before half-time opened the door for Sunderland to take advantage of the open space, and Defoe, who had already scored one at that point, gladly obliged.
By the time he scored his third, fans like ALS_Fanzine went crazy:
The hat-trick takes the veteran into the top 10 of the top-scorer's rankings, although he's still six goals behind the leaders, Lukaku and Vardy.
The latter hasn't found the net since the win over Chelsea midway through December, and it looks like his hot streak has truly come to an end. Lukaku remains among the favourites to finish the season on top, although Giroud isn't too far behind and Sergio Aguero is finally healthy again.