September 02, (THEWILL) – The nominations for the English Premier League first Player of the Month awards of the 2021/2022 season has recognised the impact that six players have made in the the EPL in August, especially West Ham’s dynamic duo: Michail Antonio and Said Benrahma.
The electrifying partnership of the pair has helped the Hammers start the season in fantastic fashion. Their sensational combination was instrumental to West Ham’s comprehensive wins over Newcastle and Leicester City.
So far, Antonio has found the net four times and has three assists to his name. His teammate, Benrahma, was also on the scoresheet in fixtures against Newcastle and the Foxes. His display was impressive enough to win him the man of the match award at St James’ Park on the opening weekend.
Others nominees are Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso, Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier, Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood, and Everton’s Demarai Gray, who has impressed under new manager Rafa Benitez following his summer arrival from the Bundesliga.
Chelsea’s strong start to the new season with three unbeaten games and two clean sheets has come with Alonso given the opportunity to shine after Ben Chilwell returned late to training after his involvement with England at Euro 2020. He helped the club remain solid defensively and was on the scoresheet in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on matchday one.
Dier is the only nominee whose team still has a 100% record after three games for a fine start for new head coach Nuno Espirito Santo. Dier has been crucial to Spurs’ success, providing solidity at the back where he plays a major starring role this season.
Manchester United has also had a crucial player determine their progress this season in the form of Greenwood. Not only has he shown his keen eye for goal in United’s first three fixtures, scoring in all of the Red Devils’ games so far, he has made the difference in their attack and, by extension, their victories.
Greenwood netted what turned out to be the winner against Leeds on the opening day, the equaliser against Southampton at St Mary’s the following week, and another winner this past Sunday, in the 1-0 win over Wolves at Molineux, which, as THEWILL reported, helped United set a new record of 28 Premier League away matches unbeaten.
The nomination for Gray reflects the strong start to life taking place in Everton under Rafa Benitez. So far, the Toffees have taken seven points from a possible nine while being counted as one of seven unbeaten sides in the EPL.
With two goals for Everton in this campaign, Gray has begun the season impressively. The winger, who found it difficult to secure a regular place at Leicester, was Everton’s shining feature in their convincing 2-0 win over Brighton at the Amex Stadium on matchday three.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
