🦁 Premier League Player of the Week: What's his name? | OneFootball

It was a thrilling weekend of action in the Premier League with a number of big performances, but there was one standout. Our Premier League Player of the Week is …

Amadou Onana (Everton)

After weeks of dismal performances from under Frank Lampard, there was always going to be some form of new manager bounce for Everton. Especially considering the Toffees had hired a disciplinarian like Sean Dyche.

But with his first game in charge was against top of the table Arsenal? Improved performance, maybe. A win, no chance.

Yet Dyche did lead his side to inflict only the second defeat of the season on Mikel Arteta and in doing so he became just the second manager to beat an opponent starting the day top of the table in his first Premier League game in charge of a club.

And in the midst of a remarkable team performance on Saturday, there was one man that stood out, and that was Amadou Onana.

The 21-year-old defensive midfielder had only made the move to Merseyside this summer, joining Everton from Lille.

If Dyche wanted maximum effort from his players, that’s exactly what he got from Onana.

The Belgian’s heat map shows that he covered almost every single blade of grass during the 90 minutes, winning the ball back eight times – twice in the defensive third, four times in the middle third and twice in the attacking third – and found a team-mate with 80% of his passes.

“It was a massive performance, a massive win in front of our fans,” Onana told EvertonTV after the match. “It’s good for the confidence. We won this game because of our mentality and our work ethic. I’m very, very proud of this team.”

That work ethic certainly shows up in the rest of his numbers as he put in a shift defensively with two tackles and two interceptions, but also helped going forward with two chances created.

When you’ve got your backs to the wall and you are defending a 1-0 lead like your life depends on it, there’s nothing better than a player who celebrates an important – and possibly match-winning – tackle.

That’s exactly what Onana did with just minutes remaining, winning the ball from William Saliba on the byline to help his side earn a throw-in, and then turning round to exchange a passionate celebration with the Goodison faithful as if he’d scored the match winner.

“They give us so much drive and from the bottom of my heart I want to thank them for their support today and the past few months, because I know it’s been tough,” continued the youngster.

“The fans push us to the limit, to our best. They push me to my limit. Their support is massive.”

It’s clear that Onana responded in kind, with a “massive” performance of his own.