Best football players in the Premier League in the last 5 years
In the last five years, Manchester United and Chelsea have dominated the Premier League by winning three and two titles respectively. Consequently, players from these two teams dominate the list for the best footballers of the last five years in the English Premier League.
Best Goalkeeper
Over the last five years, the best goalkeeper in the EPL award has to go to Manchester United’s Edwin Van der Sar. The Dutchman is 40 years old but continues to pull off some inspirational performances at the goal line for the Red Devils. As a result, the goalkeeper has kept many young players such as Ben Foster out of the team. Van der Sar has a record of not conceding a goal for 1000 consecutive minutes in the Premier League which helped Manchester United win the title. The player has consistently performed at the highest level by bringing stability to the Manchester United defence line.
Best Defenders
Every strong team is built only when it has a strong defence, except perhaps for Real Madrid, and the Premier League houses some of the finest defenders in the world. Nemanja Vidic of Manchester United and John Terry of Chelsea are two names that have outperformed everyone in the EPL. The two men are both strong defenders who are not afraid to put their bodies on the line.
On the left side, there was close competition between Ashley Cole of Chelsea and Patrice Evra of Manchester United. However, due to Cole’s injury and Manchester United’s lead in the overall number of titles, it is Evra who has served as the best left back. On the right end, there is a lot of competition too. However, Bacary Sagna from Arsenal is the best defender largely because he has performed brilliantly on a consistent basis.
Best Midfielders
The two best central midfielders over the last two years include Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. Although the two Englishmen can’t seem to play together for the England national team, their respective clubs are more than satisfied. Lampard and Gerrard have scored crucial goals for their clubs to help them win a number of EPL titles.
Cristiano Ronaldo on the other hand is the best right-wing midfielder by quite a distance. Despite leaving the EPL last season, Ronaldo deserves the title after winning the World Player of Year award for his impressive performances. The Portuguese was deadly with his free-kicks as well as his crosses, with an unmatched ability to dribble the ball on the top of the goal mouth. While on the left wing, Ryan Giggs from Manchester United deserves the accolade of being called as the best player in the EPL. The Welshman has played brilliantly for Manchester United, despite his age. Due to his abilities, the player went on to win the Premier League Player of the Year in 2009.
Best Forwards
The two best strikers are difficult to pick, since there have been a number of excellent performers at the front but there are two who stand out. Fernando Torres of Liverpool and Didier Drogba of Chelsea have set the premiership alight with some excellent display of football. Drogba has been Chelsea’s most influential man along with Frank Lampard and the last season was his best when he top scored with 29 goals in the season. On the other hand, Torres has had a tough time with injuries but his goals to games ratio is one of the best in the world and his goals have been instrumental in what little success Liverpool have had during the past five years.
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