Winner: Mohamed Salah
The marriage between Arne Slot and Liverpool is proving very happy so far. The Reds consolidated their lead in the Premier League on Sunday with a 6-3 win against Tottenham, in which there was, of course, another starring role for Mohamed Salah.
While we await news of his expiring contract, the Egyptian is looking better than ever with him not only scoring two goals but also providing two assists in the win over Spurs.
The 32-year-old forward thus became the first Premier League player ever to reach double figures in both goals and assists in the first half of the season. With his total of 15 goals, he has now surpassed Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot and he has also created 11 goals for his teammates.
Loser: Montpellier
Having lost seven of the last 10 games, Montpellier had the perfect opportunity to regain some confidence this weekend in the cup game against Le Puy-en-Velay, who play in France's fourth tier. However, it turned out disastrously for the Ligue 1 side, who will only have survival to strive for in 2025.
A late elimination via penalty kicks would have been painful enough, but Montpellier were played off the pitch and beaten by a wide margin, with a 4-0 defeat against an amateur club concluding a nightmare first half of the season.
Winner: Aaron Ramsdale
Aaron Ramsdale made a remarkable return under the crossbar at Southampton last weekend. The goalkeeper, who broke a finger last month, wore special gloves to still be in action against Fulham with one of the two only having four fingers.
Southampton had failed to keep a clean sheet in the seven games without Ramsdale but on his return, the Premier League's bottom side didn't concede and earned a valuable draw as he helped his side to only their sixth point this season.
Loser: Manchester City
Although a defeat against Aston Villa does not come as a complete surprise given the results of recent months, it remains uncomfortable to see a Pep Guardiola team in such difficulty. The Citizens lost 2-1 to Aston Villa, marking the ninth defeat in the last 12 games for the team that won the treble over a year ago.
Thus, the team that became champions of England in six of the last seven seasons is already 12 points behind leaders Liverpool after 17 rounds of play, while the latter club also has a game in hand.
With only eight points in the new Champions League format, City are also not yet assured of a ticket to the knockout round; the last time the team dropped out in the group stage was in 2012/13, when they finished fourth in a group with Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and Ajax.
Winner: Jesus Navas
The football world said goodbye to a player with a glorious past on European fields in the last minute of 2024. 39-year-old Jesus Navas stepped onto the pitch for the last time as a Sevilla player and was given a dignified farewell in an away match at the Santiago Bernabeu.
A guard of honour was formed for the 56-time Spain international, who has amassed an extraordinary record over the years. Navas made over 700 (!) appearances for Sevilla, the club he only traded for a four-year spell with Manchester City. He won a World Cup and two European Championships with Spain's national team, while at club level he got to experience lifting the Premier League and Europa League (twice).
Loser: NEC Nijmegen
2024 was a year of extremes for Dutch side NEC Nijmegen. They made it to the cup final for the fifth time, secured the second-highest league finish in club history and scored more goals than ever before at the highest level in the Netherlands but just missed out on European football, and now, they're nowhere near last season's performance levels.
The club lost 4-1 to Willem II on Sunday and have only one point from the last five league games, while they were also knocked out of the cup before that. There will be a crisis meeting at the Goffert Stadium on Monday morning, which could mean that coach Rogier Meijer will be sacked. Thus, the coach who has been at the helm at NEC for almost five years and has enjoyed huge success there risks leaving through the back door.