English Premier League: 8 most disappointing performances this season

It's been a tough season of football, whether it's playing to empty stadiums in the midst of a pandemic, suffering from Covid-19 outbreaks or dealing with the expected amount of injuries to star players, teams have had to reckon with quite a bit. Some fans might be feeling jostled by the change of pace, as star players are no longer netting those big numbers they're used to, making for a more unpredictable season. As the EPL approaches the midway mark of 2020-21 fixtures, we take a look at eight players who dropped form from last season.

MO SALAH: Mo Salah has got everyone in the EPL beat this season in terms of goal count — but like they always say, your biggest competition should be yourself. The Egyptian winger’s form has declined steadily since his first season for Liverpool. He scored 32 league goals in his debut 2017-2018 season, and 44 overall, breaking the record of most goals scored by a Liverpool player in their debut season. In comparison this mid-season, he’s scored only 13 league goals and 17 overall — his lowest numbers yet for the Reds. He’s still the highest scorer in the league nonetheless, ahead of Tottenham Hotspurs' Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min.

SERGIO AGUERO: Manchester City’s all-time best goalscorer played only five league games this season, scoring zero goals. Kun has been absent from Man City’s frontlines due to a surgery on his knee in June 2020. He recently tested positive for Covid-19, meaning his dry spell will run a while longer. Before his injury last season, he set the record for most career hat-tricks in Premier League (12). There’s now talk he may go to Barcelona.

MARCUS RASHFORD: Rashford has been busy with more than just football — last year he received an MBE in recognition of his work protecting vulnerable children in the UK. In terms of pure stats, Rashford’s form has waned this year, as he’s only managed seven goals in 19 appearances. By the end of last season, Rashford had netted 17 goals in 31 games. It’s hard to imagine him catching up to those numbers now… But the night is young.

PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG: Arsenal fans were campaigning for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to stay at Arsenal this season, but he’s had lacklustre performances so far. Last season Auba scored 22 goals in the league, just one goal under Jamie Vardy’s 23, making him second top goalscorer of the season. This year, he’s fallen all the way down to 19th on the list, with only five goals — teammate Alexandre Lacazette is at 10th place with seven goals.

JAMIE VARDY: Speaking of Vardy, he hasn’t quite fallen completely out of form, but the top goalscorer of 2019-20 is now in a three-way tie with Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin for fourth place, with 11 goals each. There’s still time for Vardy to reclaim his spot on the top of the table, however, he’ll be out of play for several weeks as he undergoes a hernia surgery.

MIGUEL ALMIRON: In 2019 Almiron transferred to Newcastle United for what was believed to be a club record fee and the highest fee for an MLS player (assumed to be in the ballpark of £21 million). Last year the midfielder netted four goals and made two assists in 36 games; this year, he’s only managed one goal and one assist in 17 matches.

RAHEEM STERLING: The Manchester City player was on fire last year, netting 20 goals in 33 appearances — his highest tally in the Premier League. He even managed three hat-tricks while he was at it. However his form has left something to be desired this season as he’s only scored five goals in 17 matches.

NICOLAS PEPE: The winger came to Arsenal last season for a club record fee of €79 million, a whole lot more than the club’s previous record signing Aubameyang (€62 million). And while that price tag came with high hopes for the player, he only scored five goals in his debut season and has managed two so far this season.