The Castrol Game Changer Award will be awarded to a player with a differentiating contribution throughout the 2021/22 Premier League season.
It’s been a season to remember with some fantastic individual performances, and nominations from this season are available below.
Click here to vote for Castrol Game Changer from the 2021/22 Premier League season.
Date: 15/8/21
Competition: Manchester United 5-1 Leeds United
Paul Pogba’s Manchester United career has often been negative, but the World Cup champions put in a brilliant display when Leeds United were beaten in their opener of the season.
The Red Devils clinched a 5-1 win against their historical rivals at Old Trafford, with Pogba’s Game Changers performance starting with the assist for Bruno Fernandes’ opener.
The Frenchman then provided the perfect pass that restored United’s lead, before providing a third assist which became Bruno’s second goal. Pogba did not stop at that moment, his cross then helped Fred to score in the game with a significant score.
Date: 30/10/21
Competition: Leicester City 0-2 Arsenal
If you want to see goalkeeper performances of the highest quality, Aaron Ramsdale’s performance deserves to be in the Game Changer category when Arsenal take on Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
The England international made plenty of saves to ensure Mikel Arteta’s squad kept the momentum going, and kept control in the box as did the Leicester fans – who felt the emotion of his performance throughout the game.
The highlight of the Ramsdale performance was his fingertip save from a James Maddison free-kick, before standing straight up to deny Jonny Evans’ effort to score from a raw ball.
Date: 19/1/22
Competition: Leicester City 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur
When the game lasted 79 minutes at the King Power Stadium and Tottenham trailed 1-2, Antonio Conte used the bench to field Steven Bergwijn. What he didn’t know at the time was that the Dutchman had set a new Premier League record in Game Changer performance.
Bergwijn scored a dramatic equalizer in the 94th minute and 52 seconds, scoring from close range that looked to give Spurs a point. But no one expected it as he sprinted close to goal just moments later, and past Kasper Schmeichel to score the winner.
No team has fallen behind in the Premier League in the span of 79 minutes and then turned things around for victory.
Date: 12/3/22
Competition: Manchester United 3-2 Tottenham
The 2021/22 season has been a bad run for Manchester United, but we can only imagine the condition of the team if they didn’t sign Cristiano Ronaldo at the start of this season.
The Portuguese legend continues to score goals consistently, and showed a Game Changer performance against Tottenham at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo scored United’s opener, scoring from 23 metres, before showing instinct to capitalize on a superb pass from Jadon Sancho. Spurs again scored the equalizer through Harry Maguire’s own goal, but Ronaldo, now 37, scored the decisive goal with a header from a corner.
Date: 11/5/22
Competition: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-5 Manchester City
After Liverpool slipped against Tottenham four days earlier, Manchester City came to Molineux to take on Wolves knowing they had to capitalize on the result.
Pep Guardiola’s squad not only did it, they put in a convincing performance to win a landslide victory over the home side – with a Game Changer performance from Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian star scored not just one, two or three, but four goals in the first 60 minutes of this game – with a hat-trick in 24 minutes to score the fastest hat-trick of the season. Wolves couldn’t stand it, with a win that saw City eventually emerge as Premier League champions.
Date: 22/5/22
Competition: Manchester City 3-2 Aston Villa
Manchester City have a chance of failing to win the English League title on the final day when there is no Ilkay Gundogan.
Trailing 0-2 with 14 minutes remaining, the Germany international made the contribution he hoped for when his team needed him with a superb Game Changer performance.
His first goal came from a header which Robin Olsen couldn’t deny at the far post, before Rodri equalized two minutes later with a long-range strike. Support at the Etihad Stadium contributed, Gundogan completing the success of his team turning things around five minutes after his first goal.
Reading the game brilliantly, Gundogan scored at the far post thanks to De Bruyne’s pass, sealing his side’s fourth Premier League title in five years
