Man City superstar Sterling shines to feature in Premier League December best XI
Manchester City are the dominant side in the Premier League team of the month having won all seven league matches in December, with four players from the league leaders making the cut. Elsewhere, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are all represented in the best XI of those to make three or more starts last month.
David De Gea (Manchester United) - 7.25
December was a busy month for David De Gea, with no goalkeeper making more saves (21) than the Manchester United shotstopper. Yet the Spaniard kept two clean sheets from his five outings to kick off the Premier League team of the month with a WhoScored rating of 7.25.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - 7.44
Trent Alexander-Arnold registered just the one assist in December, but it wasn't for want of trying. Only Martin Odegaard (20) made more key passes than the Reds right-back (18) in England's top tier last month, while an additional 15 tackles and interceptions combined saw Alexander-Arnold return a WhoScored rating of 7.44 to feature in this XI.
Jan Bednarek (Southampton) - 7.43
Both of Jan Bednarek's league goals scored this season came in December as the Polish centre-back netted in positive results against Leicester and West Ham. Bednarek was often in the right place at the right time to ease danger on the Southampton goal, too, making more clearances (33) than any other player to help garner a WhoScored rating of 7.43.
With a WhoScored rating of 7.39, Romain Saiss partners Bednarek at the heart of the defence in this XI. Saiss scored his second league goal of the season in December, that coming in a man of the match display in Wolves' 1-0 win at Brighton. Wolves conceded fewer goals (2) than any other team in December with the Moroccan key having made more interceptions (15) than any other player to feature here.
Kieran Tierney (Arsenal) - 7.45
Rounding off the defence is the only Arsenal player to feature in the Premier League team of the month. Kieran Tierney reclaimed his starting spot at left-back for the Gunners and directly contributed to three goals in five appearances in December, registering two assists. A series of solid displays helped to yield a WhoScored rating of 7.45.
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) - 7.90
Manchester City are the dominant side in the Premier League team of the month having won all seven games in December with Riyad Mahrez the first Cityzens representative. The Algerian ended 2021 by scoring and assisting in three games straight as only Mason Mount (7) had a direct hand in more goals than Mahrez (6) to nail down the right midfield spot with a WhoScored rating of 7.90.
Mason Mount was superb in December having scored four goals and provided three assists for Chelsea. Those came from respective returns of 19 shots and 15 key passes, those both ranking fourth in the division, while 15 tackles was a commendable return for Mount, who makes the team with a WhoScored rating of 7.69.
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - 7.66
Kevin De Bruyne joins Mount in the middle of the park having had a direct hand in four goals in December. The Belgian scored his third, fourth and fifth league goals of the season last month, and provided his first assist of 2021/22, the former coming from 18 shots, the sixth most in the Premier League. De Bruyne also became the seventh player to earn a perfect WhoScored 10 rating in a league game this season, doing so against Leeds, to earn an average of 7.66.
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) - 8.19
With a rating of 8.19, Raheem Sterling is the WhoScored Premier League player of the month. Sterling scored five goals in December, more than any other player, and completed the fourth most dribbles (13) to contribute towards his player of the month accolade.
Son Heung-Min (Tottenham) - 7.88
Featuring on the frontline, Tottenham's December may have been disrupted by a COVID-19 outbreak at the club, but when they did play, Son Heung-Min was key. The South Korean scored as many Premier League goals in December (4) as he had managed in the four months prior for Spurs, while an additional assist saw him land a WhoScored rating of 7.88.
Phil Foden (Manchester City) - 7.63
Joining Son on the frontline with a WhoScored rating of 7.63, Phil Foden had a direct hand in four goals in November, including a decisive strike in Manchester City's 1-0 win at Brentford to see out 2021. Like De Bruyne, Foden also earned a perfect WhoScored 10 rating in a league match last month, doing so against Leeds, to round off the XI.
