The final international break of the season gave way to a busy Easter schedule across Europe with Marco van Ginkel adding another goal to his tally, as PSV move closer to securing the Eredivisie title, whilst Nathan struck in another big game in Portugal.
Headliners
Van Ginkel was the sole goalscorer amongst the Loan Army this week, scoring his 15th of the season in PSV’s handsome 5-1 win at home to NAC Breda, and taking the overall loanee total to 79 for the campaign.
In scoring from the penalty spot for the 8th time in the league this season, captain Van Ginkel set a new PSV club record, and they are now potentially just two wins away from a first league title since 2015-16.
In Liga NOS, Nathan has struggled for playing time at Belenenses despite scoring against Benfica in February, but he made the most of a rare start on Sunday by finding the net in another big game, this time opening the scoring against Porto.
https://twitter.com/nfgoals/status/980902355074998273
England
Premier League
Kenedy laid on a late but crucial assist for Ayoze Perez as Newcastle beat Huddersfield 1-0 on Saturday to ease their relegation fears. There was no such luck for Kurt Zouma and lowly Stoke, though, as the French defender missed the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal with a knee injury.
Tammy Abraham came off the bench in Swansea’s defeat at Manchester United to positive effect, twice going close to scoring, but ultimately being left punching the floor in frustration at being denied by David de Gea. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, meanwhile, played seventeen minutes at the end of Crystal Palace’s defeat at home to Liverpool as he bids to make a late charge for Gareth Southgate’s England World Cup squad.
https://twitter.com/RealTalkUnited/status/980104129946284032
Championship
Jamal Blackman took the headlines in the Championship, but for all the wrong reasons, as he was sent off during Sheffield United’s 1-1 draw at Brentford. His spat with Ryan Woods after a Brentford equaliser was ultimately something over nothing, but the pair were both given their marching orders, and Blackman duly missed the Blades’ Easter Monday date at home to Cardiff City through suspension.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVL3lTKR5WE
Lucas Piazon played a full ninety minutes for Fulham in a 2-0 win at Norwich that saw them maintain a promotion charge that has lifted them to third in the table; Tomas Kalas was an unused substitute after spending the international break away in China with the Czech Republic (for whom he scored for the first time), but will be in line for a start at home to Leeds on Tuesday evening.
Kasey Palmer came off the bench twice for Derby against Sunderland and Preston in live televised fixtures, and produced enough in each cameo to leave Rams supporters unsure as to what he has to do to earn a starting berth.
Would have so much more respect for Gary if he replaced Tom Lawrence with Kasey Palmer at HALF TIME. #dcfc #dcfcfans
— Deano (@deanog79) April 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/RJ_Derby/status/980041396932497409
https://twitter.com/ffsdcfc_/status/973252362742779905
Jeremie Boga was an unused substitute for Birmingham at home to Ipswich; the Blues are in action on Tuesday at Bolton, with the Ivorian international keen to earn his way back into Garry Monk’s starting eleven.
Ola Aina played all of Hull’s goalless draw with Aston Villa, whilst Michael Hector played 25 minutes, and Fikayo Tomori was an unused substitute. Lewis Baker was an unused substitute for Middlesbrough against Wolves and Burton, and Jake Clarke-Salter missed Sunderland’s matches through suspension.
League One
Jay Dasilva made his return from a month-long injury layoff for Charlton and helped them to a 3-1 win over Rotherham on Monday to keep them in with a chance of reaching the playoffs.
Jordan Houghton’s Doncaster Rovers have diminishing hopes of joining them, needing to win a pair of games in hand if they are to do, following Monday’s postponement at home to Wimbledon. Houghton did play from start to finish in Friday’s win at Blackpool though.
Todd Kane pulled double duty as Oxford took on a pair of promotion contenders in Scunthorpe and Shrewsbury, but Iké Ugbo was an unused substitute for Milton Keynes as they beat Gillingham but then lost 2-1 to Blackburn.
League Two
Brad Collins and Forest Green Rovers lost 2-1 at home to Colchester to leave them still looking over their shoulders at the foot of the table.
Non-League
Nathan Baxter and Woking lost to Macclesfield and Torquay to leave them in an unlikely relegation scrap; one they would have been a few more points better off in had Joey Jones not taken his eye off the ball in the first of those two matches…
https://twitter.com/NonLeaguePaper/status/980420099420164096
Things are looking considerably better for Jared Thompson and Chippenham Town in the National League South though; a 4-0 win at home to Eastbourne Borough was followed by a 1-0 triumph at Oxford City to lift them to near-mathematical safety, whilst taking Thompson to nine clean sheets for the campaign, sharing the outright lead amongst Loan Army goalkeepers along with Blackman.
Netherlands
Vitesse suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Roda JC on Saturday, piling even more pressure on the club to dispense with the services of manager Henk Fraser before his scheduled departure at the end of the season.
Matt Miazga and Mason Mount played the full match but neither were able to impress, whilst Fankaty Dabo was an unused substitute.
Cristian Cuevas played ninety minutes as last-placed FC Twente drew 0-0 at VVV.
Germany
Michy Batshuayi might have scored for Belgium during the international friendlies, but he had a return to forget at Dortmund, ploughing a lone furrow up front in a 6-0 defeat at Bayern Munich.
Baba Rahman didn’t play for Schalke at home to Freiburg.
Belgium
Victorien Angban missed Waasland-Beveren’s 4-1 defeat at Kortrijk through injury.
Spain
Josimar Quintero played nineteen minutes as Betis Deportivo drew with Granada B.
Scotland
Charly Musonda was an unused substitute in Celtic’s 3-0 win over Ross County.
Turkey
Kenneth Omeruo played 81 minutes as Kasimpasa won 2-0 at Goztepe to move seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Russia
Mario Pašalić played the last minute of Spartak Moscow’s 2-1 win over Tosno.
Serbia
Danilo Pantic played 64 minutes of Partizan’s 2-1 win at Backa Backa Palanka.
Mexico
Joao Rodriguez’ absence continues as Tampico Madero beat Cafetaleros 1-0 on Sunday night.
Ireland
Mitchell Beeney was an unused sub as Sligo Rovers lost to Shamrock Rovers.
Statistics
Started: July 15th
Finished: May 26th
| Player | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe/Cont | Other | Mins Played | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Tammy Abraham | Swansea City | 30 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1971 | 37 | 8 |
| Ola Aina | Hull City | 44 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4003 | 47 | 1 |
| Victorien Angban | Waasland-Beveren | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2349 | 31 | 1 |
| Lewis Baker | Middlesbrough | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 790 | 14 | 2 |
| Michy Batshuayi | Dortmund | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1169 | 14 | 9 |
| Jeremie Boga | Birmingham City | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2190 | 33 | 2 |
| Isaiah Brown | Brighton | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 401 | 15 | 0 |
| Jake Clarke-Salter | Sunderland | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 490 | 9 | 0 |
| Charlie Colkett | Vitesse Arnhem | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 293 | 11 | 0 |
| Cristian Cuevas | FC Twente | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1968 | 24 | 0 |
| Fankaty Dabo | Vitesse Arnhem | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2625 | 33 | 0 |
| Jay Dasilva | Charlton Athletic | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3483 | 43 | 0 |
| Marco van Ginkel | PSV | 28 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2874 | 33 | 16 |
| Michael Hector | Hull City | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3054 | 37 | 1 |
| Jordan Houghton | Doncaster Rovers | 37 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3170 | 39 | 1 |
| Tomas Kalas | Fulham | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2609 | 36 | 0 |
| Todd Kane | Groningen | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 571 | 10 | 0 |
| Todd Kane | Oxford United | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1530 | 17 | 3 |
| Kenedy | Newcastle United | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 869 | 11 | 2 |
| Ruben Loftus-Cheek | Crystal Palace | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1965 | 25 | 2 |
| Matt Miazga | Vitesse Arnhem | 36 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3659 | 43 | 4 |
| Mason Mount | Vitesse Arnhem | 32 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2915 | 39 | 14 |
| Charly Musonda | Celtic | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 335 | 8 | 0 |
| Nathan | Amiens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 2 | 0 |
| Nathan | Belenenses | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 496 | 13 | 2 |
| Kenneth Omeruo | Kasimpasa | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2407 | 27 | 1 |
| Kasey Palmer | Huddersfield Town | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 243 | 5 | 0 |
| Kasey Palmer | Derby County | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 473 | 16 | 2 |
| Danilo Pantic | Partizan Belgrade | 31 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3146 | 46 | 5 |
| Mario Pašalić | Spartak Moscow | 21 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1656 | 30 | 5 |
| Lucas Piazon | Fulham | 23 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1360 | 25 | 6 |
| Josimar Quintero | FC Rostov | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| Josimar Quintero | Real Betis B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 5 | 0 |
| Baba Rahman | Schalke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 0 |
| Joao Rodriguez | Tampico Madero | 21 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1727 | 23 | 8 |
| Fikayo Tomori | Hull City | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2152 | 26 | 0 |
| Iké Ugbo | Barnsley | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 909 | 18 | 1 |
| Iké Ugbo | Milton Keynes | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1161 | 17 | 2 |
| Kurt Zouma | Stoke City | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3038 | 34 | 1 |
| Total | 64255 | 898 | 99 | |||||||||||
| Player | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Mins Played | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | |||
| Nathan Baxter | Woking | 42 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4320 | 48 | 7 |
| Mitchell Beeney | Sligo Rovers | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 990 | 11 | 2 |
| Jamal Blackman | Sheffield United | 30 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2727 | 32 | 9 |
| Brad Collins | Forest Green Rovers | 40 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3839 | 43 | 8 |
| Jared Thompson | Chippenham Town | 40 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3960 | 44 | 11 |
| Total | 15746 | 177 | 37 | |||||||||||