Weekend awards: Best goal, set-piece, celebration and more

Football writer David Coverdale hands out his personal accolades for Matchweek 25.

Best goal – Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)

The reaction of Virgil van Dijk said it all.

When Szoboszlai belted a 30-yard free-kick in off the post to open the scoring against Manchester City, Liverpool captain Van Dijk stood with his hands on his head in disbelief.

It was the fourth time Szoboszlai had netted from a direct free-kick in all competitions this season and it was a truly special strike, bending the ball around the inside of the two-man wall.

Watch: Szoboszlai's sensational free-kick

And though it was ultimately in a losing cause, the Hungarian's ninth goal of the campaign was voted the best of the weekend by fans on the Premier League WhatsApp channel.

“Hats off for the shot from Szoboszlai,” said victorious Man City manager Pep Guardiola.

Former Man City goalkeeper Joe Hart told the BBC’s Match of the Day: “It’s one of the purest strikes I’ve seen. It’s almost an inside Roberto Carlos.

“He’s so good that when he saw the two-man wall, he thought, ‘I can hit that on the inside and let it fade’. He’s a real wizard.”

Szoboszlai's free-kick tally is the most by a Liverpool player in a single season since Luis Suarez in 2012/13.

His six goals from outside the box is also the most by a Reds player since Philippe Coutinho in 2016/17.

Szoboszlai, though, was sent off in the 13th minute of stoppage time for denying Erling Haaland an obvious goalscoring opportunity and will be suspended for Wednesday’s match at Sunderland.

Best save – Gianluigi Donnarumma (Man City)

Bernardo Silva scored Man City's equaliser and Haaland netted the 93rd-minute penalty winner.

But the visitors would still likely have left Anfield with only a point were it not for an outstanding save from their goalkeeper Donnarumma.

With 99 minutes on the clock, Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister had started running away in celebration as he watched his dipping 20-yard shot deflect off Ruben Dias and head towards the goal.

Yet the backtracking Donnarumma made a giant leap to his right to get a strong hand on Mac Allister’s strike and hook it away for a corner.

It was a save so good that even Guardiola could not resist recreating it on the touchline, as he hilariously stuck out his right hand and jumped in the air.

“It is absolutely incredible,” said ex-Man City goalkeeper Hart on Match of the Day. “This is where every bit of training comes in. Every single fibre in his body is saving that ball.

“If Man City get themselves back into the title race, those are the big moments. He’s a big-moment goalkeeper and that was a top save.”

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher added on Sky Sports: “Nobody wins a Premier League without an absolutely great goalkeeper – and there is no doubt Man City have a goalkeeper they can win the league with.”

Best set-piece routine – Manchester United

Michael Carrick can seemingly do no wrong as Man Utd's interim head coach.

With four wins from four Premier League matches, the former Red Devils midfielder has enjoyed a perfect start to life in the Old Trafford dugout.

And no goal will have pleased Carrick more than Man Utd’s opener in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur – because it was a move straight from the training ground.

From a corner, Bruno Fernandes played the ball short down the byline to Kobbie Mainoo, who had dashed towards his captain from the middle of the goal line.

Mainoo then flicked it first time towards the edge of the penalty area, where Bryan Mbeumo advanced to roll the ball into the bottom-right corner.

Watch: Man Utd's slick set-piece goal

Carrick later revealed the corner routine had been devised by his coach Jonny Evans and analyst Kaita Hasegawa.

“It's great when things come off,” said Carrick. “Jonny has been doing a lot of work with the players and got the rewards for that, so we're delighted.”

Mbeumo confirmed the routine was something they had practised in training – but revealed it had never actually worked!

“It was the coach who wanted to practise this in training,” said Mbeumo.

“Jonny Evans came to me and the guys. We did it once and it didn't work out. But this one [in the match] was the most important.”

Best celebration – Martin Zubimendi (Arsenal)

When Zubimendi fired in Arsenal’s opener in their 3-0 win over Sunderland, his thoughts immediately turned to his injured team-mate.

Gunners midfielder Mikel Merino is set to miss the rest of the season with a “very rare” fracture of his right foot.

And Zubimendi paid tribute to his fellow Spaniard after scoring against Sunderland by recreating his trademark celebration of running around the corner flag.

Watch: Zubimendi's special goal celebration

“I was very happy to do it for him and dedicate it to him,” Zubimendi told Arsenal’s official website.

“We’re going to be with him by his side on this journey.”

Merino – whose own celebration is an imitation of the way his father Angel marked goals during his career – was seen smiling and applauding Zubimendi's heart-warming gesture at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

The 29-year-old is expected to have surgery on his foot this week and faces a race to be fit for the FIFA World Cup.

Explaining the extent of the injury that has kept Merino out since last month’s defeat to Man Utd, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: “He’s going to be out for four months with a very rare injury. It’s a big blow.

“We need to support him, and make sure that he’s very connected with the team because he can still add a lot of value to the players and the staff if we keep him around.”

Best assist – Ilia Gruev (Leeds United)

It is fair to say Daniel Farke was impressed with Gruev’s performance in Leeds' 3-1 win over relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Friday.

“It was pretty close to a 10 out of 10,” said the Leeds boss. “He looked like a mix of Hristo Stoichkov and Lothar Matthaus.

“Defensive-wise, he was everywhere and won each and every duel. Offensive-wise, he played the key passes, with a genius left foot and two assists.”

It was the first of those assists that really caught the eye.

With the game still goalless in the 26th minute, midfielder Gruev received the ball from Pascal Struijk deep in his own half and advanced towards the halfway line.

Watch: Gruev's superb assist v Forest

Spotting the darting run of right wing-back Jayden Bogle, Gruev then played a long pass over the head of Nikola Milenkovic and perfectly into the path of his team-mate, who beat the offside trap and finished first time past Stefan Ortega.

Farke later revealed the move was something they had worked on in training in the week.

“We wanted to play different processes and one had Ilia a bit more in the left half-space, to initiate our attacks from there, and use passes without pace over the last line,” explained the German.

“We encouraged him to play more forward-thinking passes.”

More on Matchweek 25