Since 1992 the Premier League has been defined by English talent and by players from abroad and neighboring nations who provided steadiness season after season. Some of the competition’s most trusted appearance makers are not English, with many racking up matches after arriving from overseas or from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Schwarzer arrived as a dependable presence and proved something of a lucky charm in the top flight. The former Bradford City man played his part in Boro and the Cottagers reaching UEFA Cup/Europa League finals, and he even ‘won’ the Premier League twice—with Chelsea and Leicester—despite not making a single league appearance in either title-winning campaign.

Sylvain Distin was a Premier League stalwart for years, retiring in 2016 at the age of 38. His first venture in England was a season-long loan with Newcastle United that led to a permanent move to Manchester City. He went on to captain the future Premier League champions prior to their big-money investment, then enjoyed a two-year spell at Portsmouth that yielded FA Cup success. Everton benefited from Distin’s prime extending into his 30s and he made almost as many appearances for the Toffees as he did for City—174 in six seasons.

Ryan Giggs’s record of 13 Premier League title wins with Manchester United will probably never be bettered. The Welshman was already an established United player when the Premier League kicked off in 1992–93, and he was a key figure for Sir Alex Ferguson as the club rose to the top of the country. Later in his career Giggs converted into a central midfielder and produced some of his best football. Winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award in the 2008–09 season at age 35 was followed by another two Premier League titles prior to his retirement in 2014.

Forget Arjen Robben, Damien Duff was the real star winger in José Mourinho’s early Chelsea sides, yet he’s often underrated and not given the credit he deserves. A pacy, consistent performer, Duff rose to prominence at Blackburn Rovers as a natural left winger, terrifying right backs with his running and superb delivery. Goals followed and Chelsea came calling after the Roman Abramovich-led takeover in 2003. Duff was instrumental in Chelsea winning the Premier League two seasons in a row before being phased out. Newcastle United were the next stop in his 18-year top-flight career, followed by Fulham and then a move Down Under.

The Premier League has published the shortlists for December’s Player and Manager of the Month awards.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin led the scoring charts for Leeds United, netting a league-high six goals across five games. His return included strikes in wins over Chelsea and Crystal Palace and helped Leeds record draws with Liverpool, Brentford and Sunderland as the club climbed away from the relegation zone.

Manchester City provide three nominees. Rayan Cherki recorded four assists and a goal while helping City to five victories. Phil Foden contributed four goals and an assist. Erling Haaland, September’s Player of the Month, produced five goals and three assists in December as he bids to become a two-time winner.

Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitiké matched Haaland with five goals, scoring in victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion and registering a brace in a busy draw with Leeds.

Aston Villa have two forwards in contention. Morgan Rogers finished December with four goals while Ollie Watkins reached five during a winning run that extended to 11 games before a defeat to Arsenal.

Fulham winger Harry Wilson enjoyed a strong month, scoring twice against Burnley and Crystal Palace and supplying four assists as the Cottagers emerged as European hopefuls.

On the managerial side, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta navigated a defensive injury crisis to deliver five wins from six games, extending Arsenal’s lead at the top. Arteta met Aston Villa’s Unai Emery twice in December, with the spoils ultimately shared. Emery’s side also beat Chelsea and Manchester United and recorded a win against Arsenal.

Leeds went undefeated under Daniel Farke during a month that included fixtures against Chelsea and Liverpool, where a new formation produced a crucial unbeaten run. Pep Guardiola closed the year with five wins from five as Manchester City finished December in strong form.

The shortlists follow a season that has already seen recent monthly honours awarded to Jack Grealish (Everton) in August, Erling Haaland (Man City) in September, Bryan Mbeumo (Man Utd) in October and Igor Thiago (Brentford) in November. Managerial winners this season include Arne Slot, Oliver Glasner, Ruben Amorim and Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea’s visit to Craven Cottage ended in a 2-1 defeat as Fulham capitalised on a first-half red card to extend the Blues’ poor run. Marc Cucurella was dismissed for hauling Harry Wilson down as the last man, a decision that left Peter Bankes with little choice and handed Fulham the numerical advantage.

VAR intervened late in the first half to rule out Harry Wilson’s stoppage-time strike for a narrow offside, denying Fulham what would have been a first-half lead. Early in the second half Raúl Jiménez made no mistake, heading Sander Berge’s delivery into the near post to open the scoring and undo Chelsea’s defensive plan.

Chelsea responded through Liam Delap, who reacted fastest to a corner after Antonee Robinson’s attempted clearance struck the back post. Delap had earlier seen a dinked chance brilliantly kept out by Bernd Leno but made no mistake with the rebound, offering Chelsea hope despite their disadvantage.

Fulham restored their lead nine minutes from time when Wilson’s deflected effort found the bottom corner. That goal proved decisive as Chelsea could not force an equaliser in the closing stages.

There were several notable individual contributions. Andrey Santos struck the crossbar with the ball bouncing off his shoulder on the goal-line from a corner, while Moisés Caicedo had an effort cleared off the line. Robert Sánchez got a hand to Jiménez’s header but should perhaps have done better. Liam Delap was a bright spot for Chelsea in a difficult afternoon, combining hold-up play with a clinical finish.

The sending off represented the fifth Premier League red card of the season for Chelsea and left the side with an uphill task at Craven Cottage. VAR provided a brief reprieve when Wilson’s first-half strike was ruled out, but Fulham ultimately prevailed. The result handed Fulham three points and left Chelsea to reflect on discipline and defensive lapses as they seek to arrest a troubling run of results. Subs used and individual ratings reflected the altered pattern of the match as the contest was shaped by that pivotal first-half moment.