5 best individual performances of the Premier League season

The best performances in the Premier League last season didn't come exclusively from the league's best players. Of course, Sergio Aguero was a regular protagonist for Manchester City, as were Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez for Leicester. David De Gea made a fair few saves for Manchester United, as well.

But there were also noteworthy efforts from relegation battlers and January signings alike.

Here are the top five individual performances from the past campaign:

5. Lamine Kone (May 11 vs. Everton)

With Lamine Kone in the lineup, Sunderland always had a chance. The physical Frenchman solidified the club's backline over the final few months of the season, and the Black Cats were much more difficult to break down as a result.

Gone were the 6-2 losses and similar thrashings at the hands of the league's bigger boys. Sunderland never lost consecutive games with Kone as a starter.

But it was what he did on the other end of the pitch that truly saved the club from relegation. His two goals against Everton contributed to a 3-0 win that ensured Sunderland's survival, and condemned bitter rival Newcastle to the Championship in the process.

Kone was a shrewd bit of January business, and he's more than made up for his £5-million fee.

4. Riyad Mahrez (Feb. 6 vs. Manchester City)

Mahrez had already established himself as one of the Premier League's breakout players. Everyone knew about his ability on the ball, his dazzling dribbling skills, and his dangerous delivery.

Apparently City didn't get the memo.

Mahrez busted open City's defence for a goal and an assist in an eventual 3-1 win at the Etihad.

Robert Huth, who scored twice, was named the man of the match, but Mahrez easily had the greatest influence over the 90 minutes. He dominated the entire pitch, tracking back to cut out any of City's threats and dashing forward to put pressure on a suspect defence. His goal looked effortless: Mahrez took the space in front of him, pulled off a quick stepover, and walloped the ball past a helpless Joe Hart.

3. Georginio Wijnaldum (Oct. 18 vs. Norwich)

Bottom of the table, coming off a 6-1 trouncing, and without a win in the league, Newcastle hardly looked capable of inflicting a blowout of its own. But summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum took matters into his own hands.

Wijnaldum arrived in the summer from PSV for a hefty £14.5 million - Newcastle's third most expensive signing after Michael Owen and Alan Shearer - and had done little to justify the price tag.

A four-goal performance in an eventual 6-2 win over Norwich changed things. A pair of the goals came from his right foot, while the other two were headers. Only Shearer had scored four or more goals in a single league game for Newcastle, although Wijnaldum later struggled to keep his place in the lineup.

2. Fraser Forster (Feb. 2 vs. Arsenal)

Fraser Forster proved himself as one of the Premier League's top goalkeepers with a stunning 10-save performance against Arsenal. It was just his fourth start of the season, having spent almost a year recovering from a knee injury, and he looked like he had missed no time at all.

Coming out to make himself big, diving to make fingertip saves, standing firm to make quick stops in succession, Forster thwarted every one of Arsenal's chances. The match ended 0-0 at the Emirates Stadium, a stalemate that all but ended Arsenal's pursuit of a first Premier League title in 12 years.

It was also one of six consecutive clean sheets for the 6-foot-7 netminder.

1. Sergio Aguero (Oct. 3 vs. Newcastle)

Aguero became just the fifth player in Premier League history to notch five goals in a single match. He did it quickly, scoring all of them within 20 minutes of match time. It also involved a perfect hat trick, as Aguero managed to convert his first three goals with his head, his left foot, and his right foot.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini had to sub off Aguero before the final whistle, denying the Argentine of a chance to break the record. Pellegrini revealed that Aguero wasn't even fully fit for the encounter, and that it was a risk to let him play the whole game.