By its very definition, 'Clutch' is modern speak for turning up when it matters and producing big moments. In football, these figures are hailed and adored.

The Premier League has seen all manner of footballing superstars, most of whom grow into that identity by performing on the big stages, scoring big goals and just generally making an impact on a consistent basis when the bright lights are shining down.

It isn't always necessarily about goals, nor is it producing every single week. Some players crave the big games, be it a title clash, a derby game or just a match against a true rival and need it to perform to the best of their abilities.

Join us as we delve into the history of the very best 'clutch' players to feature in England's top flight, a list that features plenty of the greatest Premier League players of all time.

Ranking Factors:

• Big moments
• Loves the big occasion
• Shows an elevated performance on certain occasions
• How much they are defined by this trait

10 Vincent Kompany

Vincent Kompany was a centre-back with an extraordinary sense of timing and quality, and one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history. In April 2012, Manchester City had cut Manchester United's eight-point lead to three, meaning victory in the derby at the Etihad would flip the title race in their favour via goal difference. Kompany rose powerfully to head the only goal, paving the way for their first Premier League title.

Seven years on, in his final season, the captain did it again. City needed to beat Leicester in their penultimate game to stay ahead of Liverpool, and were stuck at 0-0 with time running out. Then Kompany ignored calls not to shoot to drill a 25-yard stunner into the top corner. It was his last goal for the club, and the title followed a week later.

9 Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard turned goalscoring from midfield into an art form, and he routinely turned up when it mattered. In April 2005, Chelsea travelled to Bolton needing a win to end a 50-year wait for the title. Lampard scored both goals in a 2-0 victory to seal the crown.

Five years later, his goal in a 2-0 win at Anfield took Chelsea top with one game left, and the title followed a week later. He finished as the Premier League's highest-scoring midfielder with 177 goals, a tally that puts him among the greatest midfielders of the Premier League era. In Europe, his extra-time penalty against Liverpool, two days after his mother's death, sent Chelsea to their first Champions League final and there is barely a famous ground he hasn't netted at.

8 Eric Cantona

Newcastle United held a 12-point lead in 1995/96, and Eric Cantona dismantled it almost single-handedly. Between late January and early April, he scored the winner in five one-goal victories. The most decisive was the volley at St James' Park, after Peter Schmeichel had kept United level through a Newcastle onslaught.

His winner against Arsenal on 20 March took United top, and they never surrendered the position. In the same run, a late equaliser at QPR rescued another point. He then settled the FA Cup final against Liverpool with a late volley to seal a second Double. For a player only months back from a nine-month ban, the response was emphatic and he loved the big stage.

7 Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard won one title and decided another — and outside that, he produced in near enough every big game he ever played in. In May 2015, Chelsea needed victory over Crystal Palace to clinch the crown; Hazard's penalty was saved before he headed in the rebound for the only goal of the game. It came a week after he was named PFA Player of the Year.

A year later, in a dismal season for Chelsea, he came off the bench at halftime against Tottenham to curl in a 83rd-minute equaliser that ended Spurs' title hopes and crowned Leicester champions. His big game record was exceptional for the Blues too.

6 Kevin De Bruyne

It was his assists that won the title on the final day of the against Aston Villa, setting up İlkay Gündoğan for the winner, and Kevin De Bruyne's big-game reliability didn't stop there. In January 2022, with second-placed Chelsea at the Etihad, he dispossessed N'Golo Kante, charged to the edge of the box and curled in the only goal of the game. The win put City 13 points clear.

A year later, title rivals Arsenal arrived in Manchester, and De Bruyne, one of the most creative players in Premier League history, tore them apart. He scored twice and set up John Stones in a 4-1 win that handed City control of the race. The Treble followed, crowning the most decorated chapter of his career.

5 Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney's defining moment came in the Manchester derby in February 2011. The score was 1-1 with 12 minutes left when Nani's deflected cross arrived behind him. The overhead kick that followed won the game 2-1 and kept United on course for a record 19th league title. Fans later voted it the best goal of the Premier League's first 20 seasons.

It was no isolated moment. Rooney was routinely on the mark against all of his rivals, netted in the Champions League final against arguably the best team ever and enjoyed a historic career.

4 Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah's clutch credentials are built on performing against bitter rivals. His history against Man United is special as he holds the record for Premier League goals at Old Trafford by a visiting player, and he is among the top scorers in Merseyside derby history too.

Having also netted in Liverpool's 2019 Champions League final win, he netted one of the goals of his career against Man City during their bitter rivalry in the 2021/22 season, loved a clash with Arsenal and belted in a 30-yard screamer against former side Chelsea — among many other examples.

3 Thierry Henry

The Invincibles season was wobbling in April 2004. Within a week, Arsenal had been knocked out of the FA Cup by United and the Champions League by Chelsea, then Liverpool led 2-1 at half-time at Highbury.

Henry turned the game around, gliding through the Liverpool defence for one of the great solo goals. He then completed a hat-trick in a 4-2 win that restored Arsenal's seven-point lead. Seen as perhaps the best player in Premier League history and one of the greatest strikers in football history, he has no shortage of iconic moments in the league, yet his cup record is strangely contrasting. Regardless, his league-only performances are almost unbeatable.

2 Didier Drogba

Didier Drogba earned the tag 'The Man For The Big Occasion' by delivering on all fronts for Chelsea. He netted goals on the way to the 2009/10 title against United and Liverpool before settling the golden boot and title on the final day with a second-half hat-trick in an 8-0 demolition of Wigan.

But it was Arsenal who knew his prowess all too well. Drogba scored 13 times against the Gunners during his Chelsea career, including braces in both league meetings that season. Beyond the league, he remains the only player to score in four FA Cup finals. His header and winning penalty in Munich delivered Chelsea's first Champions League in the most dramatic fashion, and the Blues always had a chance if he was in the starting lineup.

1 Sergio Agüero

No moment in Premier League history is more famous than Sergio Aguero's winner against QPR on the final day of 2011/12 season. He snatched the title away from United and ended City's 44-year wait for a top-flight crown in one fell swoop, in one of the most iconic goals in football history.

His big-game quality shone through in Derbies, big games with Chelsea and, at the height of their rivalry with Liverpool, he opened the scoring in the 2018/19 clash at the Etihad, a game considered to be one of the levels of quality of both teams in the competition's history. Truthfully, the QPR moment alone solidifies his status here.