William Wigg
GK : Mark Travers ( v Aston Villa A )
Travers has found game time hard to come by as of late on the south coast, which makes his performance at the weekend all the more impressive. Despite a lack of rhythm and opportunities, Travers excelled away at Villa Park to help keep Bournemouth in the game, allowing for a late Evanilson equaliser to snatch a valuable point away from home. The Bournemouth keeper made 7 saves, including some spectacular fingertip stops to prevent Onana and Watkins from finishing the game off. Travers will feel he’s done enough to earn at least a run of games in the side after his Man Of The Match display against Aston Villa.
LB : Josko Gvardiol ( v Southampton H )
Josko Gvardiol appears in the Team Of The Week once again; however this time for vastly different reasons. Gvardiol showed a different type of performance this week: Defending one on one duels against the electric Tyler Dibling with absolute ease and comfort, Creating multiple chances none of which were tucked away, retaining the ball with spectacular fluidity and ensuring the counter attacking threat from a pacy Southampton was limited. The Manchester City left back didn’t take a goal involvement away from this weekend’s match, although he still finds his way into the Team Of The Week.
CB : Virgil Van Dijk ( v Arsenal A )
It was really tight between the two Liverpool centre-backs this week, Van Dijk however inches it due to his goal; in addition to a rash moment from Ibrahima Konate, which required a desperate lunge from the aforementioned defender to prevent a certain Arsenal goal. Both Liverpool central defenders were superb, this was required as the Liverpool press proved dysfunctional in the first half (similar to the fixture against Chelsea), causing them to defend far more overloads than they would have liked, yet conceding from none of these situations.
Lacroix has an incredible physical profile which often translates so well into the English game, so I expect a lot of promising things to come for the French defender.
CB : Maxence Lacroix ( v Tottenham H )
Maxence Lacroix finds his way into the Team Of The Week due to a really unwavering Crystal Palace defensive performance. Lacroix was part of a back five, all of whom played exceptionally, however the French centre-back was the standout making a few exceptional recovery tackles to prevent Solanke from finding space in threatening areas. Lacroix has found life difficult so far in the Premier League, not being on the winning side in a league game since he appeared for VFL Wolfsburg in Germany. Despite a lack of immediate success, Lacroix has an incredible physical profile which often translates so well into the English game, so I expect a lot of promising things to come for the French defender.
RB : Ashley Young ( v Fulham H )
The veteran full-back is proving he still has something to give at the top level of English football, with another rugged and determined game at right-back capped with a last gasp assist, to rescue a point for the Toffees. Young’s performances have gone quietly under the radar this season, recording three assists in his last five games, coinciding with a clear upturn in form for Everton. Young has managed his career well, adapting positions and styles to the manager’s requirements of him, and now he looks just as useful as ever playing an essential part of a new and evolved Sean Dyche team.
CM : Cole Palmer ( v Newcastle H )
Cole Palmer continues to make Premier League midfield’s look amateur, with another sensational performance at the weekend. Palmer managed to find far more space than Newcastle boss Eddie Howe would have liked, due to a combination of his spectacular first touch and hyper awareness off the ball to pick up pockets of space. Palmer’s crowning moment this week was not his superb strike from outside the box, but his stellar long range pass, played into the path of the rapid Pedro Neto who ultimately crossed the ball for a simple Nicolas Jackson finish. Palmer’s current form is constantly disproving the baseless claims that he was simply a one-season wonder and causing every high line in the premier league sleepless nights.
CM : Eberechi Eze ( v Tottenham H )
It will be a huge relief for all Crystal Palace fans, as their star man was back to his previous season’s level this weekend. Eberechi Eze recorded his first assist of the season with a sumptuous and controlled back heel flick into the path of teammate Jean-Phillipe Mateta. If I’m being honest Eze could have left the pitch at this point and he would still have earned a place in my Team Of The Week, however Eze’s work rate also was on full display competing in 17 duels perfectly epitomising the combative nature Oliver Glasner demands of his Crystal Palace team.
CM : Phil Foden ( v Southampton H )
Last year’s PFA Players’ Player Of The Year, Phil Foden, slots into the Team Of The Week for the first time this year. Foden, similar to Gvardiol, produced no goal involvements yet that did not dampen his performance at all, the City star racked up five key passes, the best of which presented Erling Haaland a chance to finish the game late on which he failed to take. Foden’s performance was a great example of why assists continue to be a very limited stat in football that is given far too much importance by those who consume the product that is the Premier League.
LW : Matheus Nunes ( v Southampton H )
Nunes’ City career has failed to impress, in his relatively brief time at the club, however his performance at the weekend showed exactly why Manchester City were willing to spend upwards of £50 million on the Portuguese international. Matheus Nunes started in an unfamiliar left wing position, partly to cover for the injured Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku, despite this, unfamiliar would be the last word you could use to describe his performance. Another masterstroke by Pep Guardiola as he re-profiled the midfielder in order to get the best out of his unique qualities; an unstoppable ball-carrying ability, intense explosive power and intricate dribbling abilities.
If it wasn’t abundantly clear to all viewers of the Premier League, Bukayo Saka has arrived
RW : Bukayo Saka ( v Liverpool H )
It’s important to take a step back from the hypercritical world of professional football to just appreciate greatness when it arrives and if it wasn’t abundantly clear to all viewers of the Premier League, Bukayo Saka has arrived. Saka scored the best goal of the game; however, his general play was equally as impressive. Saka used his immense strength, partnered with incredible explosive power, to embarrass the flailing Andy Robertson on a number of occasions, helping to expose the naive choice from Arne Slot, to play a quite physically stunted left hand side ( Macallister and Robertson.)
ST : Chris Wood ( v Leicester A )
The in-form Nottingham Forest striker continued his stellar start to the season, striking twice to ultimately prove the difference in the Friday night fixture this week. Chris Wood has often been criticised for his lack of contribution in build-up play, going all the way back to his time in Lancashire with Burnley, however with his current scoring rate, the payoff certainly seems worth it for Nottingham Forest fans. Wood’s efficiency in front of goal from all situations was on fine display, scoring an opportunistic header as well as a wonderful back to goal strike, continuing the trend of vastly outperforming his xG this season.
Manager Of The Week : Pep Guardiola ( v Southampton H )
This may seem like a run of the mill Manchester City victory, however off the back of a few unconvincing yet successful results in the league, City’s total dominance following some personal tweaks displays perfectly, once again, why Pep Guardiola is the best manager to grace the Premier League. As mentioned earlier, Matheus Nunes’ excellent physical profile on the left, combined with the returning Phil Foden, were utilised expertly to find a solution for the missing Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri, many a manager would stumble and fall losing two of the best players in the world, however, Guardiola’s ability to tackle new challenges mid-season and ‘brain-solve’ in the moment is what sets him apart and makes him this week’s Manager Of The Week.
William Wigg
Featured image courtesy of [@zelladun] via [Unsplash]. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of [@mancity] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of [@bukayosaka87] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
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