William Wigg
GK : Jordan Pickford ( vs Arsenal )
The Everton keeper was the standout pick this week, although it is important to also recognise strong performances from Robert Sanchez of Chelsea, Lukasz Fabianski of West Ham, and Emi Martinez’s wonder save at the City Ground. Pickford displayed his usual unorthodox style of goalkeeping to sweep through balls and prevent big chances falling at the feet of the Arsenal forwards. Pickford only made 5 saves, however, it was the quality of these which makes him the standout goalkeeper in the Premier League this weekend, preventing 1.81 xG according to Opta.
LB : Antonee Robinson ( vs Liverpool )
Robinson was the star in a really underwhelming Fulham performance. Despite both taking the lead and Liverpool left back Andy Robertson being dismissed early on, Fulham failed to impose themselves onto a vulnerable Liverpool team requiring some excellent attacking play from the marauding fullback to earn a point at Anfield. Robinson struggled with star man Mo Salah in the first half, however, he managed to keep him much quieter in the second half as well as offering the London club’s only real outlet, with constant driving under and overlapping runs beyond the last line of Liverpool’s defence. Robinson left with two assists to take his tally up to six for the season, the most of any defender in the Premier League.
CB : Ryan Gravenberch ( vs Fulham )
Gravenberch has excelled as the deepest in a midfield three this season, however, Liverpool manager Arne Slot asked him to play both this role and as a centre-back following Robertson’s dismissal. The Dutchman offered his usual prowess in stepping beyond opposition lines of pressure to advance Liverpool into dangerous areas, whilst also playing as a traditional centre-back in a back four that was disrupted multiple times during the game. It was a characteristic Ryan Gravenberch performance made even more special by the extra responsibility asked of him in an unfamiliar role.
CB : Nikola Milenkovic ( vs Aston Villa )
Milenkovic made it two from two games this weekend when he rose highest to sink home a towering header into Emi Martinez’ net. Nikola Milenkovic has generated the second most xG of all defenders this season only behind Gabriel of Arsenal, and this threat was on display again against Aston Villa in a game that could turn out to be a real European six pointer. Milenkovic complimented his goal by winning 100% of his duels which is no easy feat when considering the quality of Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.
RB : Djed Spence ( vs Southampton )
Djed Spence has had to wait over two years to make his first start for Tottenham but wasted no time making an impact when his moment finally arrived. In the game’s first minute, Spence turned away from pressure before driving forward and playing Maddison in to open the scoring of what would eventually become a 5-0 rout for Spurs. Spence also looked comfortable in possession, misplacing only 3 of his 64 pass attempts, to complete a remarkably impressive full debut in the English top flight.
CM : Elliot Anderson ( vs Aston Villa )
Elliot Anderson has had an exceptional start to life in the Midlands following a strange move in the summer. The highly-rated Newcastle academy product has had a fast start to life in the midfield of an over-performing Nottingham Forest side, and it is his performance this week against fellow Midlands team Aston Villa that deserves special attention. Anderson completed four key passes, proving his creative prowess, and was also involved in 18 duels, an outstanding amount for the combative England Under-21 international.
CM : Morgan Gibbs-White ( vs Aston Villa )
From one Nottingham Forest midfielder to the other, Gibbs-White has long since proved his worth against his sizable transfer fee and cemented himself as a key player for Nottingham Forest under multiple managers. Gibbs-White racked up an impressive 0.82 xA against Aston Villa, as much as all his fellow teammates combined. Forest’s number 10 was once again the main creative outlet for a high-flying yet defensively orientated team.
CM : Dominik Szoboszlai ( vs Fulham )
No goals and no assists for Szoboszlai, however, it was still an immense performance from the Hungary captain. Similar to his Liverpool teammate Gravenberch, Szoboszlai had to cover two positions in midfield, a task he made look routine using his exceptional ability to cover ground in short periods. He was also often found covering for fellow teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold to attempt to prevent Fulham’s clear targeting of Liverpool’s right hand side in transition. Szoboszlai was a key part of Liverpool’s ability to dominate the game despite being down to ten men for almost all of the match.
LW : Heung-Min Son ( vs Southampton )
Despite only playing one half of football, Son was clearly the standout left winger in the Premier League this weekend. The South Korean was a constant threat on the transition, firing off four shots on target which all either troubled or beat the Southampton keeper. Son also displayed a more underrated aspect of his game with two assists for teammates Pape Matar Sarr and James Maddison. The first was a perfectly weighted through ball that Sarr took in his stride before beating his man and tucking home another Tottenham counter attack, the second a delightful trivela pass into the path of Maddison who expertly maneuvered himself to create space and finished from an impossible angle.
ST : Alexander Isak ( vs Leicester )
Isak continued his rich vein of form with another goal and an assist against a struggling Leicester side. Alexander Isak managed to generate 1.42 xG in just 73 minutes on the pitch and, whilst he will have more clinical days in front of goal, to accumulate 1.42 xG alone is mightily impressive. Isak most notably completed six of his eight attempted dribbles, an asset that not many elite number nines have in today’s football landscape. Newcastle will be well aware that an up-turn of form leading into a strong finishing position is required if they want to keep their star striker on Tyneside next season.
RW : Ismaila Sarr ( vs Brighton )
Rounding out this matchday’s Team of The Week is Ismaila Sarr. Sarr spent one year away from English football with Marseille but failed to excel, prompting a move to Crystal Palace to replace their Bayern-bound wonderkid, Michael Olise. Sarr hasn’t set the league alight with his performances but he will be hoping he can build on and replicate a spectacular performance against Brighton. Sarr was involved in every Palace goal, scoring twice and was credited with the assist for Trevoh Chalobah’s chaotic goal following a corner. The Senegalese international scored a towering header to double the lead in the first half, as well as a superb opportunistic goal, stealing in to win the ball ahead of Brighton captain Lewis Dunk and running through one-on-one against Bart Verbruggen before calmly slotting the ball home.
William Wigg
Featured image courtesy of [@a56] via [Unsplash]. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of [liverpoolfc] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of [premierleague] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 3 courtesy of [nufc] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
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