William Wigg & Tomos Millward
GK: Jakub Stolarczyk ( vs Tottenham A)
In the absence of any real stellar performances from Premier League goalkeepers this weekend, it feels right to give appropriate praise to the Leicester City shot-stopper, an important part of the team that pulled off the shock result of the week. Stolarczyk made the most saves this week of all Premier League goalkeepers with five, the highlight of which being a fingertip save at
full stretch to deny Heung-Min Son a glorious goal.
CB: Virgil van Dijk ( vs Ipswich H )
A monumental 132 passes completed by the Liverpool skipper whilst completing 88% of his long balls is truly phenomenal from a player who has already set such high standards, and yet continues to meet them even at the age of 33. The Liverpool defence, led by van Dijk, ultimately allowed only three shots on goal in the entire game negating any idea of a potential upset from the Tractor Boys. Whilst Jacob Greaves did find the back of the net in the 90th minute with the score already at 4-0, the Liverpool defence can just about be forgiven for allowing a late corner to ruin their perfect performance.
CB: Ibrahima Konate ( vs Ipswich H )
The other Liverpool centre-back finds his way into my Team of The Week for similar reasons that van Dijk found himself here. Konate has been an imperious defender in almost all situations for many seasons now however what has come on leaps and bounds under Arne Slot is his ability to break the lines and advance Liverpool attacks by injecting pace and beating the first line of opposition press. Konate zipped the ball into the feet of Dominik Szoboszlai who masterfully controlled, turned, and fired into the bottom corner to give Liverpool an early lead which set them on their way to a four goal rout.
CB: Calvin Bassey ( vs Manchester United H )
Bassey was part of a Fulham defensive setup that forced Manchester United into one of the most impotent attacking performances of the season registering only four shots and a dismal 0.25 xG. In truth, this position could have gone to either of Fulham’s central defenders, however, I believe Bassey edged it due to his level of comfort in possession and having slightly more success in tricky ground duels than his also impressive partner Joachim Anderson.
CM: Tyler Adams ( vs Nottingham Forest H )
Bournemouth this past week have truly sent out a statement to the rest of the Premier League with convincing victories against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest and Tyler Adams has played a huge role in their recent success. Adams completed five tackles in an unsurprisingly resolute display of midfield workmanship and also added two assists from passes to Justin Kluivert and Dango Outtara.
CM: Sandro Tonali ( vs Southampton A )
The Italian international playing a deeper role allowing his teammate Bruno Guimaraes more freedom in the middle of the park has been pivotal to Newcastle’s unrelenting charge up the table, however, it was Tonali’s ability to make forward runs off the ball which added goals for the Tyneside team when in the 51st minute he drove forward after releasing the ball beyond the Saints backline and slotted home past a helpless Aaron Ramsdale.
CM: Justin Kluivert ( vs Nottingham Forest H )
Fresh off the back of a hat-trick against Newcastle, Kluivert followed up with another near perfect performance. Kluivert returned a goal, an assist, and 100% pass accuracy, something incredibly difficult to do playing in the advanced and naturally risky position of attacking midfield. Kluivert’s exceptional shooting efficiency that has been on display all season shone through once again scoring his only shot of the match from outside the box.
LW: Cody Gakpo ( vs Ipswich H )
The Liverpool and Netherlands left winger has finally been given an extended run in his strongest position under Arne Slot, allowing him to show all facets of his game. Gakpo’s trademark beautiful inswinging cross set up Mohammed Salah for Liverpool’s second before adding two goals any poacher would be proud of, both from the central areas of the penalty area. Gakpo used both his height and speed to dazzle and dominate the Ipswich defence throughout the match.
ST: Dango Outtara ( vs Nottingham Forest H )
It couldn’t really be anyone else could it, a pure number nine performance from a player far more used to playing off the flank. Outtara put every one of his four shots on target asking constant questions of in-form Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels, questions he couldn’t answer. Outtara’s hat-trick moves Bournemouth one point outside the top four well into the second half of the season showing the south coast side aren’t just an interesting story but real European hopefuls.
RW: Mohammed Salah ( vs Ipswich H )
Somehow not a particularly remarkable Salah performance finds him in my Team of The Week. A combination of average right wing performances from this weekend’s matches and a good performance from the Egyptian means that he finds his way into the right wing spot without a performance worthy of entering his own top ten of the season. Salah’s crowning moment was in the 35th minute when he controlled a delightful inswinging cross before finishing expertly into the roof of Christian Walton’s net from a tight angle.
Flop of the week: Michael Oliver (Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Arsenal)
A new section this week and Michael Oliver has the proud achievement of being crowned my inaugural ‘Flop of the Week’. This award shall henceforth be used to commemorate the most outstandingly dismal performance, whether it be from a player, manager, referee, or somebody else entirely. Oliver’s decision to award a straight red card for Myles Lewis-Skelly’s innocuous tactical foul on the edge of Wolves’ box was an absurd and laughable decision that is unfortunately far too representative of PGMOL. The fact that Oliver failed to award a straight red for Joao Gomes’s subsequent challenge, opting for a second yellow instead, as well as being the match official who refused to rightfully send off Matteo Kovacic against Arsenal last season for fear of ‘ruining the game’, gives the impression he may appear as a ‘Flop of the Week’ concerningly regularly in the second half of this season.
William Wigg & Tomos Millward
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In article image 1 courtesy of [@premierleague] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of [@liverpoolfc] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of [@mosalah] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
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