William Wigg
GK : Alisson (vs Bournemouth A)
Alisson has had a tricky season with injuries and disruptions not allowing him to gain any momentum so it will have been a relief for all Liverpool fans to see him back to his spectacular best. Alisson rode his luck at times with Bournemouth putting multiple big chances off target, however, when called upon he rose to the occasion preventing a double deflection finding the back of his net in extraordinary fashion. Alisson has made a name for himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world and more performances like this will only solidify his legacy as an all time Premier League great.
LB : Myles Lewis-Skelly (vs Manchester City H)
Most of the post-match talk about the Arsenal youngster has been focussed on his celebration taunting Manchester City forward Erling Haaland which is a real shame. In the world of current football culture we consume football through narratives and storylines, yet it’s easy to forget the football itself should be the focus. Lewis-Skelly had his “announcement” game this weekend, putting his name in the forefront of football fans minds all around the globe. Lewis-Skelly won nine of ten duels, completed 92% of his passes, and scored a pivotal goal, all but securing the win for Arsenal in this heated grudge match.
CB : Murillo (vs Brighton H)
One of the standout centre-backs, if not players of the season, Murillo fought his way to another clean sheet once again proving to be the most expansive of the Nottingham Forest central defenders. Murillo completed all three of his attempted dribbles and seven of his ten long balls, offering a vital option in building up through the loaded first line of Brighton’s press. Murillo’s perfect day was marred only by an injury in the 72nd minute forcing him of the field. Nuno Espirito Santo will be hoping the Brazilian can make a quick recovery but does have his compatriot Morato who has proved more than a capable option to fill in in the short term.
CB : James Tarkowski (vs Leicester City H)
The Everton defender showed multiple sides of his game this weekend against Leicester, Tarkowski won 80% of his duels leading the Everton defence to another clean sheet performing ten clearances and blocking two shots as well as finding a great searching long ball to create a huge chance that was subsequently tucked away by Beto. Tarkowski has long since been a regular in the Everton defence and has definitely deserved more notoriety in the game than he has previously been given.
RB : Daniel Munoz (vs Manchester United A)
Slightly cheating here as Munoz lines up as a right wing-back for Crystal Palace but he was certainly the standout right sided defender this week. Munoz left Old Trafford with an assist, clean sheet and a comfortable 2-0 win, something that five years ago would have been one of the stories of the season, yet has become all too common for Manchester United fans. Munoz excelled with his usual buccaneering runs down the right flank, at times finding himself the furthest forward of all Crystal Palace players, a tactic that has been utilised many times this season by manager Oliver Glasner. Munoz also showed his competent defensive abilities by helping his team to another clean sheet to push the London-based side further up the table.
CM : Declan Rice (vs Manchester City H)
Declan Rice is unbeaten against the traditional top six since joining Arsenal, a phenomenal record that emphasises his ability to put a vice-like grip on these big games. Rice was at his best again this weekend against Manchester City, proving to be one of the best pressers in world football forcing the turnover that led to a huge chance that Kai Havertz ultimately spurned. The England international showed his underappreciated finesse with five key passes and two fine assists to add the goals that Arsenal’s second half dominance truly deserved. Arsenal will be looking to Rice to spearhead a potential comeback in the title race and performances like this will only give more hope to the North London side.
CM : Morgan Gibbs-White (vs Brighton H)
This could have so easily been a Nottingham Forest 11 in all truth, but their fans will have to settle for two, something I’m sure they’ll be fine with off the back of a sumptuous 7-0 victory. Gibbs-White forced an own goal, scored a superb header, and won a penalty- perfectly summarizing the type of midfielder he is. Gibbs-White, who has made two appearances for the senior England team, looked a constant threat from corners and scored the game’s second goal by directing a whipped ball in from the near post with a glancing header, as well as winning a penalty when Tariq Lamptey ran out of ways to handle him at the near post and resorted to pulling him down in the box.
LW : Iliman Ndiaye (vs Leicester City H)
The second of three Everton players in the team of the week is Iliman Ndiaye. Ndiaye’s meteoric rise hit a plateau last season at Marseille not really excelling to the same level he had at his previous clubs, but back to back goals off the left wing for Everton as well as being one of Everton’s stand out players under Sean Dyche put Ndiaye firmly back on track towards stardom. Ndiaye showed a relentless desire for the ball all game which ultimately led to the fourth goal when he nicked the ball off Caleb Okoli allowing him to strike home Everton’s fourth.
ST : Beto (vs Leicester City H)
The out-of-favour Everton striker needed a good performance with first-choice striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin out injured the injury and no one will be more pleased than new Everton manager David Moyes to see his striker on the scoresheet twice. Beto showed an uncharacteristic clinical instinct in front of goal, scoring twice from just 0.63 xG both times showing a level of composure not yet consistently displayed by the Portuguese forward. Beto’s decisive nature in front of goal will need to become second nature to him if he is to remove Calvert-Lewin from the Everton line-up.
ST : Jean Phillipe-Mateta (vs Manchester United A)
Crystal Palace’s upturn in form has a direct correlation with Jean Phillipe-Mateta’s recent goal scoring prowess, with six goals in his last five appearances including two braces, one of which came this weekend against Manchester United. It was an archetypal Mateta performance with six passes completed but 1.91 xG generated, proving his effectiveness even when not commonly involved with play. Mateta’s ability to score every type of goal was on display once again, as was his deadly movement inside the box, pouncing fastest to turn home a rebound off the crossbar and positioning himself well to place home the ball into an empty net.
RW : Mohammed Salah (vs Bournemouth A)
In one of Liverpool’s toughest challenges left of this season they faced high-flying Bournemouth at the Vitality Park. In a 90 minutes that could have had a major impact on Liverpool’s search for a joint-record 20th league title they needed their star man at his best. Salah scored a brace with a penalty and a trademark curler to seal a tough victory for Liverpool in a game filled with opportunities for both sides. Salah found himself back in his usual more advanced position with Luis Diaz playing up front allowing him to be the main focal point of Liverpool’s attacks.
Flop of The Week : Phil Foden (vs Arsenal A)
It is incredible to me that in the hypercritical world of football discourse and punditry Phil Foden manages to escape any questioning or criticism for his repeatedly anonymous performances this season. Foden has long been compared to Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka, as is only natural with the way we watch and consume football, however, it feels that Foden is not held to the same standards as these two. The Manchester City youth product is showered with constant praise for his impressive performances against bottom half of the table teams, yet his disastrous Euro 2024 campaign was met with complete silence. The current PFA Player of The Year was thoroughly vacant in the midfield against Arsenal, losing 75% of his duels and registering zero shots, zero key passes and zero completed dribbles. Foden is, of course, undroppable especially with Manchester City’s lack of in form options anyways, but he’ll need an impressive second half of the season to try and salvage anything from this horrific Manchester City season.
William Wigg
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In article image 1 courtesy of [@arsenal] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
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In article image 3 courtesy of [@officialnffc] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 4 courtesy of [@everton] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
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