Premier League Team of the Week: Matchweek 9

The latest weekend of Premier League fixtures saw a series of firsts, with new Liverpool and Sunderland managers Jurgen Klopp and Sam Allardyce overseeing their side’s first games from the hot seat. Wilfried Bony scored his first Premier League goal for Manchester City this season in a game which also witnessed Raheem Sterling score his first City hat-trick in an emphatic 5-1 thrashing of newly promoted Bournemouth.Manchester United skipper Wayne Rooney finally found the net away from home in a Premier League game in 2015 in a 3-0 victory over Merseyside club Everton, while Newcastle registered their first victory of the season with a 6-2 drubbing of Alex Neil’s Norwich City.This set of fixtures saw many individuals who stood out for their respective teams, but who is good enough to make it into the team of the week this time around?Formation: 3-5-2

#1 Goalkeeper

Simon Mignolet – Liverpool

The Belgian goalkeeper was impressive in Jurgen Klopp’s first game as Liverpool boss against a side high on confidence after their 4-1 pounding of league leaders Manchester City. He was sharp and composed throughout the game, making some brilliant saves to deny Clinton N’Jie and Harry Kane to earn his side a clean sheet at White Hart Lane.

For an outfit whose defence has been average at best all season, Klopp will hope that the 27-year-old shot-stopper maintains such a level of performance for the rest of the season.

#2 Defence

Hector Bellerin – Arsenal

This young full-back has been an asset to Arsene Wenger all season, and Saturday’s display at Watford was no different. Widely reported to be the fastest sprinter in the entire league, the Spaniard allowed this attribute of his do the talking at Vicarage Road, tirelessly running down the right flank and making the day for Watford’s left-back Nathan Ake one to forget.

With 4 dribbles completed and 2 successful tackles, Bellerin was a lethal force throughout the game. His assist for Aaron Ramsey to score Arsenal’s third goal capped off a brilliant display for the 20-year old.

Chris Smalling – Manchester United

Before the game began, there was a general opinion that the game would be decided by the winner of the battle between Chris Smalling’s solidity at the back and Romelu Lukaku’s strength upfront. At the end of the game, there was clearly one winner, and it was that of solidity at the back.

The 25-year-old did a splendid job to keep Lukaku at arms length through the course of the game, dispossesing him twice inside the penalty area and limiting him to just one shot on target in 90 minutes.

Jan Vertonghen – Tottenham Hotspur

Another one who makes it into the team due to his commanding display in defence, Vertonghen, standing at 6’2”, used every inch of his height to keep out any ball entering the Tottenham box from the wings. With 6 aerial duels won and 4 key tackles, the 28-year-old Belgian ensured that Liverpool’s lone striker and compatriot Divock Origi was never going to threaten him one-on-one at any stage during the game.

#3 Midfield

Ander Herrera – Manchester United

Starting his first game in over a month, Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera was keen to prove to Louis van Gaal that he was a serious contender for United’s first XI, and he did it in some style in his side’s 3-0 drubbing of Everton at Goodison Park. A 93% pass success rate verified his ability to command attacks from the centre of the pitch.

In addition to that, his presence of mind to pounce on an erratic Phil Jagielka pass to set up United’s third goal also helped his cause to a fair extent. With 4 successful tackles and 2 completed dribbles in 90 minutes, the 26-year-old was able to display all his attributes on the pitch, something which would have pleased Van Gaal massively and given him a selection headache ahead of the all-important Manchester derby the coming weekend.

Raheem Sterling – Manchester City

The £49m recruit from Liverpool is finally finding his feet in the blue half of Manchester, and he showed signs of living up to that price tag with a hat-trick, albeit against lowly Bournemouth. He gave the Cherries’ defenders absolutely no chance of matching his pace down the left flank having earned the luxury of 6 shots on goal.

Right-back Simon Francis had a nightmare of a game at the Etihad, being dribbled past by Sterling on numerous occasions. Manuel Pellegrini spoke very highly of the 20-year-old in the post-match press conference and emphasised on the importance of the winger’s contribution in Manchester City’s bid to regain their Premier League title from Chelsea.

Mesut Ozil – Arsenal

Just as in the game against Manchester United, Ozil once again showed his terrific vision on the pitch with a masterclass display against Watford at Vicarage Road. His layoffs for Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud to score their respective goals proved why the 27-year-old is regarded as one of the best readers of the game.

The Watford defenders struggled to deal with the German’s technical brilliance with the ball at his feet all day long. And his threat in attacking midfield behind the lone striker proved to be the difference between the two sides on Saturday.

Georginio Wijnaldum – Newcastle United

With four goals in an emphatic 6-2 victory over Norwich City on Sunday, Wijnaldum was a no-brainer entry into this list. He was a constant menace on the left flank for Newcastle, using his pace and agility to cut through the Canaries’ defence to mastermind the Magpies’ first victory of the season.

With the defence once again faltering for most of the game, it was imperative for the attacking half of Newcastle to deliver the goods, and Wijnaldum – assisted well by Moussa Sissoko on the right wing – ensured that he took advantage of some sloppy defending by Norwich themselves to cap off a memorable day for the St. James Park faithful.

Manuel Lanzini – West Ham United

The 22-year-old, on loan from UAE club Al Jazira, has quickly settled into his new club’s style of counter-attacking play under manager Slaven Bilic. The Argentine midfielder threatened to lead a counter-attacking burst against an attack-minded Crystal Palace throughout the game.

Most importantly, he was influential in putting the result in West Ham’s favour in the late moments of the game, firstly latching on to an Andy Carroll cut-back to give his side the lead, and then laying off for Dimitri Payet to seal the points in injury-time to earn the Man of the Match award.

#4 Forwards

Jamie Vardy – Leicester City

Leicester City have been the masters of the comeback all season, and Saturday’s comeback from 2-0 down to snatch a point at Southampton was another exquisite display of belief and confidence to recover from a deficit. Most of Leicester City’s comebacks are down to Jamie Vardy’s excellent form in front of goal.

The 28-year-old, who now has 9 goals in as many appearances this season, displayed another electric performance as he latched onto an excellent cross from Nathan Dyer to evade the Saints defenders and bring one back for the Foxes, and then accepted a Riyad Mahrez through-ball in injury-time to complete the comeback. He currently leads the Premier League golden boot race.

Wilfried Bony – Manchester City

In the absence of Sergio Aguero through injury, it was an opportunity for backup striker Bony to show Manuel Pellegrini that he was a more than capable replacement for the Argentine. He certainly didn’t disappoint, scoring twice and setting up another for Raheem Sterling to complete a thrashing of Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium.

He used his strength against the centre-back pairing of Steve Cook and Sylvain Distin, winning 9 aerial duels through the course of the match. His finishing has also been impressive, scoring from 2 of his 4 shots on target.