Premier League Team of the Week: Gameweek 8

The season heads into its second international break on the back of a weekend full of blockbuster fixtures, enough to keep a football fan glued to his TV screens. Liverpool showed their defensive naivety yet again in a 1-1 draw with Merseyside rivals Everton, a result which ultimately saw under-fire Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers get the sack just hours after the game.Arsenal came out of the blocks too quickly for Manchester United’s liking, scoring 3 goals in the opening 19 minutes to set up a comfortable victory for Arsene Wenger’s side. Other results saw struggling champions Chelsea lose their fourth Premier League game this season (already more than they lost in the whole of last campaign) by falling to Southampton at Stamford Bridge.Crystal Palace and Leicester continued their impressive starts to the season with 2-0 and 2-1 victories over West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City respectively. Tottenham rallied from two goals down at the Liberty Stadium to salvage a draw against Swansea whereas Bournemouth gained another point in their bid for Premier League survival with a 1-1 draw against fellow promoted club Watford.So who makes the cut to the team of the week this time around? Formation: 3-5-2

#1 Goalkeeper

Heurelho Gomes – Watford

Watford’s 34-year-old goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, who once served as Tottenham’s first choice keeper for many years, showed against Bournemouth that he still had the attributes of a top-class goalkeeper with his penalty save to deny Glenn Murray. Apart from that, he made 5 saves through the course of the game to bail out his defence and prevent Bournemouth from taking away all the 3 points.

Gomes’ role in Watford’s Premier League campaign has been brilliant, and if they want to stay up, manager Quique Flores will be demanding many more similar performances from the veteran in goal.

#2 Defence

Geoff Cameron – Stoke City

Against the aerial threat of Rudy Gestede, Geoff Cameron showed at Villa Park that he was capable of living up to the challenge, making 5 successful tackles and winning 4 aerial duels to keep the Villa attack at bay and earn a clean sheet for Stoke City in only their second victory of their Premier League campaign.

His discipline alongside Phillipp Wollscheid in central defence will have pleased manager Mark Hughes, limiting Gestede and Scott Sinclair to just a combined two shots on goal throughout the course of the 90 minutes.

Gabriel Paulista – Arsenal

Against a potentially devastating attacking trio of Memphis Depay, Juan Mata and Anthony Martial, Arsenal’s centre-back Gabriel Paulista – replacing the injured Laurent Koscielny in central defence – showed the Gunners’ faithful that he has the potential to become Arsenal’s rock in defence in the future.

With 8 clearances, 3 tackles and 2 interceptions through the course of the game, he negated any sort of threat posed by United’s attacking trio, which proved to be vital in Arsenal’s 3-0 demolition of the Red Devils.

Jeffrey Schlupp – Leicester

In the absence of Riyad Mahrez, it was an opportunity for another Leicester player to become a hero on the field, and it was their full-back, Jeffrey Schlupp who stole the show with his menacing runs down the left. Norwich’s Steven Whittaker failed to cope with the pace and footwork of the Ghana international.

His goal in the 47th minute capped off an impressive performance for the 22-year-old left-back. With 5 successful tackles during the game, Schlupp did his job at the back too, making him an invaluable presence on the field for Claudio Ranieri’s side.

#3 Midfield

Dimitri Payet – West Ham United

28-year-old Dimitri Payet has been West Ham’s standout performer this season, and on Sunday he provided another masterclass performance to verify that status. He was a constant threat down the centre of West Ham’s attack, and Sunderland’s defence – which has been close to shambolic all season – never really felt comfortable with him on the ball.

After going 2-0 down, Payet’s spirited performance to stage West Ham’s comeback to take a point home received many plaudits from pundits. And Slaven Bilic will be delighted with the Frenchman’s intensity in the attacking third, which has seen the Hammers secure 10 points from their opening 4 away games in the Premier League.

Kevin de Bruyne – Manchester City

Manchester City’s record signing Kevin de Bruyne once again seemed unfazed by that price tag with a near perfect performance in an attacking midfield position. His dribbling skills in the opposition penalty area proved too big a challenge for Newcastle’s centre backs Mbemba and Coloccini on the day.

His through balls to feed Sergio Aguero constantly opened up the Magpies’ defence and this was brutally reflected on the 6-1 scoreline.

Alexis Sanchez – Arsenal

The Chilean forward was in unstoppable form in the opening 20 minutes of the game against Manchester United, as he followed up his hat-trick against Leicester last weekend to add another two goals to his kitty. His tireless running and trickery on the ball left United’s back four flummoxed, as their inactivity in the opening period of the game ultimately proved costly at the final whistle.

He was also complemented well by striker Theo Walcott, who repeatedly beat Daley Blind with his sheer pace on the ball.

Wilfried Zaha – Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace’s bright start to the season under Alan Pardew continued with an easy 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion. One man responsible for Palace dominating the game was right-winger Wilfried Zaha.

He was a constant menace to West Ham’s defence, and Chris Brunt, in particular, had a day to forget as he was constantly outrun and outsmarted by the 22-year-old on the ball. With 9 dribbles completed and a pass percentage of 94%, Alan Pardew can thank Zaha for the 3 points which now sees them rise up to 4th in the Premier League table.

Christian Eriksen – Tottenham Hotspur

When Christian Eriksen scores goals, he is unstoppable. The Swansea players were the unfortunate ones on the receiving end with Eriksen once again leading Spurs’ attack at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday. Ultimately, it was his mastery at set-pieces which made the difference, scoring from two direct free-kicks to ensure Spurs came away from Wales with a point.

His dynamic all-round performance bodes very nicely for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. And in such a surprising Premier League season, one wonders whether he could make Champions League football a reality at White Hart Lane next season.

#4 Forwards

Graziano Pelle – Southampton

The Italian striker compounded more misery on Chelsea’s stuttering season, as he played the perfect lone striker’s role to get himself into pockets in the Chelsea defence, awaiting a cross from the wings or a pace for him to capitalise on. Linking up well with Sadio Mane, Pelle constantly posed a threat to Chelsea’s goal, with a returning John Terry unable to cope with the work-rate of the 30-year-old.

His goal in the 72nd minute from a Mane ball was nothing short of what was to be deserved from an excellent performance, albeit against some horrific defending by Chelsea. Yet again.

Sergio Aguero – Manchester City

After a run of 5 Premier League games without a goal, Sergio Aguero announced his return to form with some brilliant finishing to bag 5 goals within the space of 20 playing minutes. His quick decision making inside the box and accuracy of his shots simply blew Newcastle away.

There was absolutely no respite from the Argentine, who punished some criminal marking by the Magpies’ defence to capitalise on any ball that came from Kevin de Bruyne or from the wingers to convert it into a goal-scoring chance.