There were a number of eye-catching performances across the Premier League this weekend and it meant the Team of the Week was a difficult one to piece together. However, one team in particular, Manchester City, dominates the XI this week and their four inclusions are well justified.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Goalkeeper: Robert Sánchez
The 25-year-old claimed an 8.1 rating during Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Bournemouth. The former Brighton shot-stopper made four saves, all from efforts inside the penalty area, while also showing his ability in possession by completing 91% of his attempted passes.
It wasn’t a performance for the ages but it was one that could’ve gone under the radar in what was a big point for an inconsistent Blues side under Mauricio Pochettino.
Right-Back: Kyle Walker
Just days after announcing he had signed a contract extension with Manchester City, Walker put in an impressive display at right-back in the comeback victory against West Ham United.
The England full-back completed 94% of his passes on his way to creating two chances for the reigning champions. Walker also recovered the ball on eight occasions while winning six of his nine duels and coming out on top in two of his three tackles. This sort of performance is becoming the norm for the former Spurs defender.
Centre-Back: Pau Torres
Aston Villa got back to winning ways following the 3-0 loss to Liverpool before the international break. They left it late though. Unai Emery’s men fell behind to an Odsonne Edouard goal just after half-time and only found an equaliser with three minutes of normal time remaining. They then scored two goals in injury time to claim all three points.
Pau Torres didn’t get himself on the scoresheet but he put in a shift and a half defensively. He recovered the ball nine times and won 75% of his duels. He also attempted 124 passes and found a teammate 94% of the time. He was accurate with 82% of his long passes too.
Centre-Back: Tim Ream
Fulham claimed their second win of the season, beating Luton Town 1-0. Marco Silva’s men weren’t at their best though and finished the game with a lower Expected Goals haul than their opponents as well as fewer big chances.
Ream was a brick wall at the back though for the hosts, winning 75% of his tackles and 80% of his duels. The Fulham captain also recovered the ball eight times and attempted an incredible 148 passes, finding a teammate 95%.
Left-Back: Tariq Lampety
Brighton went with a weakened XI for their trip to Manchester United and named Lampety, rather surprisingly, at left-back. It turned out to be a Roberto De Zerbi masterstroke with the 22-year-old claiming two assists in the 3-1 win. The versatile defender also won 100% of his tackles and completed 86% of his passes in what was a performance that might’ve given the Brighton boss a bit of a selection headache moving forward.
Centre-Midfield: Bernardo Silva
To say Silva put in a performance would be a bit of an understatement. The Portugal international scored a goal, registered an assist and created four chances as City mounted a comeback to claim all three points against the Hammers.
Silva netted the second goal to give the Citizens the lead, poking the ball past an extremely busy Alphonse Areola in the 76th minute. The 29-year-old also completed 100% of his dribbles, capping off a creative display. However, he was pipped to the FotMob top rating by someone.
Centre-Midfield: Julián Álvarez
That someone was Álvarez. The World Cup winner has been filling in for Kevin De Bruyne in the City starting XI, acting as an attacking midfielder. He’s thriving in this role too, chipping in with three assists and two goals so far this term.
Against West Ham on Saturday, the 23-year-old claimed two assists while creating four chances for teammates. He also finished the game with a pass success rate of 92%, a remarkable achievement considering many of his passes fell into the risky category as he tried to make something happen. All of this meant he claimed an 8.8 FotMob rating, the highest of the match.
Centre-Midfield: Douglas Luiz
The Aston Villa midfield bossed the middle third against Crystal Palace. The 25-year-old kept his cool to convert a penalty in stoppage time to give his side the lead and it rounded off a stellar showing. He found a teammate with 100% of his long passes, won four of his six tackles, recovered the ball 16 times and won 10 of his 16 duels. Luiz wasn’t a one-man midfield for the Villans but he wasn’t far off.
Right-Wing: Mohamed Salah
Salah failed to add to his goal tally during Liverpool’s comeback win against Wolves but he was integral, putting in a performance that the elite playmakers of world football would be proud of. The 31-year-old created five chances and had to settle for just two assists after the Premier League decided Harvey Elliott’s goal was in fact an own goal. The Liverpool No. 11 is now ranked joint-first for assists this season with four while only Erling Haaland (8) has more goal involvements than the Liverpool forward (6).
Centre-Forward: Erling Haaland
Another week, another Haaland appearance in the Team of the Week.
The Manchester City forward was a chance magnet in the win over West Ham, having nine shots in the game. This number is even more impressive when you realise the Hammers only had six attempts in the game and Haaland only attempted 13 passes in total.
He also missed five big chances and amassed an Expected Goals haul of 2.56. On another day, without the exploits of Areola between the sticks, this could’ve been a record-breaking day for Haaland. He could’ve easily had another hat-trick. He could’ve perhaps matched the Premier League record of five-goals in a single match by a player.
In the end, he had to settle for just one goal. It was an important one though, putting the game to bed with the third for the 2022/23 treble winners.
Left-Wing: Leandro Trossard
Trossard wasn’t in the starting XI for Arsenal’s trip to Everton but he played over an hour after Gabriel Martinelli hobbled off with an injury early in the game. The Belgian scored what turned out to be the winner and was genuinely one of the best players on the pitch. He created two chances, completed 100% of his dribbles, and won both of his tackles as well as all four of his ground duels while also recovering the ball six times.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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