The first weekend of 2025 is now in the history books. With it, is a number of surprise results from across the Premier League. Struggling teams like Manchester United and Crystal Palace took points off of title chasing Liverpool and Chelsea. Arsenal were held by Brighton while Manchester City scored four goals for the first time since August in the English top-flight.
By Sam McGuire
So we know what happened. However, we don’t know who made the FotMob Team of the Week or why they made the XI. Read on to find out.
Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford
Pickford was on the losing side this weekend as Everton fell to defeat against Bournemouth. However, he didn’t deserve to be. The 30-year-old earned himself an 8.8 rating for his showing at the Vitality Stadium. He made seven saves and faced shots with an Expected Goals On Target value of 3.02. He conceded just one goal though, late on in the second half as the hosts ramped up the pressure. Without him between the sticks, it could’ve been a battering for the Toffees.
Right-Back: Matty Cash
Cash helped Aston Villa return to winning ways against Leicester City. The right-back earned a FotMob rating of 8.1 for his showing at Villa Park against the Foxes. He completed 89% of his passes, carved out two chances and attempted four dribbles in what was a impressive display. The 27-year-old won six of his seven tackles, made three ball recoveries and won 11 of his 16 duels.
Centre-Back: Dean Huijsen
Huijsen is, of course, making his weekly appearance in the Team of the Week. He’s been a regular in the XI over the past month and his performances are consistently impressive for a Bournemouth team on an eight-game unbeaten run following their 1-0 win over Everton last weekend. The youngster didn’t score this time out but he still put in a solid showing, completing 84% of his passes, winning 100% of his tackles and winning five of his eight duels. He also made nine clearances as the Cherries kept their clean sheet in a win that kept them just one point behind Manchester City.
Centre-Back: Lisandro Martínez
What a time to put in arguably your best performance of the season. Martínez opted to step things up while playing away at Anfield against the Premier League leaders. He scored the opening goal with what was an unbelievable finish into the roof of the net from a ridiculous angle against one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He put in an all-action display, making four clearances, three interceptions and recovering the ball on three occasions. The Argentine also won 60% of his duels against Liverpool to earn himself an 8.3 rating.
Left-Back: Keane Lewis-Potter
The versatile Brentford player made the XI for his showing against Southampton. On the day, he was deployed at left-back and he put in quite the performance. The 23-year-old had two shots, scored one goal, created two chances and finished the game with a pass success rate of 100%. He won 50% of his tackles, 60% of his ground duels and 100% of his aerial duels as the Bees romped to victory.
Midfield: Ross Barkley
Barkley was the star man for Aston Villa in their 2-1 win over Leicester City. The 31-year-old opened the scoring for the hosts from the edge of the penalty area. His placement turned a shot with an xG value of 0.08 into one with an Expected Goals on Target value of 0.61. He picked out his spot and hit it. He also completed 98% of his passes, completed 100% of his dribbles and recovered the ball on 10 occasions. Barkley also won eight of his 10 ground duels in what was a dominant display.
Midfield: Mikkel Damsgaard
The Denmark international has found his groove in more of a central midfield role as of late. The 24-year-old claimed an assist in the hammering of Southampton. He created five chances on the day, attempted three dribbles and was involved in nine duels. Damsgaard put himself about and had a huge impact on the game for the Bees.
Midfield: Bruno Fernandes
There had been some concerns over whether Fernandes was the right man to lead this Manchester United team after a few erratic performances this season. He emphatically answered them against Liverpool on Sunday with an eye-catching display. He left Anfield with an assist having created four chances for the Red Devils. The skipper completed 100% of his dribbles, regained possession eight times and won 82% of his ground duels and 100% of his aerial duels. He stepped up when Rúben Amorim needed him most.
Attack: Bryan Mbeumo
The Brentford forward is having the most productive season of his career and we’re only just into January. He netted twice against Southampton to take his haul for the season to 13. He also claimed an assist to take his haul to 16 goal involvements in 20 starts for the Bees. Only Erling Haaland (16) and Mohamed Salah (18) have more goals than the versatile forward. How showing against the Saints, a game in which he created five chances, earned him a FotMob rating of 9.5. He was also switched on defensively too, winning two of his three tackles and five of his eight ground duels.
Attack: Erling Haaland
Haaland was back amongst the goals as Manchester City racked up a 4-1 win over West Ham. The No. 9 wasn’t heavily involved, attempting just two shots and 17 passes, but he netted twice and racked up an xG haul of 0.95. The City forward also won three of his four duels to highly the duality of his game these days under Pep Guardiola.
Attack: Raúl Jiménez
Jiménez continued his fine form this season, scoring twice for Fulham in the 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town. The Mexico international kept his cool from the spot on two occasions to level for the Cottagers as he took his tally to eight for the campaign.
(Images from IMAGO)
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