Matchday 4: EPL Team of the Week

Matchday 4 of the English Premier League was a thrilling one and served a few delightful and unexpected performances to the viewers. While Liverpool went down against a resilient Stoke City, both the Manchester clubs registered big wins yet again. Here is Sportskeeda’s team of the week:

Matchday 4

Goalkeeper:

Asmir Begovic – A great day at the office for the Bosnian international. In a high tempo match, Begovic was involved far more than his manager would have liked but still managed to keep a clean sheet. At his best in the second half, Begovic had earlier handed a chance to Liverpool to score when he tipped a Henderson cross into the path of Luis Suarez who couldn’t control his shot. The goalie made a string of fine saves in the second half, including close range efforts from Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson.

Defenders:

Phil Jones – Playing in an unfamiliar position at the right back, the Manchester United defender proved that Sir Alex was right to shell out £16M for him over the summer. The 19 year old defended and attacked with equal prowess. Rock solid at the back, Jones wandered around in the Bolton half and provided the cross for Rooney’s opener. Jones was involved in another attacking move when he entered the Bolton penalty box, beating three defenders on his way before taking up a shot that was deflected away by goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelinen. The deflected shot however landed straight into Wayne Rooney’s feet who made no mistake in slotting the ball home from a close range. A memorable performance from the youngster.

Ryan Shawcross – One of the most underrated players in the premier league, Shawcross was involved in a lot of last ditch defending against the Liverpool attack. Trailing by one goal, Kenny Dalglish threw in another striker but the quartet of Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez, Craig Bellamy and Stewart Downing couldn’t get the better of Shawcross who gave it his all and managed to keep a clean sheet.

John Terry – The Chelsea captain coped up well against the threat possessed by a new look Sunderland team and managed to keep them at bay for almost the entire match. Opened the scoring in the 18th minute for Chelsea with a shot from a very tight angle that took a deflection on its way into the back of the net.

Leighton Baines – The ever reliable Baines was at his best against the potent Aston Villa attack. Managed to keep a tab on Bary Bannan and Alan Hutton throughout the match and scored Everton’s second goal of the match with a calmly taken penalty.

Midfielders:

Scott Parker – Parker’s return to the Premier League saw him provide an assist for Emanuel Adebayor’s debut goal for Tottenham. Looked a bit rusty with fitness but his partnership with Luka Modric gave the Spurs fans something to cheer about after a poor start to the season.

David Silva – Dubbed by Mancini as City’s “Iniesta”, Silva has been putting up great performances week in, week out. And the match against Wigan was no exception. The Spaniard troubled the Latics defenders with his wavy movement and express pace. Set up Sergio Aguero’s first and third goal and won a penalty for City which Carlos Tevez failed to convert.

Shaun Wright-Phillips – Who said SWP’s career was finished? The former Manchester City man had an impressive outing for QPR against Newcastle where his pace and experience was on display. Nearly scored for his new club with a delightful lob which had to be cleared off the line by Steven Taylor.

Forwards:

Javier Hernandez – Ever since his introduction to the premier league last season, ‘Chicharito’ and ‘goals’ have become synonyms. Making his first full start in the new season, Hernandez lit up the Reebok Stadium with his sublime movement and scored 2 goals including United’s opener in the 5th minute.

Sergio Aguero – The summer’s most expensive buy, Aguero has been amongst goals from Day 1. The prolific goal poacher netted a hat-trick against Wigan to take his goals tally to 6 in 4 premier league matches. Calm and composed with the ball, Aguero’s off the ball runs were a treat to watch.

Wayne Rooney – You get a feeling that this is Wayne’s year. The star striker netted his second hat-trick in as many games for Manchester United and is now equal with Sir Bobby Charlton in terms of hat-tricks for the club (7). Scoring twice in the first half, Wayne added a third in the 68th minute of the match following an unselfish display from Nani.