The weekend kicked off to an unprecedented start as Swansea City beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time in their history. Tottenham Hotspur and both the Manchester clubs recorded draws, and it was left to Arsenal to keep Chelsea within arm’s reach which they did on the brink of full time, through an Alexis Sanchez spot kick. The league-leaders, on the other hand, were clinical as they disposed of Hull on Sunday night.
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West Bromwich Albion were back to winning ways after their defeat last week as Southampton and Everton moved forward with victories of their own. Leicester City became the worst defending champions of England in 50 years and Sunderland slipped to last place.
With a telling matchday at an end, here’s a look at Sportskeeda’s Team of the week:
Goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois
Contrary to what the scoreline may suggest, Chelsea’s victory against Hull was a hard fought one as the plucky visitors were defiant in the face of waves of attack from the Blues. Courtois, who has probably had the least work to do as a goalkeeper in the league, put in two outstanding saves to thwart Harry Maguire and David Meyler.
Belgian’s instinctive efforts went a long way in keeping his side in the game as they went on to eventually pick up all three points.
Defenders
Seamus Coleman
Seamus Coleman rescued Everton with his late strike against hosts Crystal Palace with just three minutes of regulation time left to play. The right-back now has four goals this season after he finished a great run of play with a lethal shot into the top of the net.
Like always, he was a serious threat going forward, putting in all of eight crosses around the opposition’s penalty area and defended well against Sam Allardyce’s side.
Gary Cahill
Despite many claims of Gary Cahill’s withering form, the centre-back was blameless in defence as he stood firm in the face of danger. He was fortunate to remain in the game after the brutal clash of heads with Ryan Mason and went on to score Chelsea’s second game to put the game to bed.
Threatening as ever from set pieces, he headed Cesc Fabregas’s free-kick in to wrap up a trying game.
Harry Maguire
In spite of conceding two goals, Harry Maguire’s performance in Hull’s back line was delightful to watch. Keeping a tight rein on both Diego Costa and Eden Hazard, the centre-back was tireless in his attempts to stem the flow of attack from Chelsea.
The Englishman was composed as he dealt with the threats that came his way and even forced Courtois into a challenging save.
Chris Brunt
Chris Brunt’s versatility knows no bounds, as he put in an impressive showing as left-back against Sunderland. The 32-year-old made short work of any threat from the Black Cats and found himself on the scoresheet as he scored his side’s second goal with a devastating volley into the top corner.
Running riot along the left flank against Billy Jones and Adnan Januzaj, he protected his goal and helped his team to a comfortable win and a clean sheet.
Midfielders
James Ward-Prowse
Captain of the U-21 England squad, James Ward-Prowse was instrumental in putting his side’s four-game losing run behind them with an emphatic win over Leicester City. The English professional opened the scoring for the Saints with an excellent strike after he was afforded yards of space at the edge of the penalty area.
He set up his side’s second goal as Jay Rodriguez converted his free-kick into against the visitors.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Gylfi Sigurdsson proved to be the difference between Swansea and Liverpool as he broke the stalemate at Anfield with 15 minutes left to play. After his first attempt was foiled, the Iceland international pulled his team out of the relegation zone after he pounced on a defensive error.
He sneaked his way to the near post, stealing the win and inflicting Liverpool’s first home defeat since January 2016. The 27-year-old also had more crosses than any other player on the field.
Aaron Ramsey
Aaron Ramsey was an influential figure in the middle of the park for the Gunners especially after Granit Xhaka’s sending off. The Welsh international was flawless with the ball at his feet as he covered more ground than any of his teammates.
He completed 102 touches and attempted 79 passes for Arsenal as he ran the show for Arsene Wenger’s side. With another six take-ons, he was one of the most heavily involved players in the game.
Kevin de Bruyne
The Belgian was Manchester City’s best player on a night they deserved to win but failed. De Bruyne was a part of all their best play going forward as he made a nuisance of himself against Spurs’ defenders.
His incisive pass led to Lloris’s first blunder and thereby City’s goal, while he scored the second himself, his first goal in 14 games, as the Spurs keeper allowed the ball to bounce away. The 25-year-old created four additional goalscoring opportunities and was full of ideas as he kept a steady flow of supply to his mates.
Forwards
Fernando Llorente
The Spaniard scored his first away goal of the season as he was the first to find the back of the net at Anfield. Llorente scored three minutes into the second half after finishing from close range from a headed cross.
The 31-year-old caused further damage to Liverpool's title hopes as he scored a second just minutes later after heading in Tom Carroll’s brilliant cross and giving manager Paul Clement his first victory with the Swans.
Andy Carroll
In the absence of the dynamic Dmitri Payet, it was the Hammers’ old hero, Andy Carroll, who gave them the victory at the Riverside Stadium. The English forward continued his run of form with a brace to give his side a leg up into the top half of the table.
The 28-year-old was allowed to run into the box unchallenged before he headed the ball past keeper Victor Valdes. Carroll gave West Ham the lead yet again just before half-time as he aimed Michail Antonio’s rebound shot into the back of the net.
Manager
Paul Clement
Swansea manager Paul Clement won his first game in charge as his side overpowered Liverpool in historic fashion. The Swans made the most of their opportunities, taking advantage of the Reds’ defensive errors to win at Anfield for the first time in their history.
The English manager also inflicted Klopp’s men to their first defeat at home since January last year pulling Swansea out of the drop zone momentarily.
