The rush of games over the festive season has already started with Gameweek 16 playing out over Tuesday and Wednesday. Both the Manchester clubs got a hold over themselves as they won their respective fixtures. Liverpool went back to their winning ways but the cherry on the cake was Arsenal who looked on track to be title contenders but stayed true to form by losing to Everton who had won just one match in their last 10.
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However, the real winners of the week were Chelsea as they increased their lead at the top by six points. With Sunderland, Hull City and Swansea still occupying the danger zone, here’s a look at Sportskeeda’s Premier League Team of the Week:
Goalkeeper
Hugo Lloris
The final scoreline definitely suggests Tottenham Hotspur was the better side but Hull City had their own moments in the game and kept the French goalkeeper busy. The Tigers threatened the Spurs’ goal on quite a few occasions if not for the safe hands of Hugo Lloris who made a total of five saves during the game, more than any other shot-stopper with a clean sheet during the gameweek. He made three saves against Jake Livermore alone – one with just his left foot!
Defenders
Nathaniel Clyne
For a side often criticised for their porous backline, Liverpool did a great job of preserving their three-goal lead, none more so than Nathaniel Clyne. He was a rock on the right flank as he kept the Middlesborough attackers at bay while simultaneously adding width to his own side’s attack.The English defender even pulled off an assist for Liverpool’s opener.
Nathan Ake
As a centre-back, Nathan Ake should have been concerned considering how lethal Leicester City was against Pep Guardiola’s men last weekend. However, the young loanee from Chelsea held his own and did some great defensive work in front of his keeper. The 21-year-old defender rarely made a bad pass and had some precise tackles up his sleeve. He was confident about his work and made three crucial interceptions.
Ryan Shawcross
The Potters defender had his work cut out for him as his side was reduced to 10 men early in the game. However, Ryan Shawcross defended his goal well in spite of Southampton dominating possession and much of the attack. The English centre-back helped his team out of a potentially sticky situation by playing out a hard-fought draw for a single point.
Danny Rose
Spurs went the Antonio Conte way with Danny Rose playing as a full back on the left flank and he seemed to do a pretty good job. Not only did Mike Phelan’s charges fail to score, but the English defender got in an assist for Christian Eriksen’s first goal. Rose did some great work in the final third too as he ended the match with a passing accuracy of 93% – exactly what Pochettino would want from a wing back.
Midfielders
Adam Lallana
Liverpool has clearly been missing the brilliance of Philippe Coutinho but Adam Lallana seems to be doing a bang-up job in his absence. After a draw with West Ham over the weekend, the Reds needed a win and the English midfielder gave them one almost singlehandedly. Lallana scored his side’s opener with a header, set up the second goal and then just scored the third himself. His double gave Klopp’s side a vital victory and put a halt to their disappointing run.
Paul Pogba
The most expensive football player in the world came within touching distance of proving his exorbitant value by orchestrating Manchester United’s victory over Crystal Palace. Even though Pogba’s goal, which came on the cusp of half-time resides in the murky territory of an offside and a handball, he did see Juan Mata’s free kick to the back of the net. He then set up Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s winning goal after brushing aside a Palace defender and delivering an inch-perfect pass for the Swede to attack.
Victor Wanyama
Victor Wanyama has been a great acquisition for Tottenham Hotspur and not enough people seem to be talking about it. Hull City pushed Spurs for quite a bit of the night, but Wanyama pushed back harder. He kept tight control over passes that went through him and refused to let a threatening Hull dictate the terms of the game. Out of his two attempts on goal, the defensive midfielder made one count as he was able to make the most of a rebound Christian Eriksen shot and found the back of the net.
Christian Eriksen
It’s time for yet another Spurs player in this team of the week. Christian Eriksen has finally found his form and he proved it with a double against Hull. The Dane conjured up his side’s first goal with one fluid motion to aim high into the back of the net. His second of the night was an easy tap-in at the far post which came about thanks to some great positioning. Eriksen could have easily gotten a third ten minutes later if not for the darned post.
Forwards
Salomon Rondon
West Bromwich Albion has been unassumingly impressive so far this season as has been their main man Salomon Rondon. While he was a lone isolated figure in their match against Chelsea, their game against Swansea was all about him. The Venezuelan forward was on fire as he netted his first hat-trick of the season in some style – all three of his goals came from headers withing 13 minutes in the second half!
Divock Origi
With Philippe Coutinho out of the picture, Klopp seems to be banking on Divock Origi to fill up the gaps in his side. The young Belgian forward did a good job too as he scored Liverpool's second after he placed his shot into the bottom corner of the goal, well out of Victor Valdes’s reach. He followed it up with an assist for Adam Lallana as he cut his pass back to a waiting Lallana.
Manager
Jurgen Klopp
Manager of the week has to go to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. After much public verbal sparring between the German and Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher over Loris Karius, Klopp dropped the German keeper in favour of Simon Mignolet who he claimed was "training at a very high level". While Klopp was quick to defend Karius after the weekend, he did the smart thing by replacing him and got the clean sheet his team needed. Klopp has also replaced the injured Philippe Coutinho well.
