Gameweek 19
#2 Defensive bedrock: Kasper Schmeichel
Match: Leicester City vs West Ham
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The Foxes led through Islam Slimani’s goal within 20 minutes of the start but the game was seen off through sheer grit and guts by the home side.
Leicester’s slender lead – and therefore, 3 points – was preserved courtesy of a series of brilliant saves and blocks by the excellent Kasper Schmeichel, who kept his first clean sheet since the first week of October.
Schmeichel was alert, decisive and effective every time he was called to action, producing a series of stops off Payet and the dangerous Antonio. His most notable save came off Aaron Cresswell’s free kick – a goal-line save from a deflection.
Honourable mentions: Toby Alderweireld (vs Watford), Dejan Lovren (vs Manchester City), Wayne Hennessey (vs Arsenal), Nathan Ake (vs Burnley)
Gameweek 20
Defensive bedrock: Toby Alderweireld
Match: Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea
Given the unenviable task of keeping the league’s top scorer at bay, Alderweireld, stuck to his job (and man) and executed it to perfection as calm as a cucumber. The Belgian was rock solid at the heart of the Spurs defence as Chelsea’s unbeaten run was derailed in North London.
A lot of it, along with the fact that the hosts kept a clean sheet against the third most prolific scorers in the Premier League was down to this man. Alderweireld marked his man efficiently, leaving him with no room to manoeuvre and was alert to any potential threat.
Honourable mentions: David de Gea (vs West Ham), Ben Foster (vs Hull City), Papy Djilobodji (vs Liverpool), Leighton Baines (vs Southampton)
