The biggest game of the weekend – Liverpool vs. Arsenal was a shocking capitulation from the Gunners after Arsene Wenger benched their best player this season, Alexis Sanchez. Manchester United drew against Bournemouth to remain in 6th position while Arsenal slipped down to fifth. Victories for Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Liverpool ensured that there is still some room to topple Chelsea who travel to the Olympic Stadium to take on West Ham United.
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Middlesbrough dropped into the relegation zone after a defeat to Crystal Palace, while Watford and Southampton played out a seven-goal thriller. Swansea pulled off a last-minute winner against Burnley and Leicester continued their resurgent run of form since Claudio Ranieri’s dismissal.
Here’s a look at Sportskeeda’s Team of the Week:
[Disclaimer: Team of the Week does not include Chelsea and West Ham players as they are yet to play. Manchester City and Stoke City are also scehduled for another fixture on Wednesday night]
Goalkeeper
Artur Boruc
Artur Boruc outshone his counterpart, David de Gea, on Saturday as the Cherries travelled to Old Trafford. The keeper made all of six saves to salvage a point for Bournemouth after they were reduced to 10 men just before half-time.
The Polish keeper was calm and composed in the face of repeated attempts on his goal from the Red Devils and capped off his fine performance with a 77th-minute penalty save to hold Manchester United to a draw.
Defenders
Joel Ward
It’s always a tough task to keep West Bromwich Albion from scoring at home but that’s exactly what Joel Ward accomplished on Saturday. The 27-year-old helped Crystal Palace win their first top-flight game at the Hawthorns since 1973 with a solid performance at the back. The right-back won five of his six aerial duels while making six interceptions and eight recoveries during the course of the match.
Aleksandar Kolarov
Sunderland weren’t quite a threat against Manchester City but that didn’t stop a returning Aleksandar Kolarov from doing a good job. While the Serbian had little defending to do, he made up for it by pushing forward and playing as a makeshift midfielder. He made some marauding runs forward and had a good game overall and has stats to prove it.
The 31-year-old won all four of his tackles and take-ons, 88% pass completion, made 12 recoveries and a couple of blocks. It was also City’s fifth successive clean sheet away from home.
Marcos Rojo
There was no clean sheet for the Argentine as Manchester United drew 1-1 with Bournemouth but he opened the scoring for the Red Devils at OId Trafford. Even though his goal did seem like a stroke of luck as he flicked the ball into the back of the net, it was Rojo’s first goal in the Premier League.
The 26-year-old attempted 69 passes against the Cherries with a 91% rate of accuracy in the final third and 98.6% overall - stats that will put Paul Pogba to shame.
Christian Fuchs
Christian Fuchs played a starring role against Hull City on Saturday. The Austrian full-back was a dynamic presence on the left flank and combined with Jamie Vardy to draw level with the Tigers in the first half.
The 30-year-old made an unchecked late run into the box to meet Vardy’s pass to score his side’s first of three goals. Crosses from the wing made him a constant threat to Hull City’s defence.
Midfielders
David Silva
David Silva was infallibly brilliant for Manchester City against Sunderland. He started the game with a near-attempt on goal when he missed connecting with a cross from Leroy Sane. He set up the play for Sergio Aguero’s goal after teaming up with Raheem Sterling and finally got an assist when he sent Sane through on goal with an exquisite pass typical of the playmaker.
All in all, the Spaniard had a great game dictating his team’s movement in the middle of the park.
Sadio Mane
Sadio Mane bounced back from Liverpool’s poor performance against Leicester City last week with a strong showing against the Gunners. The Senegalese winger helped his team gain the advantage when his astute cross found Roberto Firmino who put the Reds in the lead.
The Brazilian returned the favour to his teammate when he laid the ball off for Mane who finished it off with a low shot past Petr Cech.
Dusan Tadic
It was good to see Dusan Tadic back in the spotlight as he provided two goals for the Saints, and also found the back of the net himself. The 28-year-old brought Southampton level with a low shot after some nice combination play with Nathan Redmond.
The Serbian turned provider for Redmond twice in the course of the match thereafter. Tadic teed him up just on the cusp of half-time before making another assist for the 22-year-old towards the end.
He also saw two of his shots saved by the Watford keeper – a half-volley was palmed over the crossbar while a second was parried away to allow Gabbiadini to score the Saints' third goal.
Marko Arnautovic
Marko Arnautovic scored his first league goal at the bet365 Stadium in 11 months as his brace helped sink Middlesbrough further down the order. He scored the Potters’ first goal on the cusp of the half hour mark when he made a beautiful turn before a quality finish. The Austrian all but sealed the deal for Stoke City when he scored a second towards the end of the first half.
The two goals helped Arnatauvic become the joint highest scorer in the Premier League from Austria along with Paul Scharner with 21 goals.
Forwards
Fernando Llorente
Llorente opened the scoring for the Swans and then ensured they walked away with all three points courtesy of his header in the 92nd minute against Burnley. His first goal too was a header as he aimed Leroy Fer’s cross into the bottom of the net.
The former Juventus forward helped his side to a third consecutive win at home after scoring in two successive league games himeslf since November 2015 when he was at Sevilla.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane sits at the top of the goalscorers’ list in the Premier League after his brace against Everton. The England international scored in either half to secure all three points for his side and help Spurs go back to second place.
His first strike came from 30-yards out while his second was a result of some sloppy keeping and defending. Kane’s 14 goals at home in the league is the highest number of goals scored by a Spurs player in a single season.
Manager
Paul Clement
While Liverpool’s victory over Arsenal was a brilliant performance by Jurgen Klopp’s men, it is Swansea manager Paul Clement’s side who stood out this week. The Welsh side have moved out of the drop zone to 16th place and the Englishman deserves all the credit for instilling confidence and belief into his side.
The Swans’ last minute winner is evidence of all the progress he has made with his men considering they looked more than willing to roll over for other teams until a few weeks ago.
