Sports Mole picks its Premier League Team of the Week, including Mohamed Salah, Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling.
One relegation was confirmed, and the champions have been left on the verge of retaining their title following the latest round of Premier League fixtures, where Manchester City inched ever closer to a third successive top-flight crown with a 3-0 thumping of Everton.
The Citizens need only win one more game to finish atop the pile thanks to Arsenal‘s 3-0 humbling at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, while Newcastle United are clinging onto the final podium place despite dropping points in a 2-2 draw with Leeds United.
Manchester United moved level on points with the Magpies by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0, while Liverpool kept their top-four rivals on their toes by overcoming Leicester City 3-0.
Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur are neck-and-neck in the battle for Europa Conference League football thanks to the Lions’ 2-1 success at Villa Park, while Brentford kept their fleeting continental hopes alive in a 2-0 triumph over West Ham United.
Finally, a Fulham side lying smack-bang in the middle of the table officially relegated Southampton with a 2-0 win at St Mary’s, Nottingham Forest gleaned a precious point in their survival bid with a 2-2 draw at Chelsea, and Crystal Palace cruised to a 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
Here, Sports Mole picks its Premier League Team of the Week for the latest round of fixtures.
DEFENCE
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Making his Premier League debut at the ripe old age of 29, Wolves goalkeeper Daniel Bentley proved an adequate deputy for Jose Sa during their defeat at Old Trafford, making eight saves and displaying terrific reactions in a memorable top-flight inauguration, even if the result did not go his side’s way.
While he was unable to add to his ever-growing assist tally from his hybrid role at the King Power Stadium, Trent Alexander-Arnold well and truly left his mark on the Leicester soil, scoring Liverpool’s third goal with a rocket of a strike into the top corner as he continues to enjoy his best football in a Reds jersey for some time.
Over at the Emirates, Brighton completely played Arsenal off the park on their own patch, thanks in no small part to a pair of distinguished defensive performances. Demonstrating why he could be at the centre of a summer transfer tussle, Levi Colwill made five clearances, three interceptions and two tackles, as well as completing 86% of his passes in an outstanding display.
Remarkably, Pervis Estupinan ended that three-goal success with identical defensive stats to Colwill, and he proved as much of a menace going forward. A beleaguered Ben White could not handle Estupinan and Kaoru Mitoma‘s rampant runs down the left-hand side, and the former prodded home his side’s final goal of the day, reacting quickest on the rebound after Aaron Ramsdale had parried Deniz Undav‘s strike into his path.
MIDFIELD
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Positive aspects of Chelsea’s performances have been few and far between recently, but the exploits of Raheem Sterling against Nottingham Forest were more than encouraging. The England international levelled the scores against Forest with a deflected strike before picking out the far corner with aplomb, but his brace still could not inspire the Blues to victory on the day.
On the other hand, one man inspiring his team to victories week in week out is Ilkay Gundogan, whose end-of-season eminence reached new heights at Goodison Park. Either side of a pinpoint cross for Erling Braut Haaland to head home, Gundogan broke the deadlock with an audacious flick before converting the most nonchalant of free kicks, showing the Citizens faithful what they will be missing if he bids farewell this summer.
Liverpool are also set to wave goodbye to several of their engine room fulcrums in the coming months, but not Curtis Jones, who extended his revival in the Reds’ first XI with a brace of his own against Leicester. The 22-year-old delicately side-footed home at the back stick to draw first blood before executing a stunning half-volley on the turn, potentially giving Jurgen Klopp food for thought when it comes to his midfield plans for the summer.
In keeping with the theme of two-goal midfielders, Eberechi Eze continues to thrive under the wing of Roy Hodgson and ran the show when Bournemouth came to town. The 24-year-old was firstly left unmarked to convert a simple opener before cutting inside, evading a sea of bodies and finding the top corner to prolong his Selhurst Park purple patch.
ATTACK
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Despite failing to get in on the act himself after inexplicably missing a one-on-one with Daniel Iversen, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah took on the role of playmaker-in-chief during Monday’s convincing success at Leicester. The Egypt international achieved a career first with a hat-trick of Premier League assists in one game – picking out the run of Jones to the back post, prodding the ball through for his teammate’s second and cutely rolling a free kick back for Alexander-Arnold to put the cherry on the icing on the cake.
Thanks to a helping hand from former teammate Leandro Trossard, Brighton striker Deniz Undav savoured a memorable cameo appearance at the Emirates in the thrashing of Arsenal. When Trossard’s attempt at a cheeky flick pass was intercepted, the ball fell kindly for Undav to calmly lob the ball over Ramsdale, and the German’s next effort proved too hot to handle for the Gunners goalkeeper, who could only palm his strike into the path of the grateful Estupinan.
Finally, Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi ensured that Edouard Mendy‘s Chelsea comeback would be a miserable one, as he joined Sterling in Saturday’s two-goal club. As Mendy came for a cross and missed, Awoniyi capitalised to head his side in front, before beating the offside trap once again to nod home the game’s fourth and final goal and leave the Tricky Trees on the verge of securing their top-flight status.
Sports Mole’s Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-3): Bentley; Alexander-Arnold, Colwill, Estupinan; Sterling, Gundogan, Jones, Eze; Salah, Undav, Awoniyi
