Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week, including Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka and Dejan Kulusevski.
Another round of Premier League fixtures is done and dusted and Liverpool have climbed to the top of the table after beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at Molineux on Saturday night.
That is because reigning champions Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle United and have subsequently slipped to second, level on points with third-placed Arsenal who left it late to beat Leicester City 4-2 at the Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea also triumphed by a 4-2 scoreline at home to Brighton & Hove Albion and have moved into the top four, edging just above Aston Villa who were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw with newly-promoted Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Fulham complete the top six after securing a slender 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest, while Tottenham Hotspur are up to eighth after comprehensively beating 10-man Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford, with a downhearted Red Devils side having now slipped to 12th in the table.
While Brentford and West Ham United played out a 1-1 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium, Everton came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Goodison Park and record their first league win of the season, before Bournemouth secured a 3-1 home victory over Southampton in the final match of gameweek six on Monday night.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Team of the Week for the latest round of Premier League fixtures.
DEFENCE
© Imago
While Arsenal’s David Raya has rightly received plenty of plaudits for his goalkeeping exploits so far this season, his opposite number Mads Hermansen produced a standout display between the sticks for Leicester last weekend to prevent the Gunners from winning by a more comfortable margin. The Dane made a total of 13 saves, the most on record in a single Premier League game since David de Gea (14) in 2016-17.
Another Leicester man unfortunate to end up on the losing side last weekend was defender James Justin, who for the first time in his career scored two goals in the same match, including an eye-catching volley. He also helped out defensively by making 10 clearances, winning four ground duels and three aerial duels.
Although Marc Guehi was unable to help Crystal Palace to victory, the centre-back delivered a strong defensive display at Goodison Park, scoring a smart opener inside the first 10 minutes before going on to make 10 clearances, win 100% of his ground duels (4/4), win six aerial duels, win possession nine times and complete nine of his 11 long balls.
Completing our backline is Tottenham speedster Micky van de Ven, who burst over 55 metres past four or five Man United shirts before fizzing a delightful cross into the penalty area for Brennan Johnson to score a third-minute opener. The Dutchman did not have an awful lot to do defensively, but he was a dominant presence in the Spurs side and his positioning was key to thwarting the attacking efforts of the Red Devils.
MIDFIELD
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Although Bukayo Saka was unable to score any of Arsenal’s four goals versus Leicester, the Gunners star boy was once again an influential figure in Mikel Arteta‘s side. Whilst donning the captain’s armband, Saka created the most big chances (four) of any player in a single match in Europe’s top-five league this season, produced the most key passes (eight) of any Premier League player this term, completed the most dribbles (eight) and had more shot (seven) than any other player against Leicester.
One of Liverpool’s somewhat unsung heroes from their victory over Wolves was Ryan Gravenberch, who has made a promising start to life in Arne Slot‘s midfield this term. At Molineux, the Dutchman was the first Premier League midfielder to contest more than five duels in a match with a 100% success rate (eight), make three or more tackles with a 100% success rate (three), and make 50 or more passes at 90%+ accuracy (57/62) since ex-Spurs man Sandro against Blackburn in April 2012.
There were a host of brilliant performers in Ange Postecoglou‘s Tottenham side last weekend, but one name who stood out from the crowd was Dejan Kulusevski, who tapped home Spurs’ second shortly after half time and from a central position created a total of nine chances – including six when Man United had 11 men on the pitch – which is the most on record (since 2003-04) by a visiting player in a Premier League match at Old Trafford.
With Everton in desperate need of registering their first league victory of the season, up stepped Dwight McNeil to provide the goods. Operating in the number 10 role, the 24-year-old curled a magnificent equaliser from distance into the top corner before firing home a decisive second from a tight angle.
ATTACK
© Imago
The standout performer from any Premier League team this week was Chelsea star Cole Palmer, who became the first player in the division’s history to score four goals before half time in a single match, netting all four in the space of just 20 minutes against Brighton, including an outstanding 30-yard free kick. Palmer could have scored more as he hit the post, had one goal chalked off for offside and missed a glorious chance in the second half, but he nevertheless played a monumental role in securing maximum points for the Blues.
Antoine Semenyo has arguably been Bournemouth’s best player so far this season and he put in another excellent display for Andoni Iraola‘s side on Monday night. The Ghana international played a part in the Cherries’ opener and scored a superb second, while no player registered more shots (four), more shots in the box (three) or won possession in the final third (three) on more occasions than the attacker, who also boasted the second-best passing accuracy (89.5%).
Liam Delap could have scored a hat-trick on another day, but he had to settle for a brace in Ipswich’s draw with Aston Villa, becoming the youngest (21 years, 234 days) to do so for the Tractor Boys in the Premier League. Delap showed superb composer for both of his goals, particularly his second as he skipped past Diego Carlos before firing home his second-half equaliser.
Sports Mole’s Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-2-1): Hermanson; Justin, Guehi, Van de Ven; Saka, Kulusevski, Gravenberch, McNeil; Palmer, Semenyo; Delap
