FOOTBALL–Liverpool deserve to be named the team of the week after ending City’s unbeaten start to the 2017/18 season but some other players stood out on a weekend that Arsenal and Chelsea fails to win again.
Here are the eleven players that stood out as picked by PML Daily correspondent Shaban Lubega.
The team.
1. Lukas Fabianski – Swansea City.
On a weekend when the few goalkeepers who made clean sheets didn’t impress me at all, i had to go with the tall Polish man.
Despite the fact that Fabianski didn’t keep a clean sheet and his side took home only a point away to Newcastle, his two saves to deny Ayoze Perez and Dwight Gyle where impressive enough to get him a spot in goal.
2. Serge Aurier.
The troubled Ivorian had a sheaky started to life at Wembley but has started showing that he was worth the loads of money that Spurs splashed out on him in the summer.
Against Everton on the weekend, Aurier produced a strong performance on the right and cupped it up with an assist as his side ran out 4-0 winners.
3. Andrew Robertson.
Yes he was part of a defence that conceded three goals but looking back at the times he was required to either defend or take the team foward, the ex-Hull City left back did not disappoint against arguably the best players in the Premier league.
I don’t know who will start at left back when Alberto Moreno comes back but Jurgen Kloop will surely have a decision to make that’s if the Robertson continues to play like he is playing at the moment.
4. Harry Maguire.
The ‘big Harry Maguire’ like he has come to be known at the King Power has taken the league by storm since his move to Leicester City.
Leicester can at least now defend and the fans are sure, in the big Englishman, they have a player who can shut out opposing strikers.
Against Chelsea, his positioning and awareness suggested that he didn’t have a lot to do in terms of stopping Chelsea on route to keeping another cleansheet.
5. Jonny Evans.
Prior to the weekend, West Brom captain Jonny Evans had gone more than 300 days minus testing victory but his early header was a catalyst to changing that statistic.
His goal suggested that Allan Pardew’s men settled into the game early and controlled proceedings although Brighton never troubled them a great deal.
6. Wilfred Ndidi.
The best players in the league for me this past weekend.
The Nigerian is proving to be an able replacement for Ngolo Kante almost two years after the French man left King Power.
Against Chelsea, the versatile player bearly put a foot wrong and in the process did pocket his predecessor and was the key catalyst to Leicester’s magnificent point earned at the Bridge.
7. Manuel Lanzini.
If West Ham is to survive this season and march up the table, Manuel Lanzini has to step up and perform like he did against Huddersfield Town.
When Dimitri Payet left the Hammers, everyone singled out the little Argentine as the man to take up the responsibility left by the Frechman but he has so far failed.
His two goals over the weekend and the mouth watering performance suggests that may be he can still live up to the expectations and erase the memory of Payet from Hammers’ fans.
8. James Ward-Prowse.
The one player who i belive deserved to have played for a team that won over the weekend.
His biggest disappointment may be the fact that his beloved Saints team failed to get maximum points at the hands of a handball goal scored on the 90 minute mark but all that can not be used to down play his performance against Watford.
Ward-Prowse got his first brace in the league since 2015 and clearly deserved to get into the finest eleven of the league over the weekend.
9. Harry Kane.
Surely i have run out of words to describe the English striker as he continues to impress me by the day.
Against Everton, he scored two goals in a weekend where he was the only striker to manage a brace.
The sky may be the limit for Harry but to win the trophies that his goals suggest he should, he may have to depart Spurs as soon as possible.
10. Marko Arnoutovic.
Had an inconsistent start to life at West Ham but no one has ever doubted the Austrian’s abilities.
Against Huddersfield, he showed a glimpse of the Arnoutovic that so many Premier league fans fell in love when still at Stock City by assisting two and scoring one goal in the process.
11. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain.
If only Alex Oxlade Chamberlain could put out performances like the one he show cased against City on Sunday, his place in the starting team of England come June would be a certain and may be Liverpool fans would love him a little bit more.
He set the tone for Liverpool’s 4-3 win against City by scoring the first goal and kept on pressing City high up the pitch.
It sounds absurd to say that non of Liverpool fans missed Coutinho on Sunday and the feeling was all down to the Englishman.
Coach of the Week. Jurgen Klopp.
The Man who has defeated Pep Guardiola more than any other manager in world football did it again on Sunday.
Yes Allan Pardew may have deserved the manager of the week award but with Klopp giving the league a win that it has craved for all season, it is only fitting for the German to get the nod.
