Our weekend Premier League team celebrates the best performers from the past two days, with the stars of Man Utd, Arsenal and Crystal Palace dominating our line-up.
GK: Martin Dubravka – Burnley
When you’re at the bottom of the Premier League for life, you need your goalkeeper to save you every now and then. Martin Dubravka did just that for Burnley this weekend as they defeated relegation rivals Leeds United at Turf Moor.
Lesley Ugochukwu and Loum Tchaouna scored the goals, but Dubravka made four saves and kept a rare clean sheet for the Clarets.
RB: Reece James – Chelsea
Chelsea’s defense looked pretty shabby against Nottingham Forest, but Reece James was back to his brilliant best at the City Ground, coming away with a goal, assist and clean sheet.
This was an extremely competitive spot in the line-up considering the performances of Nordi Mukiele and Daniel Munoz for Sunderland and Crystal Palace respectively.
CB: Harry Maguire – Man Utd
Why have Manchester United bothered to spend £74 million on a new striker when they already have Harry Maguire? Not for the first time in his career, ‘Slabhead’ scored a dramatic late winner for the Red Devils as they defeated Liverpool for the first time since 2016.
Arne Slot’s men bombarded United’s defense in the second half and although they did concede, Maguire was an absolute colossus at the back, with eight turnovers and four recoveries.
CB: Gabriel Magalhães – Arsenal
After dropping points at Craven Cottage last season, it was imperative that Arsenal shutout Fulham on Saturday. Gabriel was crucial to that effort, making nine clearances, one recovery and winning six aerial duels, while also providing the assist for Leandro Trossard’s winning goal.
LB: Trai Hume – Sunderland
Not only did Trai Hume contribute to Sunderland’s clean sheet in a huge win over Wolves, the Northern Ireland international was also a threat in attack. He provided the assist for Mukiele’s opener and hit the woodwork.
CM: Boubacar Kamara – Aston Villa
Comeback wins on the road are not easy to come by. Although Boubacar Kamara was not involved in any of Aston Villa’s goals against Spurs, he played a crucial role in the final result.
The Frenchman was a total workhorse in midfield, winning 14 duels, making five tackles and making five recoveries. He was also adept at relieving his side’s pressure, making seven passes into the final third and winning four fouls, the most of any player on the pitch.
CM: Bruno Fernandes – Man Utd
That assist for Maguire’s winner was a thing of beauty, but Bruno Fernandes was also excellent on the other side of the ball against Liverpool. He made five recoveries, two clearances and won two tackles while covering seemingly every blade of grass. He looked broken at the end, which illustrated the amount of effort he put into it.
In addition, Fernandes created three chances and made twelve passes into the final third. His new, deeper role has not blunted his impact for United.
RW: Bukayo Saka – Arsenal
Another great performance from Bukayo Saka, who repeatedly set left back Ryan Sessegnon on fire. Confusingly, he didn’t come away with at least one assist against Fulham after creating six chances on the day.
In addition, Saka made the most dribbles (6), won the most duels (14) and was the player with the most mistakes (5 times) in the match. The Cottagers couldn’t get a grip on him.
Lw: Cody Ga – Liverpool
Cody Gakpo will have nightmares about that missed opportunity later at Anfield, but no Liverpool came away from the United defeat with more credit than him. His equalizer was well deserved after hitting the woodwork three times; on another day he would have scored a whole bunch of goals.
CF: Erling Haaland – Manchester City
At this rate, Erling Haaland will become a permanent fixture in our Team of the Weekend. The Manchester City striker had the fewest touches of any player (29) in the win over Everton, but he got the two most important and scored the only goals of the match.
Haaland just beat Brighton’s Danny Welbeck and Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi, who are both also bracing this weekend.
CF: Jean-Philippe Mateta – Crystal Palace
If you’ve ever wondered if it’s possible to score a hat-trick and still come away from a match disappointed, then Jean-Philippe Mateta has removed all doubt. This is not how the French striker would have wanted to emulate compatriot Kylian Mbappe, who famously lost a World Cup final despite scoring three goals against Argentina.
The stakes for Saturday’s 3pm kick-off against Bournemouth are slightly smaller than that, but Mateta was no less disappointed with himself after missing a glorious chance to win the match in stoppage time.
The Palace star had put away a penalty just moments earlier to level matters in a six-goal thriller at Selhurst Park, having previously fired home twice from close range.
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