After another fabulous weekend in the Barclays Premier League has officially come to a close it is now time for another edition of The Mastermind‘s Team of the Week! This is one of the very best set of eleven players ever and any one of them could have been named player of the week. Enjoy!
Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford
Inside the first twenty minutes of Sunderland’s encounter with Tottenham, it was all Spurs but they couldn’t find the back of the net because of Jordan Pickford. At that time, twenty minutes into the match, Pickford had already made five saves and would go to finish the game with eight fantastic saves, nearly helping his side secure a point as they only lost 1-0 thanks to a defensive error. The English goalkeeper proved to be very good with his hands as well making 3 successful catches and miraculously had more touches on the ball than any other Sunderland player with 48. His distribution looked good, he was vocal at the back, screaming at his defenders to pick up the pace and he was brilliant every single time he was called upon. Jordan Pickford is this week’s goalkeeper of the week! Rating: 9/10.
Right Back: Seamus Coleman
Seamus Coleman has been fantastic ever since returning from injury, knocking Mason Holgate straight back onto the bench and putting in solid displays against both Sunderland and now Middlesbrough. It was his performance against Middlesbrough this weekend that really caught the eye though, as the Irishman was excellent in helping Everton claim a 3-1 win. Coleman was the scorer of Everton’s second of the match, giving them the lead with a great left-footed goal but he was also superb defensively throughout the match. He had 91 touches, won 5 dribbles, made 2 tackles and made 5 clearances to help Everton claim a fantastic victory. It was an excellent performance from Seamus Coleman and he is starting to truly fulfill the potential and promise that he showed three seasons ago in Roberto Martinez’s first season as manager this season under Ronald Koeman. Rating: 9/10.
Centre Back: Dejan Lovren
Every single one of Liverpool’s defenders have struggled to start this season except for one man, Croatian international Dejan Lovren, who has really come into his own since the arrival of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. Lovren was fantastic against Chelsea and handled Diego Costa better than all who have tried before him this season. The 27-year old made 8 clearances, more than any other player on the pitch, and also made 3 tackles and 2 blocks to help stop Chelsea from creating chances. He also scored Liverpool’s opening goal to help them claim a memorable victory. Rating: 8.5/10.
Left Back: Christian Fuchs
Christian Fuchs like all of Leicester’s defenders has struggled to start this season but the Austrian international put in a fabulous performance against Burnley on Saturday to help his side claim a 3-0 victory. Fuchs had 106 touches on the ball, 16 more than any other player on the pitch, highlighting his importance to Leicester’s display. His most important touch came early on in the match when he whipped in a perfect cross from a free kick for Islam Slimani to head home, giving Leicester a one-nil lead. Fuchs continued his fantastic display going forward throughout the match, creating five chances for his teammates to score and putting in seven crosses. The left-back was also excellent defensively winning four out of four tackles, three out of four aerial duels and making 4 clearances. It was a fabulous performance from Leicester City on Saturday and Christian Fuchs was at the heart of it. Rating: 10/10.
Centre Midfield: Jordan Henderson
Jordan Henderson’s always been pivotal to Liverpool’s success in recent years but to start this season he hasn’t exactly been instrumental to their early magnificence under Jurgen Klopp. However, on Friday night’s encounter against Chelsea the Liverpool captain was their most important player and led his side to a 2-1 win away from home. Liverpool pulled off a tactical masterclass against Antonio Conte’s side and one of the most important pieces to that puzzle was the central midfielder who hung in around the midfield with his two compatriots, always forcing Chelsea out wide where they had limited to no success at producing anything. Henderson was a key man for the Reds in both attack and defense, making 4 interceptions, having 82 touches, 3 crosses and scoring a fabulous goal that ended up being the game winner. Liverpool are going to be one to watch this season and if their captain and other star players can keep on playing like this, they will have no difficulty at all at making the top four. Rating: 9/10.
Right Attacking Midfield: Nacer Chadli
West Brom were by no means expected to win this match against West Ham, certainly not by scoring four goals, but they finally put in an amazing performance on Saturday and grabbed a 4-2 win. This was in large part thanks to their new record-signing Nacer Chadli, who arrived from Tottenham at the end of the transfer window and proved exactly why Mauricio Pochettino was wrong to let him go with his performance against the Hammers. Chadli had a hand in all four of West Brom’s goals, scoring two and assisting the other two to be the most pivotal player on the pitch and the vital reason why they were able to win. Chadli had three shots in the match, scoring from two of them, and also assisted from both of the chances he created. It was a brilliant performance from Nacer Chadli as he looks set to be West Bromwich Albion’s most important player this season. Rating: 9.5/10.
Attacking Midfield: Kevin de Bruyne
When Manchester City and Kevin de Bruyne have their wheels turning, there is no stopping them and that was exemplified to a tee on Saturday against Bournemouth. Kevin de Bruyne ran the show for the second Premier League game running grabbing a goal and an assist and playing a massive role in every single goal Manchester City scored as they won 4-0. De Bruyne had four shots, all of which were on target, he created 3 chances, and he had 66 touches on the ball, running the show going forward. He also helped out in defense with 2 tackles, 4 interceptions and got himself on the score-sheet again with another goal and assist as already mentioned. It was another impeccable performance from Kevin de Bruyne as he has been one of the very best players to start the season so far. Rating: 10/10.
Left Attacking Midfield: Andros Townsend
Andros Townsend had an incredible game against Stoke City as he finally got off the mark for the season with his first goal and first assist in the league. The British winger whipped in an amazing cross from a free kick early on which was converted by James Tomkins, giving Palace a 1-0 lead and setting the tone for the rest of the match. Townsend’s energy was a massive driving force in motivating Palace to get forward and create chances and he was absolutely pivotal to their attack. The 25-year also had a massive role in James McArthur’s strike as his run single-handedly took two defenders out of the situation and away from the ball, giving the Scotsman all the time in the world to hammer in Palace’s third of the night. Then with a surging run forward from inside his own half, Townsend carried the ball all the way to the box, tricked the final defender and slotted the ball into the bottom corner for 4-0 at the time. It was a fantastic performance from Andros Townsend and he is the main reason why Palace were able to have such a dominating display against the struggling Stoke City. Rating: 9.5/10.
Right Wing: Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling just can’t stop scoring and assisting at the moment and put in another brilliant performance for Manchester City against Bournemouth on Saturday. Sterling completed a staggering ten dribbles against the Cherries, giving Charlie Daniels and his fellow teammates an absolute nightmare down that right side. He also had five shots, four of which were on target, created 2 chances, completed 94% of his passes and grabbed another goal and assist to bring his tally to 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 games to start this season. Raheem Sterling has been incredible so far under Pep Guardiola and had another wonderful performance against Bournemouth as Manchester City marched to a 4-0 win. Rating: 10/10.
Centre Forward: Islam Slimani
There were several incredible performances from forwards this weekend, Iheanacho and Sanchez were spectacular just to name a few, but it was Islam Slimani who stole the show this weekend as he grabbed a brace on his full debut for Leicester City. Slimani led the line perfectly for the Foxes and was the perfect partner for the pacey Jamie Vardy always looking for the outlet to put his vast pace to use for. The Algerian international had three shots in the match, all of which were on target and 2 of which were converted for goals. He certainly gives Leicester City a different look going forward and his partnership with Jamie Vardy could be a fantastic one in the making. Rating: 9/10.
Left Wing: Dimitri Payet
Although West Brom hammered the Hammers by 4-2 on Saturday, it was Dimitri Payet who was the most poignant player on the pitch. Payet was remarkable against West Brom and continued to show why he should be playing for one of Europe’s elite clubs. The French midfielder assisted Michail Antonio again for the third time in two games, hit the crossbar, and won a penalty that was converted by Manuel Lanzini directly contributing to both of West Ham’s goals and every other chance they had. He had 106 touches on the ball, dominating over West Brom’s defence. He also won 5 dribbles and was unfortunate not to convert from any of his five shots. Dimitri Payet really is a remarkable player and even when his team don’t play well at all, he always manages to pull off something spectacular. Rating: 9/10.
Formation: 3-4-3
Player of the Week: Kevin de Bruyne
Kevin de Bruyne was insanely good on Saturday against Bournemouth. Although Pep Guardiola’s side were always going to beat the Cherries, they would have been nowhere near as dominant had they not had Kevin de Bruyne in their side. He scored a goal, assisted the other and then passed to the person who assisted the goal scorer on the other two goals, having a massive impact on all four goals. Kevin de Bruyne has been absolutely unreal this season and at the moment, there is no stopping him.
Manager of the Week: Walter Mazzarri
I was very harsh on Walter Mazzarri and Watford for their performances in August, but in September they have been extraordinary, beating both West Ham and Manchester United by two goals. Mazzarri had a masterclass of a performance on Sunday, showing Mourinho exactly who is boss. Again, Jose Mourinho’s wingers couldn’t find a way into the match with Holebas and Janmaat sticking to their tasks massively with the help of Capoue helping out one side and Behrami helping out on the other. He also triple teamed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, forcing him to have his worst performance in a Manchester United shirt so far. His side were then clinical on the counter attack, getting three goals out of nothing to earn a deserved win. It was also his substitutions that changed the match rather than Mourinho’s as Juan Zuniga, who by the way is not a midfielder, came on to score the winning goal seconds after being substituted. Zuniga and another substitute Isaac Success also combined to win the penalty late on that was converted by Troy Deeney. Watford weren’t excellent against Manchester United, but stuck to their task to a tee and thanks to Mazzarri, his tactics and his substitutions earned a deserved win.
So there it is! The Team of the Week for Gameweek 5 in the Barclays Premier League. Like what you read? Click the follow button now!
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