This week in the Premier League, Tottenham thumped Watford by a score of 4-0, Crystal Palace earned a surprise result against the incompetent Arsenal, and Everton came out on top over Leicester City in a high-scoring 4-2 thriller. Through all the excitement there were some standout players and these are the best 11 of them. This is the Premier League’s Team of the Week for Gameweek 32! Enjoy.
Goalkeeper: Fraser Forster
Fraser Forster was brilliant against West Bromwich Albion, making six saves to help hand the Baggies their fourth loss in six games. Forster hasn’t always been awesome this season and he’s turned fewer hands in 2016-17 than any other season he’s been with the Saints. But the Southampton keeper had his best performance of the season and was crucial in helping give Southampton a narrow 1-0 lead. Without any one of those crucial stops, this match could have easily ended 1-1 or worse and Southampton wouldn’t have gone back into the top ten. So there was no other option for Goalkeeper of the Week in Matchday 32 than Fraser Forster. Rating: 9.5/10.
Right Back: Kieran Trippier
Although Kyle Walker is one of the best right-backs in the world, you have to feel bad for Kieran Trippier who seems to be so influential to Spurs every single time he plays the position. The ex-Burnley player has been forced to sit on the bench ever since he moved to the Lilly Whites but whenever he’s given his opportunity to shine, he always takes it. Watford are even now becoming his favourite team to play against as the last time Trippier made the Team of the Week, it was also against Watford that time in a 4-1 win when he notched two assists. The British defender may have only managed to have 1 assist this time out but he had an even better performance, creating 5 chances and delivering 6 crosses into the box, constantly giving Watford trouble all game long. He was also brilliant defensively, hardly putting a foot wrong as he made 6 successful tackles and making 3 clearances. If Kyle Walker were to ever leave Tottenham Hotspur, Trippier’s performances this season indicate that they would be just fine without him. Rating: 10/10.
Centre Back: John Stones
It’s taken 32 match-days, but John Stones has finally secured his first Team of the Week appearance of the season since moving to Manchester City. Stones has been criticized for several lackluster displays this season but nobody will be criticizing him after a performance like that. The confident, ball-playing, defensive brute that is John Stones was back this weekend, helping ease Manchester City to a 3-1 win. The British defender would have impressed Pep Guardiola with his 93% passing percentage, but what was more important was his crucial role in defense. Stones was immaculate defensively all-around against the Tigers, always seeing out danger with 6 interceptions, 7 clearances and 2 blocked shots while also making 2 tackles and winning 4 duels in the air. This was Stones’ best performance of the season and he finally makes his first Team of the Week appearance as a Manchester City player. Rating: 9.5/10.
Left Back: Marcos Alonso
How good has Marcos Alonso been this season for Chelsea? Not a single soul would have expected the Spaniard to have such a positive impact this season after arriving from Fiorentina but he has been absolutely integral to their success in 2016-17. The former Sunderland man was one of the keys to Chelsea’s success yet again this weekend as he scored a brilliant free kick and helped lead them to a 3-1 win. Defensively, Alonso was solid as always, winning 4 tackles cleanly while also contributing with 1 interception and 2 clearances. The Spanish fullback was also an ever-present down the left side for Chelsea in attack, combining nicely with Hazard and delivering 4 crosses into the box. And of course his fantastic free kick is what put the game beyond all doubt. Marcos Alonso has been brilliant this season and has come out of almost nowhere this season to establish himself as one of the world’s best left-backs. Rating: 10/10.
Defensive Midfield: Eric Dier
Eric Dier is so much more influential for Tottenham Hotspur as a defensive midfielder than a centre back. He’s been good this season at centre back but it is only in the last three or so games that he has really started to show his form of last season as a defensive midfielder. Dier just has the Xabi Alonso-like ability to sit in front of the back four and control the game from midfield without ever really letting the opposition get anywhere near the defense. A key linchpin all game long, Dier was integral to Tottenham’s success against Watford as they claimed a massive 4-0 win. The England international scored a magnificent goal to basically kill the game off after the 40th minute, but also had more touches (80) than any other player on the pitch. Dier was also solid defensively winning 2 tackles, 2 duels in the air and blocking 2 shots. Eric Dier has the ability to be one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, if only Pochettino would play him there more regularly. Rating: 10/10.
Right Wing: Wilfried Zaha
Wilfried Zaha was absolutely unreal for Crystal Palace this weekend, coming up big for Sam Allardyce’s men as they terrorized Arsenal on route to a 3-0 triumph. The Gunners just could not cope with anything Palace put together and Zaha down that ring was at the heart of absolutely everything good for the Eagles. The Ivorian constantly unlocked Arsenal’s defense with 8 successful take-on’s, more than any other player this weekend in the league. On top of that, he also created 4 chances, two of which created goals, just constantly acting as a thorn in Arsenal’s thigh. For the third week in a row, his pass accuracy was just outstanding even despite all that he attempts to create, completing 94% of his passes just as he did against Chelsea last weekend. Wilfried Zaha is becoming a complete footballer and the more he goes on like this, the more big clubs will take notice. Rating: 10/10.
Attacking Midfield: Dele Alli
Dele Alli is such a talented footballer. Still only 20-years old, Dele is the league’s top scoring midfielder by quite some distance, netting 16 times so far in 2016-17 with still a month left to go. With 72 touches, 2 chances created and 1 fantastic goal, the 20-year old attacking midfielder was all over Watford and made them look like very average defenders. The Tottenham man also helped out in defense with 4 tackles, completed 2 take-on’s and completed 83% of his passes, highlighting his great all-round game. Dele Alli is one of the best midfielders in the world, is a shoe-in for the PFA Team of the Year and now has exactly the same amount of goals as Sergio Aguero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Premier League. Rating: 9.5/10.
Attacking Midfield: Kevin Mirallas
Kevin Mirallas’ energy, pace and play-making abilities took Everton to the next level on Sunday as the Toffees waltzed to a 4-2 victory over high-flyers Leicester City. The Belgian winger hasn’t been brilliant across the board over the course of the season but he is capitalizing now on injuries to other players and was certainly the difference maker in their match this weekend. Pulling the strings all game long, Mirallas was integral to Everton’s success, notching two assists and creating 4 chances. The 29-year old also delivered 5 crosses, made 2 tackles and completed 5 successful take-on’s, more than any other player on the pitch! Kevin Mirallas was absolutely integral to Everton’s big win over Leicester City on Sunday and as a result, picks up his first Team of the Week appearance of the season! Rating: 10/10.
Left Wing: Heung-Min Son
In order to accommodate for both Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama in the same team, Mauricio Pochettino has sacrificed one of his attacking options and as a result Heung-Min Son has not gotten as much playing time as he has deserved. Every single time the South Korean international is in the starting 11, he flourishes and just does such amazing work for the team. Son is an extremely talented player but he’s also such a fun character and must be so good to have in and around the dressing room. He works hard for the team and the team works hard for him, making him always one of Spurs’ most influential players when he finds himself in the 11. Due to Harry Kane’s injury, Heung-Min Son has now been given the chance to shine and has fully taken his opportunity, coming up with a massive performance against Watford this weekend. The South Korean winger was superb against the Hornets and was probably the best player on the pitch as he scored two goals and added an assist. He was absolutely buzzing all game long and it wasn’t just a hat-trick that he could have had, he should have had a double brace, firing wide from close range before hitting the crossbar late on. Heung-Min Son was absolutely unreal against Watford and thanks to the South Korean, Pochettino’s side did not miss Harry Kane an inch. Rating: 10/10.
Striker: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has arguably been Manchester United’s most important player this season. What has impressed me the most about Zlatan is just how tremendously hard he works for the team. He comes into midfield to gather up possession and make things happen, never just occupying normal forward positions. He also always has his head up looking for a pass or to pick out a teammate. But what Zlatan always does best is score goals and the Swedish striker managed to find the back of the net yet again on Sunday as United cruised to a 3-0 victory over Sunderland. In addition to his great goal, the 35-year old striker also won 3 duels in the air, created 2 chances and assisted the final goal of the game with a great pass for Marcus Rashford’s late strike. At the age of 35, Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues to be one of the best strikers in the world and he continues to show no signs of slowing down. Rating: 9/10.
Striker: Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku is absolutely on fire right now and with the help of Harry Kane’s ankle injury, is now cruising into the finish line in the race for the Golden Boot. The Big Belgian has been absolutely unstoppable since the turn of the year and Leicester were the latest victims of his fantastic all-round play as he led Everton to a 4-2 victory this weekend. The talented forward absolutely lit up Goodison Park on Sunday, scoring a goal and assisting another while completely dominating over Huth and Benalouane on his way to aiding Everton to another victory. Completely bossing over his opposition, Lukaku won 6 duels in the air and also contributed defensively with 3 clearances. When he’s in this kind of form he is just impossible to stop and Romelu Lukaku now picks up his seventh Team of the Week appearance of the season! Rating: 10/10.
Formation: 3-1-4-2: Forster, Trippier, Stones, M. Alonso, Dier, Zaha, Alli, Mirallas, Son, Ibrahimovic, Lukaku
Substitutes: Simon Mignolet, Matthew Lowton, Phil Jagielka, Fabian Delph, Yohan Cabaye, Andros Townsend, Eden Hazard
Player of the Week: Heung-Min Son
Heung Min-Son works so hard for the team and even though he’s not always in the side, he just gets on with his business whenever he’s given his chance and comes to every match with such a great attitude. The South Korean winger was superb against the Hornets and was probably the best player on the pitch as he scored two goals and added an assist in their massive 4-0 win. He was absolutely buzzing all game long and it wasn’t just a hat-trick that he could have had, he should have had a double brace, firing wide from close range before hitting the crossbar late on. Heung-Min Son was absolutely unreal against Watford and thanks to the South Korean, Pochettino’s side did not miss Harry Kane an inch.
Manager of the Week: Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino has done wonders for this Tottenham Hotspur team since he arrived in 2014. The Argentinean manager has completely transformed this Tottenham team, turning them into one of the best attacking units in the world. Not just that, they are also a team full of youngsters and promise and if they can keep hold of all of their stars and keep adding to their ranks, it could turn into one of the most dominant teams in Premier League history. What Pochettino has managed to do over the years is fantastic and he produced a masterclass against Watford that reminded us all just how far Spurs have come. Even without Harry Kane, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose, Tottenham were completely and utterly dominant over the Hornets and Walter Mazzarri’s side never stood a chance. After Janssen failed to fire and find the back of the net for the 12th Premier League game in a row, it would have been very easy for Pochettino not to start him for this match, but his role in the side proved effective even if he didn’t find the back of the net. Having the Dutch forward in the team, freed up Heung-Min Son to do the most damage on the left-hand side where he is most comfortable, while it also gave Alli, Eriksen and Trippier a focal point to deliver crosses into the box. Trippier for what it’s worth also proved highly effective in place of Kyle Walker who is still recovering from injury and Eric Dier excelled once again in defensive midfield in front of the back four. Tottenham were just so full of attacking intent that Watford never find a way to get the ball in Spurs’ half. Even if Watford somehow found their way down the other end of the pitch, the defense were so incredibly solid with every single player working hard for the team (Alli for example had 4 tackles) that Lloris only had 2 saves to make the entire match. Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs were incredible against Watford and forget about Alli and Kane, Tottenham will do very well to hang on to their brilliant Argentinean manager this off-season.
So there it is! The Team of the Week for Gameweek 32 in the Premier League! Like what you read? Click the follow button for more articles like this, every single week. Thanks for reading and I can’t wait to see you again next week!
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