It was another exciting matchweek in the Premier League, with Jurgen Klopp tasting his first defeat as Liverpool manager and Chelsea suffering another shocking loss at the hands of Stoke City, while Jose Mourinho served his stadium ban.
After the top flight drama, Coral bring you our latest Team of the Week. Do you agree with our selections?
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper: Rob Elliot
Republic of Ireland international stopper Elliot was like a one-man wall between the Newcastle United sticks, thwarting a constant onslaught of Bournemouth attacks to frustrate Eddie Howe’s Cherries and incredibly earn the Toon three away points. The Magpies are now 2/1 with Coral to face a drop down divisions this term.
Right back: Glen Johnson
Helping Stoke City inflict another defeat on the stuttering champions and his former club Chelsea, Johnson played a key role in the Marko Arnautovic’s decisive goal, as the Potters ran out narrow 1-0 victors on home turf.
At Anfield, Dann was a rock at the heart of Crystal Palace’s rear guard, halting Liverpool’s menacing forwards and eventually bagged the winner after 82 minutes in a 2-1 triumph, handing Klopp his maiden defeat in charge of the Reds.
Centre back: Micah Richards
Remi Garde couldn’t have faced more daunting opposition in his Aston Villa managerial debut against Manchester City but, with the help of rejuvenated defensive stalwart Richards, his side were able to snatch a deserved scoreless draw at Villa Park.
Another Potters full back in our set-up, this time in the form of Pieters, who was a warrior in the Britannia Stadium encounter with Chelsea. The former PSV wideman served 80 minutes of the eventual Blues victory with a broken nose, playing his part in keeping a clean sheet. A solid outing.
Centre midfield: Eric Dier
Tottenham have continued to benefit from the defensive midfield attributes of their versatile youngster Dier, and his latest classy showing came during a heated north London derby with rivals Arsenal.
The talented anchorman controlled proceedings, showing great vision and control throughout to help Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs secure a 1-1 draw at the Emirates.
Centre midfield: Jordy Clasie
Southampton edged out relegation strugglers Sunderland 1-0 on their travels to Wearside, thanks to a Dusan Tadic penalty, but it was Netherlands international Clasie who was the star of the show.
The Dutch midfield maestro was the catalyst for the majority of the Saints forward play, touching the ball more than any of his teammates and making more passes. A performance his boss Ronald Koeman would have been proud of.
Right midfield: Wilfried Zaha
His teammates Yannick Bolasie and Dann may have got the goals in the Eagles’ triumph at Anfield, but it was former Manchester United winger Zaha that helped them soar, with his wingplay truly bamboozling Liverpool defenders. Alan Pardew described his showing as the “best performance” ever for his current club, after a truly brilliant all-round outing.
Attacking midfield: Mesut Ozil
Assist-machine Ozil captivated north London with another great creative display, setting up Kieran Gibbs’ strike to make Premier League history. The German has now made an assist in his last six top-tier outings, levelling the record for most consecutive assists in a Premier League campaign. Wunderbar!
Left midfield: Jesse Lingard
Replacing big-money summer signing Memphis Depay on that left wing, Red Devils academy graduate Lingard struck his maiden senior goal in the win over West Bromwich Albion, clinically dispatching after a beautiful first touch. The Old Trafford starlet looks set for a bright future, with Louis van Gaal showing great faith in yet another youngster during his reign.
Striker: Jamie Vardy
Another Premier League record was broken this weekend, as Leicester City’s Vardy dispatched a penalty to move up to eight consecutive matches scored in.
After Riyad Mahrez had handed him the spot-kick duties, following encouragement from the crowd, Vardy thumped it past Heurelho Gomes to secure a 2-1 win over Watford and moved closer to Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record 10 goal scoring games in a row.
