Three of Liverpool’s back four are in our Premier League Team of the Week.
Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace)
Palace made hard work of their win over Huddersfield and could have gone behind twice in the first half. Fortunately for them, Guaita was on hand to make smart saves to deny Chris Lowë. The result leaves the Eagles eight points clear of the relegation zone, and condemns Huddersfield to a return to the Championship.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
The young right-back’s tussle with Lucas Moura was a key battle in Liverpool’s win over Tottenham. He won five tackles during the game and made five clearances, but his telling contribution was the cross from which his side found the winner. Another late goal for the Reds, who are back at the top. For now.
Kurt Zouma (Everton)
Everton have recorded back-to-back wins for only the second time this season after they comfortably overcame West Ham. Zouma headed them into an early lead and then kept the Irons at bay with four clearances and four interceptions. The Toffees now have four clean sheets from their last five matches.
Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool)
Van Dijk’s level of defending has reached new heights this season, and he is now stopping goals without even challenging for the ball. His decision to let Moussa Sissoko carrythe ball and prevent the Frenchman from passing to Son Heung-Min ensured that the scores stayed level going into the final minutes. A sure favourite for Player of the Year.
Andy Robertson (Liverpool)
Another assist for Robertson, who made Kieran Trippier pay for his decision to give him space to cross. The Scotland captain’s delivery gave Roberto Firmino little chance to miss, and means that he now has eight assists for the season, more than any other defender.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)
The substitute was on hand to give Chelsea an ill-deserved winner at Cardiff following a performance that did little to ease the pressure on Maurizio Sarri. Many fans have called for their youth products to be given a starting berth, and Loftus-Cheek’s contribution only served to highlight their point. Does his future lie away from Stamford Bridge?
Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester)
Ndidi was dominant against Bournemouth. He had 96 touches of the ball, second only to teammate Roberto Pereira, and completed 59 passes (the third highest tally of the match). The Super Eagles star also won 11 tackles, more than any other Premier League player this weekend. Leicester have now won three of their four games under Brendan Rodgers.
Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)
Arsenal went third after a win over Newcastle after a superb performance from their captain. Ramsey opened the scoring but could have already added his name to the scoresheet against Newcastle, only for his early strike to be ruled out for a foul. In one of his final appearances at the Emirates, he offered a reminder of why Juventus coveted him.
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Having already combined well with Sergio Aguero in the opening minutes, City’s number 20 broke the deadlock against Fulham when he collected the Argentine’s pass and fired past Sergio Rico. Then returned the favour 20 minutes later when he teed up his teammate to double the lead. He has now scored in three consecutive games.
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Aguero pulled two clear at the top of the scoring charts as he netted his 19th goal of the season at Fulham. He also contributed an assist in the win, which means that a fourth Premier League title is well within his reach.
Lucas Moura (Tottenham)
Tottenham’s latest signing did not give up the fight at Anfield and was rewarded when he struck the equaliser with 20 minutes remaining. The decision from Mauricio Pochettino to remove the Brazilian late on seemed to dull Spurs’ attacking threat, proving what an encouraging performance this was from the forward.