Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week, including Mohamed Salah, Bruno Fernandes and Emile Smith Rowe.
The Arne Slot machine is whirring heading into the final international break of 2024, as Liverpool hold a five-point lead atop the Premier League table, thanks to their own excellence and frequent failures from their rivals.
The Reds established their unassailable lead over Manchester City thanks to a 2-0 beating of Aston Villa, a couple of hours after the champions suffered their fourth loss on the spin in a 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Chelsea and Arsenal complete the top four following their 1-1 London derby draw on Sunday evening, although both sides are now nine points below the Reds, while Nottingham Forest‘s sensational start took a hit in a 3-1 loss to Newcastle United.
Ruud van Nistelrooy‘s interim reign as Manchester United head coach ended in style, though, as the Red Devils eased to a 3-0 win over Leicester City, but Tottenham Hotspur were shocked 2-1 by a hitherto winless Ipswich Town.
Wolverhampton Wanderers also got off the mark for the season at the 11th attempt, defeating Southampton 2-0 in their basement battle, while Crystal Palace have been plunged further into danger thanks to a 2-0 home loss to Fulham.
Finally, Brentford served up another enthralling home contest, beating Bournemouth 3-2 at the Gtech Community Stadium, but West Ham United and Everton‘s affair ended in a forgettable goalless draw.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Team of the Week for the latest round of matches.
DEFENCE
As dire as the action was at the London Stadium between West Ham and Everton, Sean Dyche‘s dogged defence does deserve plaudits, in particular Jordan Pickford; England’s number one kept the Irons at bay with six crucial saves, including a fabulous last-gasp stop from a deflected Danny Ings effort.
Pickford also received ample protection from his defence in gameweek 11, and James Tarkowski in particular stood up to every challenge that he faced, as the ex-Burnley man made five clearances, two interceptions, two blocks and two tackles to preserve a precious point for the Merseysiders.
Nottingham Forest fan favourite Murillo may have come out on the losing side on Sunday, but it was through no fault of his own; the Brazilian arguably added a few pounds to his value with a strong header for his first Tricky Trees goal, while also making nine clearances, four tackles and winning all four of his ground duels.
In contrast, Ipswich Town’s Dara O’Shea unexpectedly came out on the correct end of the scoreline at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, thanks in no small part to the Irish rock, who matched Murillo‘s tally of nine clearances while also making three blocks and two tackles to help end the Tractor Boys’ 22-year run without a Premier League triumph.
MIDFIELD
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Another year, another season of Mohamed Salah scoring 10 goals and providing 10 assists in all competitions. Doing everything he can and more to earn that lucrative new Liverpool contract, the Egyptian wing wizard registered one of his more unorthodox assists for Darwin Nunez before making sure of the Reds’ win with a delicate chip, becoming the first player in Europe’s big five leagues to reach double figures in both goals and assists for 2024-25.
From Merseyside to Manchester, and two of Van Nistelrooy’s midfield maestros link arms in the central roles. First up is the skipper Bruno Fernandes, who brought up 100 Premier League goal contributions in just 170 games for Man United – only one more than Cristiano Ronaldo took – in the win over Leicester, picking out the far corner with a lovely strike before teeing up Alejandro Garnacho‘s beauty. The Portugal international could have ended the day with a double too, but the wild deflection his header took off of Victor Kristiansen meant that the Foxes full-back was credited with the own goal.
From the playmaker-in-chief to the tough tackler, Manuel Ugarte arguably delivered his finest display in a Man United shirt during the beating of Leicester, where he played the role of duelling monster with eight tackles and three interceptions, not to mention completing 92% of his passes – reminiscent of a young Casemiro, anyone?
Back to the attackers, and Brentford’s Yoane Wissa followed the Gtech Community Stadium script to a tee versus Bournemouth, bagging two goals with a header into the far side of the net and a smart dink over Kepa Arrizabalaga, keeping up his brilliant record of scoring in every Premier League home game this season.
ATTACK
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Submitting his application for the Premier League’s Game Changer of the Season award, Brighton hotshot Joao Pedro will be haunting the nightmares of City defenders for weeks to come, having pounced to bring the Seagulls level before prodding through Matt O’Riley to score a bedlam-inducing winner.
One of two Brazilians in our attacking trident this week, Pedro joins forces with Wolves’ talisman Matheus Cunha, who was pivotal to the Old Gold’s belated first top-flight win of the season; after a lovely through ball to set up Pablo Sarabia‘s record-breaking goal, the quickest Wolves have ever scored in the Premier League, Cunha rubber-stamped his side’s long-awaited triumph with an outrageous hit from range.
Finally, a penny for the thoughts of Arsenal fans as Emile Smith Rowe continues to thrive in a Fulham jersey. While the Gunners struggle for creative ingenuity, their erstwhile academy gem clipped Palace’s wings with a smart finish into the bottom corner after cutting out Maxence Lacroix‘s poor pass, before also having a second disallowed and also creating three chances at Selhurst Park. Too early to think about an England recall?
Sports Mole’s Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-3): Pickford; Tarkowski, O’Shea, Murillo; Salah, Ugarte, Fernandes, Wissa; Joao Pedro, Cunha, Smith Rowe
