Another week of Premier League action saw Manchester City, Everton and Tottenham consolidate their positions in the top three, while Arsenal and Liverpool registered important wins against Hull City and Chelsea respectively.
Manchester City maintained their 100% record in the Premier League with a comfortable win at home against Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth, while Liverpool surprised Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Friday night game. Meanwhile, Manchester United fell to a shock loss at Vicarage Road against Watford — their third straight defeat in all competitions.
TheHardTackle picks the Team of the Week for gameweek 5 of the Premier League.
Jordan Pickford (GK)
In a match utterly dominated by the hosts Tottenham, it was only the performance of their young goalkeeper that helped Sunderland end the affair with a flattering 1-0 defeat.
22-year-old Pickford pulled off some outstanding saves to deny Spurs, who had a whopping 31 shots on goal in the course of the game. His save from an Erik Lamela shot in the dying minutes of the second half was one of the saves of the season so far.
Jan Vertonghen (LB)
Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen was taken from his usual central position to left-back by Mauricio Pochettino for the game against Sunderland.
This didn’t stop him from being the foundation of the Spurs defence though, as he was quick to stifle any kind of counter-attack from the besieged Black Cats. Vertonghen made nine clearances and won all seven of his aerial duels.
Scott Dann (CB)
Crystal Palace’s attacking players are all taking a back seat to Scott Dann, who has now scored nine goals since the beginning of last season and is the top scorer for the club in that period.
The 29-year-old Englishman was at it once again against Stoke City this weekend. He struck with a fine header for Palace in the early stages of their game against Stoke City, just minutes after his partner James Tomkins opened the scoring for the Eagles.
The Potters never managed to recover and ended up losing 4-1.
Joel Matip (CB)
Liverpool pulled off a brilliant deal when they signed Cameroon central defender Joel Matip on a free from Bundesliga club Schalke. He was at his best against Chelsea, as the Reds put in a solid performance to claim a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge.
Matip had the highest pass accuracy among the Liverpool players (95%), won all of his aerial duels, made four interceptions, four blocks and won three of five tackles attempted — a defensive masterclass against quality opponents.
Seamus Coleman (RB)
Like a number of Everton’s brightest prospects, Seamus Coleman has often failed to live up to the billing. However, the fiery Irishman was superb for the Toffees against visiting Middlesbrough as a 3-1 victory took them to second on the Premier League table.
Coleman scored a brilliant individual goal to put Everton ahead when the game was at 1-1. He was also defensively solid with six clearances, two tackles and two interceptions.
Jordan Henderson (CM)
The Liverpool captain scored one of the most magical goals of the season against Chelsea to put the Reds 2-0 up. His long distance strike beat Thibaut Courtois and flew into the top corner as home and away fans alike were shocked at Stamford Bridge.
It eventually turned out to be the winner, as Diego Costa managed to peg one back in the second half.
Idrissa Gueye (CM)
The Senegalese central midfielder was an indefatigable work horse for the Toffees against Middlesbrough. Gueye was everywhere as he won 16 defensive duels, 8 tackles and two interceptions.
Like N’golo Kante for Leicester City last season, Gueye is turning out to be the midfield engine for Everton this campaign.
Raheem Sterling (LW)
Pep Guardiola seems to be bringing out the best in the young English winger, who put in yet another impressive display for Manchester City against Bournemouth.
Sterling scored one goal and assisted another as City ran out 4-0 winners. His individual skills were on full display as he completely bamboozled the Cherries defence from the left wing.
Kevin de Bruyne (CAM)
De Bruyne was yet again sensational as City routed Bournemouth. The 25-year-old Belgian playmaker scored one, assisted another and created three goal scoring opportunities as he continues in the kind of form that makes him a strong contender for Player of the Season.
Manager Pep Guardiola commented after the game that De Bruyne was in the group of players second only to Messi — high praise for the Belgian, who seems to have taken his game to the next level under the Spaniard.
Theo Walcott (RW)
No it isn’t 2012, but Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has actually managed to have an impact on a game of football. The 27-year-old winger scored once and had an important part to play in two other goals as the Gunners won 4-1 against Hull City.
Walcott was even given the Man of the Match award for the game. Arsenal fans must be pinching themselves.
Troy Deeney (ST)
The Watford captain was the leader of the Hornets and chief tormentor of Manchester United on Sunday. Deeney was a constant attacking threat, partnering Odion Ighalo up front as Watford took the game to United.
The hardy Englishman was also in the face of the United players on a regular basis — his gamesmanship causing much frustration in the Red Devils’ ranks. It was only fitting that he scored a penalty in extra-time to help Watford to a historic 3-1 victory.