Every gameweek seems to be filled with more excitement than the last. Brentford showed their game faces dominating Wolves on enemy territory, Southampton pulled off the upset to steal a point at the Etihad, and Leon Bailey pulled all the headlines on Saturday for Villa. Only for Sunday to come around with Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard and David De Gea to the rescue, and Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea showing their intent for the English Premier League.
Goalkeeper – David De Gea
The Manchester United hero gets the nod in the goalkeeping department for this week’s selections. After a tough day at the office in a midweek fixture, Manchester United’s number one had something to prove at the West Ham. A great account of himself throughout the game was not enough, but what happened in stoppage time made the difference. West Ham sub – Mark Noble, with his first touch of the ball, stepped up and had his penalty brilliantly save by David De Gea securing United’s victory and all three points.
Defender – Marcos Alonso
A man on a mission down the left flank, Marcos Alonso has fit perfectly into Thomas Tuchel’s plans. When he attacks, he commits to it whole heartedly and did so on numerous occasions against Tottenham finding himself in the penalty area receiving crosses and threatening shots. An assist in the game is the least he deserved, and wonderfully found Thiago Silva to give Chelsea their opening goal on Sunday.
Defender – Thiago Silva
The 37-year-old Thiago Silva never ceases to amaze me. When you think of composure, experience, and passion in a centre-back the Brazilian fits the mould. He led by example on the field, shutting down Son forcing a switch in position with Harry Kane and still to no avail. And after doing his defensive duties quite meticulously, he decided to pounce on the scoresheet with a well-placed header to open the Blue’s scoring.
Defender – Jan Bednarek
Not many teams keep clean sheets against Manchester City nowadays, but with the determination and grit of Southampton’s Jan Bednarek the job got done. The Polish centre-back took everything City could throw at him, and he put his body on the line in some last-ditch blocks. A point for Southampton at the Etihad is a great accomplishment for the Saints, and many thanks should go to Jan.
Defender – Matty Cash
Of all the on-field passion showed in the EPL this week Aston Villa brought the desire, and of the Villa lot Matty Cash steals the show. He scored an unbelievable first goal for Villans which he was in shock over and was key in keeping the team’s second clean sheet of the season also stopping Everton’s unbeaten start to the league.
Midfielder – Oriol Romeu
The shocker of the weekend is obviously the 0-0 draw at the Etihad, and like his defending teammates keeping a clean sheet it takes even more in my opinion to deal with the midfield of Manchester City. Oriol Romeo’s strong physical presence did the trick with composure on the ball and control of his players around him it was something we haven’t seen a ‘smaller’ team do in ages against City, restricting the defending champions to just one shot on target in the fixture.
Midfielder – N’Golo Kante
The player we all know and love, N’Golo Kante came off the bench to heavily influence the 0-3 win over Tottenham. After an energetic first half showing from Spurs, Tuchel injected the fuel or rather the player needed to liven up Chelsea as he stated in a post-match interview. His energy in the midfield was unmatched and his goal was just as deserved.
Midfielder – Naby Keita
A 62nd minute substitution to replace Thiago saw Naby Keita take the field and take it in style. A left footed volley from outside the box into the top right corner sealed the deal for Liverpool, and the man who needed it most the Guinean getting it done.
Forward – Ismaila Sarr
The type of man-of-the-match performance he will need to produce a few more times for Watford this season, Ismaila Sarr took all the shine in the 1-3 win over Norwich. Scoring two very important goals for Watford was too perfect, and the constant threat from the player was evident in the way Norwich responded when he was on the ball.
Forward – Leon Bailey
The English winger is coming for that number one spot! Leon Bailey has put together yet another great performance but needs to stay on the field for a full 90. He did do more than enough to join the best of the best for gameweek six with a direct influence in Everton’s own goal and scoring an absolute howler and in his own words, “It was just a perfect night.”
Forward – Ivan Toney
The Championship’s golden boot winner, Ivan Toney, gets the pick upfront. After expecting goals upon goals from the forward I have been exponentially surprised in his off the ball work and he proved that in a great showing over Wolves. His physicality came through in this fixture as well bullying the opposition defence and set up a goal and scored one from the spot.
Written by Joshua Gaillard