The Premier League served up two all-time classics on Matchday 21, with Manchester City scoring a late winner to down a spirited Arsenal before Chelsea produced a stunning first-half comeback to hold Liverpool to a pulsating 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.
There were plenty of outstanding performances across the league in the first round of matches in 2022, and here is our Man’s Life Team of the Week.
GK: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
Edouard Mendy produced five fantastic stops – including an extraordinary save diving to his right to deny Mohamed Salah from long-range – to help the Blues spoil the shares with Liverpool in a 2-2 draw.
RB: Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal)
Takehiro Tomiyasu clamped up one of Europe’s most in-form wingers – Raheem Sterling – in Arsenal’s encounter against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. Although the Gunners ended up on the losing side, the Japanese full-back played a big part in Arsenal’s first-half dominance and resilience in the second period with 10 men.
CB: Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham)
Davinson Sanchez rescued Tottenham Hotspur on their trip to Vicarage Road, scoring a 96th-minute winner to give Spurs all three points and help them close the gap to North London rivals Arsenal in the race for Top 4.
CB: Conor Coady (Wolves)
Conor Coady marshalled the Wolves’ defence excellently in their 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford and completely nullified the threat of Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani for the Red Devils.
LB: Stuart Dallas (Leeds United)
Stuart Dallas scored his first Premier League goal of the season with an excellent curled effort from outside the box to give Marcelo Bielsa’s side a much-needed victory in their race for survival.
CM: Thomas Partey (Arsenal)
Thomas Partey produced his best performance in an Arsenal shirt in the Gunners’ 2-1 loss to Manchester City on New Years’ Day, dominating the midfield battle against Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne. Partey won nearly every duel in the middle of the park, helping Arsenal sustain attacks, before expertly screening the defence after the sending off of Gabriel.
CM: Joao Moutinho (Wolves)
The Portuguese star was the best player on the pitch against Manchester United, controlling the tempo of the game from midfield and scoring the winner in the 82nd minute with a superb strike from outside the box.
CM: Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea)
Mateo Kovacic scored one of the goals of the season to spark Chelsea’s spirited comeback against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. While peddling backwards, the Croatian midfielder struck an immaculate volley through a crowd of players into the top corner.
RW: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Bukayo Saka ran circles around Manchester City left-back Nathan Ake for the majority of the 90 minutes at the Emirates and the Arsenal youngster capped off his excellent performance against the league-leaders with a well-deserved goal in the first half, his 4th in the last three games.
ST: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah terrorized his former club at Stamford Bridge, reaffirming his best in the world status with a stunning feint to create separation from Marcos Alonso before rifling a shot past Edouard Mendy at the near-post to double Liverpool’s lead.
LW: Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton)
Alexis Mac Allister starred in Brighton’s much-needed victory over Everton, scoring the first brace of his Premier League career to lift the Seagulls into the top half of the table.
Manager of the week: Bruno Lage (Wolves)
Bruno Lage produced a tactical masterclass over Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United to help Wolves register a 1-0 win over the Red Devils, the team’s first win away at Old Trafford in over 40 years.
Shivaan Shah