Amidst all the chaos and postponements in the English Premier League caused by injuries and Covid, there was still plenty of drama and action on Matchday 22. Manchester City edged out Chelsea in the top of the table clash at the Etihad, Norwich City won their 3rd game of the season while Manchester United stumbled again in the race for top four against Aston Villa.
There were some outstanding individual performances across matchday 22 and here is our Man’s Life Premier League Team of the Week.
GK: Jack Butland (Crystal Palace)
Jack Butland came to Crystal Palace’s rescue on Friday night against Brighton, saving Pascal Gross’ penalty to help the Eagles come away from the south coast with a precious point.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered his 10th assist of the Premier League season against Brentford on Sunday, and the right-back played a central role in Liverpool’s offence in the absence of Mane and Salah, creating four chances and taking four shots on goal.
CB: Luke Ayling (Leeds United)
Although Luke Ayling had some tricky moments in defence on the right side of the back three, the Englishman made a telling contribution in both of Leeds United’s first-half goals.
CB: Conor Coady (Wolves)
The Wolves captain marshalled his defence superbly throughout the 90 minutes before scoring a deserved goal in the second-half from a corner to give Bruno Lage’s side some comfort.
LB: Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
Joao Cancelo registered his 5th Premier League assist of the season against Chelsea at the weekend, and the Portuguese full-back delivered some brilliant line-breaking passes in the first half to help Manchester City break down the Chelsea deep block.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Kevin De Bruyne haunted his former side in the top of the table clash at the Etihad, scoring the only goal of the game to help Manchester City extend their winning run in the Premier League to 12 points and take an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
CM: Fabinho (Liverpool)
Fabinho opened the scoring for Liverpool against Brentford with a neatly placed header from a corner, and the Brazilian midfielder ran the game from the base of midfield, completing 91% of his 75 passes and winning eight of his 11 duels.
CM: Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa)
20-year-old Jacob Ramsey enjoyed a stellar performance against Manchester United at Villa Park, adding plenty of dynamism and energy from midfield while also registering a goal and assist to help Steven Gerrard’s side overcome a 2-0 deficit in the final 15 minutes.
RW: Philippe Coutinho (Aston Villa)
Philippe Coutinho changed the game for Aston Villa after coming off the bench for his debut against Manchester United. The Barcelona loanee created Villa’s first goal with a driving run into the penalty area before scoring the equaliser in the final ten minutes with a simple tap-in past David de Gea.
ST: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
After scoring only one Premier League goal in his past 14 appearances, Bruno Fernandes finally got back on the scoresheet for Manchester United against Aston Villa with a brace. Although the Portuguese benefitted from some good fortune with his first goal, Fernandes doubled United’s lead in the second half with a superb strike that went in off the crossbar.
LW: Jack Harrison (Leeds United)
Jack Harrison scored an outstanding hat-trick in a rollercoaster 3-2 encounter at the London Stadium against West Ham to give Leeds United a much-needed three points in their race for survival.
Manager of the week: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City extended their winning streak in the Premier League to 12 games as the Cityzens dispatched of their nearest title rivals Chelsea in comfortable fashion at the Etihad, dominating the game through their control of the ball and taking revenge for their defeat in last year’s Champions League final.
Shivaan Shah