It was another week of fascinating Premier League action as we come to the business end of the season. Chelsea got back to winning ways against Crystal Palace, Manchester United continued their tradition of being the comeback kings and 10-man Leeds United stunned the league leaders Manchester City in the ultimate smash and grab victory at the Etihad. There were some outstanding goals and stunning displays on show in Matchday 31 and here is our Premier League Team of the Week.
GK: Sam Johnstone (West Brom)
West Brom registered their 2nd consecutive victory in the Premier League in their bid for survival and Sam Johnstone had another outstanding display against the Saints. The Englishman made 4 saves including a penalty from James Ward Prowse to keep his 6th clean-sheet of the season.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold made amends for his shocking performance in Europe against Real Madrid in mid-week with a fantastic 90th-minute winner against Aston Villa. The right back curled the ball from the edge of the box through a crowd of players straight into the bottom corner to give Liverpool a crucial three points.
CB: Kurt Zouma (Chelsea)
Kurt Zouma and Chelsea had little defending to do against Crystal Palace but the Frenchman was imperious in the air throughout the 90 minutes and capped off his performance with a thumping headed goal – his 5th of the season.
CB: Diego Llorente (Leeds United)
The 10 men of Leeds had plenty of defending to do against Manchester City and Llorente was up to the task. The former Real Sociedad player made 6 interceptions and blocked 5 shots as Leeds defended admirably against the constant wave of City attacks.
LB: Luke Shaw (Manchester United)
Luke Shaw continues to impress in a Manchester United shirt as he put in another 7/10 display against Tottenham at the weekend. Shaw was solid as ever defensively and created 2 chances and completed 3 dribbles to help United pick up all 3 points against their former manager, Jose Mourinho.
CM: Stuart Dallas (Leeds United)
The performance of the weekend goes to Stuart Dallas of Leeds United. Dallas never stopped running across the 90 minutes and was clinical as ever in front of goal to score both goals for the 10-men of Leeds as they beat league leaders Manchester City 2-1 in their own backyard.
CM: Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Paul Pogba played further up the pitch against Tottenham at the weekend but put in one of his best performances of the season. The Frenchman produced a delightful piece of skill to release Mason Greenwood for United’s third goal and produced an all-action display in the second half as United produced another comeback victory.
RW: Jesse Lingard (West Ham United)
Jesse Lingard is the man in form in the Premier League at the moment and he scored another brace at the weekend against Leicester City to mark 3 consecutive appearances in our Team of the Week.
LW: Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle United)
Allan Saint-Maximin produced an instant impact for Newcastle United off the bench against Burnley and carried them to a crucial victory as they look to stay in the Premier League. The winger first provided the assist for Jacob Murphy’s equaliser before scoring the winner with a wonderful solo run.
ST: Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City)
Kelechi Iheanacho can’t stop scoring at the moment for Leicester City and added another brace against West Ham United at the weekend with a couple of instinctive finishes which almost helped the Foxes produce a stunning comeback.
ST: Kai Havertz (Chelsea)
Kai Havertz has finally found his position at Chelsea in the number 9 position and produced his best performance in a Chelsea shirt against Crystal Palace. The German wunderkind opened the scoring with a wonderful curled strike and could have had a hat-trick with some better finishing.
Manager of the week: Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds United)
Marcelo Bielsa finally got his statement victory of the Premier League season as his Leeds United side produced a famous victory against the best team in Europe in Manchester City. Bielsa crucially adjusted his tactics in the second half as Leeds went down to 10 men and instructed his players to not press Manchester City’s centre-halves and instead cut off any passing options which proved to be a crucial switch that won them the game.
Shivaan Shah