At the end of every round of fixtures, BBC football pundit Garth Crooks is on hand to give you his Team of the Week.
Who has he picked this time? Take a look and then pick your own team below and share it on social media. As ever, Garth also has his say on the game’s big talking points in the Crooks of the Matter.
Jordan Pickford (Everton): It’s very rare I select a goalkeeper in my team who concedes two goals in one game. It is even more unusual when the goalkeeper should have saved Leicester City’s first goal scored by Caglar Soyuncu. However, Jordan Pickford’s penalty save may have enormous consequences in Everton’s fight for survival. Had Leicester gone 3-1 up it would almost certainly have put the game beyond Everton but Pickford outsmarted his England team-mate James Maddison, by standing and refusing to dive to his left or right. It was a brave decision but one that was made after the England keeper had studied Maddison’s penalty routines and noticed that the majority of his spot-kicks went straight down the middle. Everton now have four games left to play and they must pick up a minimum of seven points to stand any chance of survival, and their run-in is horrendous.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool): It’s a poor team that needs to go two goals down before they start playing. In Tottenham’s case it could take as many as three or four and by that time the game is almost certainly over. That was the case against Liverpool. Everyone was talking about what a great game it was and how well Spurs did to equalise but the fact of the matter is they lost and in a manner that is fast becoming known as’ Spursy’. Trent Alexander-Arnold who was outstanding against West Ham in midweek, was the architect of Tottenham’s downfall in another first half blitz that saw Spurs 3-0 down and some of their fans looking for the exit door after just fifteen minutes. If the Tottenham board are to be taken seriously then they must give the fans what they want and the players what they need. Their next managerial appointment must be Mauricio Pochettino who should have been appointed the moment Antonio Conte walked out the door. Should Pochettino be allowed to join London rivals Chelsea, who are in a considerably worse position than Spurs, it would be a nothing short of a dereliction of duty by Tottenham’s executives.
Lewis Dunk (Brighton): What a player Lewis Dunk has proved to be for Brighton & Hove Albion. I said just after Brighton achieved promotion into the Premier League that this was a top-four player in the making. Well he hasn’t reached those dizzy heights but European football has become a distinct possibility, with seventh place bringing a Europa Conference League place this season. The Seagulls are two points behind Aston Villa and Spurs, who occupy seventh and sixth respectively, with three games in hand. What owner Tony Bloom has achieved at the club supported by their chief executive, Paul Barber, and now manager Roberto de Zerbi is nothing short of miraculous. Their signings have been outstanding and the football they are churning out at the Amex Stadium is off the charts and Dunk has survived it all. The defender’s performance in the 6-0 win against Wolves was pretty standard but that was because the opposition were so dire. However he’s made my team selection due to his general attitude and professionalism. He seldom misses a game and leaves everything on the pitch. A top professional playing for an extremely well-run club.
Victor Lindelof (Manchester United): For the second consecutive week I find myself compelled to select Victor Lindelof for my team. The Manchester United defender is finishing the season in such sparkling form it’s impossible to leave him out. Last week he scored the decisive penalty to give United a place in the FA Cup final. Meanwhile, against a very dangerous Aston Villa, he produced a glorious headed intervention that denied Ollie Watkins a certain goal followed by a superb block on a Jacob Ramsey shot destined for the back of the net. However it was his header off the line from a Douglas Luiz piledriver that won the game for United – it was simply immense. When those who have never played the game contemplate why heading a ball should play no further part in the game they might have a think, while they are at it, about what Lindelof might have done as an alternative? I think it’s a perfectly reasonable question.
Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace): Palace’s 4-3 win over West Ham was a game full of goals and littered with errors including a penalty that wouldn’t have been given a few seasons ago. What I don’t understand is why officials are awarding soft penalties at all. It’s not that long ago you had to be assaulted in the opposition’s penalty area to get a spot-kick but not any more. Almost any contact in the box these days and everyone is crying penalty. Eberechi Eze went down has though he’d been hit by a truck but that is not the point – the referee fell for Eze’s fall. Meanwhile Wilfried Zaha is complaining about been brought off when his performance against a dismal West Ham defence was average at best, and Jordan Ayew takes his shirt off during his goal celebration knowing the action would get him a caution. Why do players do that and what is the point of it? What is going on at Crystal Palace? Since their impressive victories away at Leeds and Southampton we are seeing signs of drama all over the place. Fortunately the creativeness of Eze and the quality of Michael Olise saved the day for the Eagles against the Hammers but there is a sudden spate of amateur dramatics at the Palace and it’s a cause for concern.
Pascal Gross (Brighton): This player will not score two better goals in one game in his life. Pascal Gross was in blistering form against Wolves. What probably signals the progress Brighton have made over the years is their ability to make five changes to their starting line-up out of choice. Amongst those rested for the game against Wolves were Alexis Mac Allister, Kaoru Mitoma and Moises Caicedo all of whom may find themselves subject to a great deal of interest from bigger clubs in the summer. However I’m not entirely sure that will bother the Seagulls with Deniz Undav, Julio Enciso, Billy Gilmour and Gross in the side. This is an exciting Brighton team no longer looking to survive but to thrive in the Premier League.
Jefferson Lerma (Bournemouth): His first goal was an absolute peach and his second sealed the points for Bournemouth against Leeds and secured another season in the Premier League. Jefferson Lerma has seen the Cherries through some difficult seasons at the Vitality Stadium but, since the arrival of manager Gary O’Neil, life has become considerably easier and 39 points on the board with four games to play makes the case. The Colombia international looked as imposing as I have seen him under the new managerial regime and Bournemouth seem to have found another Eddie Howe in manager O’Neil. Leeds however look like a kite in the wind. How I miss the days of Marcelo Bielsa and his Leeds teams running the opposition ragged. It was great while it asted but it looks like the party’s over.
Martin Odegaard (Arsenal): If Tottenham’s performance against Newcastle ranks as one of the worst 45 minutes in Premier League football then Chelsea’s display away at Arsenal must come a close second. Martin Odegaard had enough time to write his name on the ball before sticking it in the back of the net for his first goal and his second finish only served to highlight Chelsea’s defensive frailties. Arsenal meanwhile are back on their title trek after a torrid few games but Chelsea did very little to test their metal. Chelsea are a mess with players in desperate need of leadership. If things don’t change at Stamford Bridge then the warning Thiago Silva gave the owner after their defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League, that things will only get worse, will come to pass.
Julian Alvarez (Manchester City): It was nothing like their performance in midweek against Arsenal but it was enough to take them to the top of the table on Sunday night. Manchester City dispatched Fulham at Craven Cottage but they had to work for their victory. In the end it took a moment of individual magic by Julian Alvarez to win the three points. No Kevin de Bruyne in midfield or Nathan Ake in their defence but that didn’t seem to make a shred of difference. City popped the ball around with their usual flamboyance and left Julian Alvarez to supply the finishing touch to another victory away from home. The Argentina international might not be an automatic selection in the City side but whenever he is called upon by Pep Guardiola he never lets him down.
Callum Wilson (Newcastle): It would appear that the enforced rest by Eddie Howe on his England striker has done him the world of good. Callum Wilson’s World Cup excursion seemed to take its toll on the player as his form dipped on his return to league football. Fortunately for Newcastle Alexander Isak has filled in brilliantly for Newcastle as Wilson slowly came back to form. Wilson has now regained his sharpness and looks a real threat in front of goal again, scoring twice in the win over Southampton. As for Saints, they have some rebuilding to do. They have produced some wonderful players over the years but failed to retain them. The Saints under the great Lawrie McMenemy brought exceptional players such as Alan Ball, Mick Channon (for his second spell) and Kevin Keegan into the club to help guide and cajole younger players who could learn from them. More recently it was the likes of Adam Lallana, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk who took that responsibility. Southampton only have James Ward-Prowse now and that’s not enough. Their youngsters have stopped learning. That’s why they are going down.
Deniz Undav (Brighton): This can’t go on. You score a goal and the celebrations are brought to a halt while the video assistant referee makes a decision. Then a cheer goes up once the goal has been allowed. Is that the game now in the modern era? I suppose we should be grateful VAR found nothing wrong and allowed the goal – Denis Undav was. The German did eventually celebrate his first goal in Premier League football and it wasn’t long before he was doing the same with his second of the match. Only this time there was no delay caused by VAR interference and the finish was absolutely exquisite. I can only applaud the way Brighton have recovered from their defeat against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final and Nottingham Forest in the league. Both defeats would have bitterly hurt but they destroyed a Wolves side that didn’t just look like a team with flip-flops on and their minds on the beach, but with towels and sun cream under their arms as well.
The Crooks of the Matter
I’m not a fan of managers criticising other managers. I have always felt that it is the role of the boss to set the tone before a match, the behaviour of all concerned during the match, and bring closure to the fixture with a handshake at the end of the match.
We know emotions can run high during any fixture but not to the extent where managers are squaring up to each other like errant schoolboys, one manager telling the other what he should or not be doing or saying.
That’s why I took exception to Jurgen Klopp’s rebuke of Ryan Mason when the Tottenham caretaker manager made the point in his post-match interview that Jota’s “reckless” attempt to win the ball with his foot when the ball was head high was, in his opinion, a sending-off offence.
Jota was lucky to remain on the pitch regardless of the player’s intentions but for Klopp to suggest Mason has “other things to worry about” was not just stating the obvious but about as ungracious as it gets.
For a man of Klopp’s stature to publicly admonish a rookie coach who has been brought in as caretaker on his club’s request, to take charge of their team selection away at Liverpool, done what can only be described as a sterling job under extraordinary circumstances and then isn’t allowed to give his opinion on a decision that turned the match is really a poor show by the Liverpool manager.
Mason should never have been put in that position in the first place by his employers but having done so he deserved a better reception from a distinguished manager like Klopp, as a young coach still finding his way in the game. Poor show.
Pick your XI from our list and share with your friends.
