Premier League Match Day 14 TOTW-Alisson and Aubameyang shine in December

The Premier League proves yet again why it is the best league in the world, providing fans with excitement till the final whilst on a derby filled weekend.

Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool were the victors from the weekend’s derbies, but big wins for Cardiff and Crystal Palace ensured plenty of competition for places in my team of the week.

My TOTW for matchday 14

Goalkeeper-Alisson (Liverpool)

Horrendous goalkeeping from Jordan Pickford, allowed Divock Origi to take the 3 points for Liverpool in the 96th minute of an excellent derby game against Everton.

However, if it wasn’t for Alisson, The Blues would have left Anfield as victors after battling out a thrilling end to end spectacle.

He stopped Andre Gomez from getting his first goal in an Everton shirt, with a world class reaction save and then excellently ushered Theo Walcott away from goal to prevent Everton taking the lead.

At first, Alisson’s early performances in a Liverpool shirt had me questioning whether the £65 million fee was yet again money invested in another average goalkeeper-but he tried to keep Liverpool in the away leg to PSG on Wednesday night and certainly showed his class Sunday evening.

Liverpool now have 9 clean sheets and have only conceded 5 in 14 games-no wonder they are doing so well defensively with Alisson in the form he is. It’s just a question of whether Liverpool can maintain this solid defensive record.

Defenders-Cedric Soares (Southampton), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Arsenal) and Shane Duffy (Brighton)

Cedric Soares: A world class free-kick to beat a world class goalkeeper in David De Gea. The Portuguese had put Southampton in a brief comfortable position against Manchester United.

During the game, especially the opening 20 minutes, his defending looked solid-it’s just unfortunate for Southampton that his fellow team mate Jannik Vestergaard switched off, allowing Romelu Lukaku to end his goal drought.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: Apart from his clumsy challenge leading to Eric Dier’s goal from the freekick, Sokratis looked calm and assured at the back for Arsenal.

Despite the heat of the North London derby, the former Borussia Dortmund defender was cool under the pressure. He bossed Harry Kane around for large parts of the game and is settling very well into the Premier League.

One of many Arsenal players who, along with Unai Emery, are showing why Arsenal can challenge for the title…next season.

Shane Duffy: The Brighton centre back headered in the equaliser against Huddersfield just before half time at the John Smith Stadium.

Brighton looked threatening after Huddersfield striker Steve Mounie had been shown a red card for his challenge on Yves Bissouma, but it was Duffy who got them the much-needed goal for Chris Hughton’s side.

Duffy had been key in the air, preventing The Terriers from getting another goal by winning the most aerial battles in the match (11).

Midfielders- Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace), Lucas Torreira (Arsenal, Andre Gomez (Everton) and Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

Andros Townsend: Superb goal from the Palace winger against Burnley. It was reminiscing times when the Englishman was in form for Tottenham, cutting inside on his left and bending the ball into the top corner.

Shame he never hit the mark with Crystal Palace, after injuries caused him to become out of favour at Spurs. But, he looked threatening all afternoon and will be key for Palace if they are to stay up again this season.

Lucas Torreira: My second of three Arsenal players to make my team of the week, and arguably the most deservingly. The 22-year-old is clearly a key player in this Arsenal side.

Whether it’s doing the dirty work and tracking an opposing player down or pushing forward to bolster an already lethal attack, the Uruguayan wears his heart on his shirt and scored a terrific finish to solidify his man of the match performance against Tottenham.

At 22, and even as a Liverpool fan, I cannot wait to see this man flourish under Emery, who I am certain will guide him to fulfil his potential. So long as he has the occasional off day at Anfield…

Andre Gomez: One of two interesting choices for my team of the week, which may seem odd-however there’s logic behind the madness.

Watching the game, clearly you could tell Gomez had played with the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho because he was laying passes off and creating chances with such ease.

The second Portuguese international of my team, was also the second Portuguese international who was unlucky to get 3 points on the weekend. However, unlike Cedric Soares, Gomez somehow didn’t score from what looked like a certain goal.

The Portuguese had started the move off, but world class goal keeping prevented him from getting his first Premier League goal. He was the main outlet for Everton’s attacking play and looked dangerous all afternoon.

Marcus Rashford: He is my second controversial choice. Unlike players such as Felipe Anderson and James Maddison, Marcus Rashford did not score. But the young man was Manchester United’s bright spark who got them back into the game.

His desire and heart cost him to give the free kick away, allowing Soares the opportunity to score his free kick. But that same heart and desire ensured Manchester United to come away with something from their visit at the St Mary’s Stadium.

Excellent willingness throughout the game, and especially to allow his cross to meet Herrera who tapped in the second.

As Jose Mourinho said, “Marcus Rashford ran like a mad dog.”

Forwards- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal), Javier Hernandez (West Ham) and Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Aubameyang scored 2 goals and assisted Lucas Torreira’s first goal for the club.

The Arsenal centre forward has been clinical in front of goal whilst wearing an Arsenal shirt, as he currently has 22 goals in 30 appearances for the club.

I believe the 29-year-old will win the golden boot this year, because he is an out and out goal scorer who’s playing for an Arsenal team who are unbeaten in 19 games.

I’d say the same for Harry Kane, if it wasn’t for his Tottenham side being so on and off this season.

Javier Hernandez: Chicharito scored a brace away against Newcastle on Saturday, and despite being a surprise inclusion in The Hammers starting 11, Hernandez proved why West Ham have more than just Arnautovic and Anderson for goals.

Michail Antonio doesn’t have the same composure that the Mexican possesses, which was proven with his second of the game, slotting the ball past Martin Dúbravka who had yet another busy day in goal for Newcastle.

Raheem Sterling: The Englishman scored his 8th goal in 12 Premier League games for Manchester City this season, and recent performances are showing maturity he lacked a few seasons ago.

He scored a poacher’s goal against Bournemouth, but his overall performance was excellent.

Playing under one of the world’s greatest managers, Pep Guardiola, has done Raheem Sterling the world of good. He’s looked sharp in goal and the 23-year-old will be a key asset for City when the likes of David Silva have moved on.

I believe he will make the World XI sometime in the future.

Overview

The Premier League never disappoints. Who saw that Pickford mistake coming? Was that one of the best North London derbies ever? Unbelievable scenes across the league.

However, the December drama is only beginning with plenty of games to shake up the league table.

Manchester City will be playing 9 games across the whole month, so it will be interesting to see if they don’t slip up-because if they don’t, I believe the title is won. If they can’t make a mistake now, I cannot see how they will later on in the season.

Furthermore, the likes of Fulham and Southampton could use the large number of games to their advantage by stealing some points to edge them out of the relegation zone.

Apologies to Mark Hughes, it seems that whenever I make a post for my blog a manager is fired-can’t say it wasn’t coming though.