September 20, (THEWILL) – Matchday five of the English Premier League continued earnestly over the past weekend across 10 home grounds serving up no less than 24 goals, with 3-0 being the largest goal margin across all the matches played.
At the end of the schedule of games for week five, Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United all maintained their unbeaten status with victories to remain level at the top of the table on 13 points each.
However Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City dropped points to slip down that class after their drab goalless draw at the Etihad against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton, revealing deep problems with the scoring consistency of the defending champions once again.
For the former table toppers with the only 100% record previously, Tottenham Hotspur, it was a weekend to forget as they mourned the passing of English and Spurs goal-scoring legend Jimmy Greaves without scoring in a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea.
These exciting fixtures and the others were marked by standout performances and eye-catching displays that all came together to help their managers and teams edge out the opposition while creating slots for these individual players in the Premier League Team of the Week for matchweek five.
Here are those that made it into the Team:
David De Gea
When the Old Trafford side needed a hero, De Gea stepped up to claim that title by saving a last-minute penalty to secure the win for the Red Devils at West Ham on Sunday. Mark Noble, fresh off the substitutes bench, stepped up to try and equalise for the Irons after Luke Shaw had handled the ball in the area but was stopped by De Gea.
He may have failed to save his last 40 spot-kicks, with his last save dating as far back as April 2016, but the Spaniard rolled back the years and helped erase the nightmare of the Europa League final by guessing right, which resulted in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer running onto the pitch in excitement.
Matty Cash
Cash scored his first goal for Aston Villa and thanks to the three goals they scored in nine second-half minutes, Villa cruised to victory over Everton on Saturday evening.
The cracker the winger scored, after kicking off a slew of strikers, came from Cash driving into the box and producing an unstoppable effort from his weaker left foot that was beyond Asmir Begovic. Cash completed the most dribbles in a match that was preluded by talks of the 24-year-old considering a switch of international allegiance from England to Poland.
Thiago Silva
Chelsea’s veteran centre back, Silva, who is at the other end of his career, produced a vintage, man of the match performance at Tottenham, and marshalled the Blues’ back line responsibly before going forward to score a thumping header that broke the deadlock.
It was a game where Thiago showed why he is still one of the world’s most trusty defenders, even helping weather the early storm that Thomas Tuchel and the rest of the team endured at their rival city side. And, the fans appreciated this with the lavish praise he received.
Kristoffer Ajer
Brentford continued to produce upsets and this weekend provided another big shock at Molineux, where they beat Wolves 2-0, with the shock being in the convincing fashion of the defeat which saw Ajer, who signed for Celtic during the summer transfer window, play an imperious game for the Bees.
The upsetting fact of the Premiership new boys played the final half hour of the match with only 10 men. Ajer’s tackle on Hwang Hee-chan in the closing stages could well have prevented a collapse from Thomas Frank’s men as they recorded their second win of the season comfortably.
James Milner
Milner stepped in for Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, who dropped out at the last-minute on Saturday morning. Nicknamed “Mr Reliable”, Milner helped Liverpool defeat Crystal Palace 3-0 at Anfield.
Although he was tipped to struggle against the pressing of Wilfried Zaha pre-match, Milner was his assured self and stood out in a game where the strikers won the media attention. The veteran’s game-high 10 duels stood him out as well as completing 62 passes, which was more than any other player.
Martin Odegaard
For the second straight weekend, Arsenal won by a 1-0 score and at Lancashire on Saturday, they had Odegaard’s scrumptious free-kick to thank for it. The brilliant strike was the difference and the Norway international was the bright spark with his two chances created and two key passes in the final third.
The 22-year-old midfielder was stuck alongside Arsenal’s box-to-box playmaker Thomas Partey in a deeper role by Mikel Arteta and the decision paid off as the Gunners climbed to 13th in the table after their worst ever start to an EPL season.
Douglas Luiz
A second Villa player in the list showed how much they operated as a cohesive unit against Rafa Benitez’s Everton at Villa Park. Luiz’s dominant display in the middle of the pitch was a standout showing. His man of the match award came not just from assisting Cash’s opener, but from how the 23-year-old contributed in both an attacking and defensive sense as he held his side together.
Luiz juggled creating a whopping six chances and two dribbles with three successful tackles, which were unmatched by any player in the contest. Everton clearly struggled to contain the former Manchester City man, fouling him on four occasions as they tried in vain to stop his powerhouse performance on the day.
Jesse Lingard
Aftera horrendous error that led to United’s loss against Young Boys in the UCL opener, Lingard, on an a substitute, redeemed himself in his return to the London Stadium to pick up the form he showed on loan at West Ham in the second half of last term. Along with de Gea’s penalty stop, Lingard’s 89th-minute goal won it for United.
As usual, Cristiano Ronaldo had the bulk of the chances for the Red Devils and was denied penalty decisions, but Lingard was the man who eventually grabbed the decisive goal 16 minutes after entering the fray to the jubilation of the United side of the fans in the stands.
Ismaila Sarr
Nigeria’s Emmanuel Dennis and teammate Sarr gave Watford the win over Norwich City at Carrow Road but it was Sarr’s two goals, five dribbles and nearly one sensational assist, that was the highlight of the fixture. Watford’s Imperial Senegalese winger wreaked havoc at Norwich to see them end a streak of three successive losses after an opening day win.
Sarr’s first goal showed a predatory instinct in the penalty area. The second illustrated more of a poacher’s strike as the ever loyal striker netted the rebound from a save of Joshua King’s shot by Tim Krul, the Norwich keeper. Only a miss from Dennis of Sarr’s teasing second-half cross that outfoxed the entire Canaries back line, denied the Senegalese a third goal contribution.
Ivan Toney
Toney may have been unfortunate not to have three goals from how much he deserved after turning in an admirable performance for Brentford against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium, but their 2-0 victory away from home was enough to mark their trip to the midlands on Saturday.
His only goal was a neat penalty that the 25-year-old buried in the 28th minute. That was sandwiched by two disallowed goals for offside. Yet, Toney still set up co-striker Bryan Mbeumo to double the team’s tally six minutes after. He is proving that Brentford can indeed survive their Premier League stay.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
