Garth Crooks' Team of the Week: Van Dijk, Fernandes, Odegaard, Sterling, Haaland

2 years ago 19
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Garth Crooks

After every Premier League weekend, BBC football pundit Garth Crooks will be on hand to give you his Team of the Week.

But who has he picked this time? Take a look and then pick your own team below. And, as ever, Garth will have his say on the game's big talking points in The Crooks of the Matter.

Garth Crooks' team of the weekGoalkeeper

Edouard Mendy (Chelsea): What a difference a week makes. Against Leeds, Edouard Mendy had what I could only describe as a shocker. Six days later, he makes two saves that deny Leicester, with 11 men, from sharing the points with a Chelsea team who were down to 10. The save from Ayoze Perez was absolutely brilliant and would have gone in had it not been for the Senegal goalkeeper's fingertip save to push the ball on to the bar.

Some managers would have left Mendy out after his performance against Leeds but not Thomas Tuchel. He clearly has a lot of faith in the 30-year-old.

Defenders

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool): Nine goals in one afternoon against any team is enough to make their players think seriously about whether they are good enough for that league. Granted, Bournemouth were playing Liverpool, who had won the Premier League title and the Champions League in recent years but that won't ease their pain.

Of the nine goals scored against the Cherries, the one rifled in from 25 yards by Trent Alexander-Arnold was far and away the best. Liverpool looked a happy team again after this victory but they are not the team they were in 2020 and they know it. That must be a cause for concern.

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool): I thought he handled himself extremely professionally under enormous provocation from team-mate James Milner at Old Trafford last week.

I'm not saying Milner didn't have his reasons for berating Van Dijk for Manchester United's first goal, but there are better ways of doing it.

However, Van Dijk and Liverpool seem to have put that performance very much behind them and took Bournemouth apart as a consequence. As for Scotty Parker and his team, this defeat will take some getting over.  

Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United): Let's not kid ourselves, six points in a week is a big deal for any team - never mind one as vilified for their start to their season as Manchester United.

Martinez makes my selection for the second time in a week after a performance against Southampton that was totally authoritative.

The Argentine centre-back seemed to take total responsibility against the Saints, allowing the rest of the back four to get on with their jobs.

Raphael Varane was good but Martinez was better. I have no idea where that leaves Harry Maguire.  

Midfielders

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United): Crisis, what crisis? By the time Fernandes had finished his post-match interview, no-one seemed remotely concerned about the so-called crisis facing United after their defeats by Brighton and Brentford.

The Portugal international was perfectly entitled to express his delight in front of the cameras after securing all three points at Southampton via one of his classic finishes.

The Manchester United team captain said these were the standards the club had to maintain. He's right of course - the question is: Can they?

Martin Odegaard (Arsenal): The headline after Saturday's win was 'How Arteta is turning Arsenal into contenders'. My only problem with that statement is I didn't like the way the Arsenal manager went about it against Fulham.

With the final seconds ticking away, and the visitors chasing an equaliser, I was hopping with fury to see Mikel Arteta watch the ball roll off the pitch into the technical area, pick it up and then throw it away as the Fulham player was racing to get it back into play.

Managers should never touch the ball unless they intend to hand it back to the player. Bertie Mee or Arsene Wenger would never have behaved in such a manner - and they have won titles.

As for Odegaard, it was another fine display by the Arsenal captain.

Bernardo Silva (Manchester City): Here is another player who is in great form again. Silva was outstanding against Newcastle last week and at the heart of a brilliant comeback against Crystal Palace.

Manchester City reportedly turned down a recent bid for Silva from Paris St-Germain and we can see why. The Portugal international is running things at the moment. Should anything happen to Kevin de Bruyne or Ilkay Gundogan, then Silva is the only one capable of holding the fort in their absence.

In the meantime, he's more than holding his own in that company. Arsenal might be top of the table and talking titles, but City are still the team to beat.

Roberto Firmino (Liverpool): My colleagues on Final Score, Messrs Ashley Williams and Dion Dublin, made it very clear Liverpool were rampant against Bournemouth, but in all honesty did anyone expect anything different?

The Cherries took a ferocious 9-0 beating at Anfield partly because of the humiliating defeat Liverpool received at Old Trafford. It provided a convincing signal that the cracks that appeared against Manchester United were merely superficial.

By the way, Firmino was quite outstanding against a Bournemouth side totally out of their depth.

Forwards

Luis Diaz (Liverpool): His first headed goal was absolutely superb and the second just as good. Against Bournemouth, Diaz wasn't only finding the net; he also looked an integral part of the production on the Anfield stage.

For the first time I got the impression the Colombian might fill the vacuum left by Sadio Mane's departure.

Liverpool's crushing defeat of Bournemouth doesn't tell us a great deal more about them and how well equipped they are to challenge Manchester City for the title. I will explain why in the Crooks of the Matter below.

Raheem Sterling (Chelsea): I thought Sterling was starting to lose the fizz he had gained having escaped Pep Guardiola's straitjacket.

His performances since he left Manchester City have been bright and bubbly but against Leeds he wasn't great - and in danger of starting to raise questions about the lack of impact he was having on his new team.

However, I needn't have worried. Sterling got Chelsea out of jail having gone down to 10 men against a Leicester side who have their own fair share of problems.

Meanwhile, Conor Gallagher was brought off against Leeds and sent off against Leicester. I can't imagine what he has lined up for us next week.

Erling Haaland (Manchester City): Well, it might have been Haaland's first hat-trick for City but, as sure as night follows day, it will not be his last.

Anyone who can finish like that, barring injury, is in for a hatful of goals. It's most revealing when fans of other teams start telling you how good they think a player is.

A Wolves fan told me he thought Haaland was a "beast" and a Manchester United supporter called him the "real deal" which, when roughly translated, means they think the lad is unplayable.

Having watched him destroy a troublesome Crystal Palace, who for a moment thought they were in with a chance of winning the game, they might have a point.

The Crooks of the matter

The thrills and spills of the Premier League continued last Monday at Old Trafford as Manchester United put aside their shocking start to the season with a display that must have mesmerised even the most ardent hater of the Glazer family.

It never ceases to amaze me how the yellow and green scarves suddenly seem to appear every time United have a slump, as if the Glazers were responsible for selecting the line-up and giving the half-time team talk.

Of course, this doesn't completely absolve the owners of any responsibility for what is happening at Old Trafford at the moment, but they can't be responsible for disastrous performances, yet have absolutely nothing to do with the successes when they occur.

Liverpool, meanwhile, found themselves positioned below United in the Premier League by the end of evening - the impact of which seemed to reverberate right through their entire team.

I sat with my mouth ajar as I watched Milner confront Van Dijk which, had it not been for the composure of the Dutch defender, might have got out of hand. This was later compounded by Jordan Henderson publicly berating Mohamed Salah in a way I had never seen before after Manchester United's second goal.

When such frustration boils over, out of the dressing room and on to the pitch, it's a sure sign that all is not well - but it can also be the hallmark of a great team trying to heal themselves.

Exactly where Liverpool are at the moment is difficult to tell - but we certainly will know by the end of the season.

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