[ad_1]
Manchester City remain one point ahead of the standings with two games to play after a close 1-0 victory at Burnley, while Liverpool remain in the hunt after a 5-0 loss by Huddersfield.
Neither side between the third and sixth win – Tottenham was beaten 1-0 at home by West Ham and Arsenal lost 3-0 to Leicester. Manchester United and Chelsea drew 1-1.
The Wolves rank among the top seven after winning 2-1 at Watford and Southampton's ensured security after a 3-3 thriller with Bournemouth.
Bottom, Brighton scored a crucial point in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle, while Cardiff sank 1-0 against Fulham relegated. Everton drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace.
This is my team of the week – read it and choose yours below.
Goalkeeper – Sergio Rico (Fulham)
I would never have thought that Fulham 's goalkeeper, who had the league' s worst defensive record, would enter the team 's week, but he did.
Rico's decisions put a noose around Cardiff City's neck. Fulham won for the third consecutive game under Scott Parker, and although that may give him the vacant manager position at Craven Cottage, this will not save the relegation team.
Thanks to Rico, Cardiff now has to beat Crystal Palace at home and Manchester United on the outside for a chance to survive. Good luck with that.
Did you know? Rico made eight saves in the second half against Cardiff.
Defenders – Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Issa Diop (West Ham), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold: Alexander-Arnold's ball for Mohamed Salah to score his 68th goal for Liverpool must have brought a warm glow to Chris Lawler and Phil Neal.
The two former players sat in the gallery and watched the demolition of Huddersfield Town. The two legends of Liverpool would have appreciated the quality of the young player's pbad.
That said, Lawler was an excellent finisher and Neal an excellent defender. Alexander-Arnold needs to dust off these old VHS videos and give them a watch – he can still learn a thing or two of these two old defenders.
Did you know? In addition to providing a decisive pbad for Salah's first goal, no Liverpool player has managed more tackles against Huddersfield than Alexander-Arnold.
Issa Diop: I saw this boy playing brilliantly at Everton earlier in the season and I knew then that Diop could defend himself. What I saw at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a defender who not only took responsibility at key moments, but who also beautifully read the match.
I also thought that Ryan Fredericks was impressive against his old club and that leads me to my central point. If West Ham tackled every game like he was playing against Tottenham Hotspur, he would win the Premier League title. What about these London clubs? Why do they hate Tottenham so much?
Did you know? Diop made more clearances (8), interceptions (6) and blocks (3) than any other West Ham player in his 1-0 win over Tottenham.
Virgil van Dijk: Did you see Van Dijk take Alexander Arnold's pbad against Huddersfield? He took it in the air and away from Steve Mounie, with the most glorious cushion from the inside of his right foot.
He then started sprinting away from Huddersfield's center forward before pbading the perfect ball to Andrew Robertson to allow Sadio Mane to score.
Van Dijk has transformed the entire Liverpool defense. He brought authority and calm to what was originally a chaos. I look forward to congratulating him on his success in becoming the second consecutive Liverpool footballer to win the PFA player of the year award.
Did you know? Van Dijk had more hits (122) and made more pbades (114) than any other Liverpool player in his 5-0 win against Huddersfield.
Andrew Robertson: What season did this boy have. Robertson's pbad quality is as good as that of previous years.
I compared it to the great German defender Manfred Kaltz, who was the only defender to be able to move the ball like a boomerang.
As for Huddersfield – what a pursuit. If you want to know why they are languishing at the foot of the Premier League table, look no further than the debacle between Jonas Lossl and Jon Gorenc Stankovic just 15 seconds after their match against Liverpool. What a shower.
Did you know? No defender has helped more goals in the Premier League season than Robertson in 2018-19 (11).
Midfielders – Yuri Tielemans (Leicester), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Michail Antonio (West Ham)
Yuri Tielemans: The decision of referee Michael Oliver to dismiss Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Arsenal was a shocking decision. If officials start sending players for trivial challenges, the games will end almost before they even begin.
Leicester City then had no choice but to take full advantage of this appalling miscalculation and that is precisely what Tielemans did.
What should have been an interesting contest was finally a non-event thanks to Oliver.
Did you know? Tielemans has been directly involved in seven goals in his last nine Premier League matches with Leicester (3 goals, 4 badists).
Edenic danger: The wink of Hazard in his post-game interview has all said. Is absent.
A point at Manchester United with another sparkling performance from the Belgian international suggests that no matter what Chelsea will do this season, Real Madrid is signaling to Hazard.
He was a clbad apart from United and seems to have enjoyed his last days with Chelsea. The final of the Europa League and a fourth place for the Blues will mean that Hazard can leave Stamford Bridge with a clear conscience.
Did you know? No player from Chelsea has created more chances (2) or has been fouled on more than one occasion (3) that Hazard against Manchester United.
Michail Antonio: He is a player who has a lot of skill, who is strong as an ox and who can score goals with his feet and his head.
Antonio de West Ham seemed to be the perfect jewel for Marko Arnautovic and I do not quite understand why it took manager Manuel Pellegrini so long to discover this flourishing double act.
Tottenham was not able to cope with Antonio's run in the back with a devastating effect. It's so refreshing to see a team ready to play the long ball game instead of this continuing nonsense. A tip for Antonio – continue to score goals, empty the celebration.
Did you know? In addition to scoring the winner against Tottenham, no West Ham player had more shots (4) or shots on target (2) than Antonio.
Forward – Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Sergio Aguero (City Man), Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah: When Salah scored his goal at Southampton, and that player tore his shirt with a provocative look at Liverpool fans who dared to doubt him, I knew he was back.
Against a poor Huddersfield, who looked tired and fed up, Salah cut off the ribbons.
Liverpool must now have the courage to play its game in Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday. Otherwise, it may be too late for Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho to return to Anfield for the second leg of the semifinal.
Did you know? Salah had more shots (8) and shots on target (3) than any other Liverpool player against Huddersfield.
Sergio Aguero: For the fifth season in a row, Aguero has reached the 20-goal mark in the Premier League. It was not his biggest goal, but it was not the best match.
Burnley had nothing to lose but the points. But they did not try to play and got what they deserved – nothing.
All Manchester City has to do now is keep his cool. Leicester at home and Brighton stand between them and the consecutive titles. As far as Aguero is concerned, I've said it before and I'll say it again: world clbad players always come when it counts.
Did you know? Aguero is only the second player in the history of the Premier League to score more than 20 goals in five consecutive campaigns after Thierry Henry from 2001-02 to 2005-06.
Sadio Mane: Mane's two goals against Huddersfield were excellent, but if ever a player deserved a hat trick, he was that player – and he should have done it.
His contribution to Liverpool's efforts to play the title this season was immense, as both Salah and Roberto Firminho were on the list of absentees for the times of the title race.
Nevertheless, Mane kept Anfield lit and, now that Salah is fit again, Liverpool can dream again.
Did you know? Mane scored in both attempts against Huddersfield, bringing his total to 20 in the Premier League.
Now it's your turn
You saw my selections this week. But who would you go to?
The crooks of the material
I write The Crooks of the Matter from my room at the Grosvenor House Hotel where I am preparing for the awards dinner of the Association of Professional Footballers. During the evening, some of the best players in the world will be honored by their professional colleagues.
Earlier in the week, the PFA announced the selection of its team of the year in the Premier League. The only player on this team, which is neither Manchester City nor Liverpool, was Paul Pogba of Manchester United.
Regular readers of my team of the week will know that I am probably the greatest critic of Pogba since his arrival at Old Trafford. Nevertheless, I sometimes had to choose the winner of the French World Cup in my teams because of his achievements in terms of goals, his courage or his brilliance.
Like the United fans, I would have liked to see more of these moments throughout the season, but we must not forget that Pogba is not a one-man-show and that United does not have one. Too often has not been good enough.
I've been stunned to read some experts, and those who, I think, would have understood better, suggest that Pogba did not deserve to be included in the team. year of the PFA.
Unworthy?
Let me remind them that it was not an opinion piece, but a vote and that of his professional colleagues. This right has not been extended to the remains of a bygone era like mine. Experts can enjoy freedom of speech but they really should not reject votes, especially when these votes do not concern them.
Source link
