Premier League: Team of the Week VIII

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Goalkeeper: Maarten Stekelenburg (Everton)

Stekelenburg described his performance against Manchester City as the “greatest game of his life”, and you’d struggle to deny it after he saved two penalties against City from Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero – the eighth occasion a goalkeeper has achieved the feat in a single Premier League game.
Even taking the penalties out of the equation, Stekelenburg’s performance against Manchester City was outstanding, one of the highlights of the bunch was a real one for the cameras as the Dutchman dived at full stretch to turn a De Bruyne effort around his post. His display grew throughout the game and it began to seem as if he were unbeatable.

It was Nolito who eventually found a way past the Dutchman, but given the string of saves he’d made throughout the match, his accumulated fatigue surely meant a goal was inevitable. Nonetheless, a man of the match performance, without which Everton would have come away with nothing.

Centre-Back: Winston Reid (West Ham United)

West Ham, were in the bottom three and in dire need of three points going into their trip to Crystal Palace and they defended well enough even after going a man down in order to come away from Selhurst Park with a much-needed win. They rode their luck at times and relied on a penalty miss by Benteke, but you could say that was justice done for Aaron Cresswell, who was somewhat unjustifiably dismissed by referee Martin Atkinson.

No other West Ham player made more clearances than Reid’s 15 against Crystal Palace, and his performance in the Hammers rear-guard warrants praise. He was instrumental in West Ham’s back three and a vital component in securing the points.

Centre-Back: Ashley Williams (Everton)

Ashley Williams has been known as a solid Premier League defender for some time now, and Everton manager Ronald Koeman has brought in the Wales international and successfully integrated him into an Everton defence that is starting to look like a real unit. Williams chose a great occasion to put in one of his best displays so far in an Everton shirt, and it was much needed after his centre-half partner Phil Jagielka endured something of a horror show next to him, giving away both of Manchester City’s penalties, from which his goalkeeper got him out of jail.

Williams held firm in magnificent fashion against a Manchester City side who were pouring forward ruthlessly, and if the Toffees are to truly achieve something this season, you get the sense that the Wales skipper will be a huge part of that success.

Centre-Back: David Luiz (Chelsea)

Since the Brazilian’s return to Stamford Bridge from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, he appears to have acquired a maturity in focusing on stopping his man from getting onto the ball, rather than what he himself is capable of in possession. He appears to be thriving in Antonio Conte’s favoured back-three defensive set-up, and he dealt with the threat of Jamie Vardy rather comfortably in Chelsea’s win over Leicester. With John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic now entering the twilight years of their careers, the emergence of Luiz as a solid defender in Chelsea’s unit will be all the more important, and against the Foxes, he showed signs that he is up for the challenge, but he must continue to play like this consistently.