Premier League Team of the Week XXXII feat. Spurs and Liverpool stars

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Philippe Coutinho: If any game included incidents to demonstrate why Philippe Coutinho is known as ‘The Magician’, it was the one against Tottenham at Anfield in Saturday. Throughout the ninety minutes, the intensity level rarely dropped below boiling point, but the moments of genius from Coutinho stood out. He gave Kyle Walker a torrid afternoon defensively, tying the England man in knots at times, looking as though he and the ball had been together since birth. The little Brazilian finished off a nice piece of interplay between him and Daniel Sturridge, opening up his body to caress the ball into the back of the net. Coutinho very nearly picked out Daniel Sturridge with a fantastically guided cross-field ball shortly after the goal, only for the number 15 to head over the bar on the stretch.

Indeed, Liverpool’s number 10 came so close to snatching the winner as he shaped to curl the ball inside the far post but instead pulled his effort a little such that it went wide of the near post by half a yard or so. From his role cutting in from the left, Coutinho created five chances, constantly playing with his head up and looking to pick out a team-mate in a threatening position. What was perhaps even more pleasing to see from a Liverpool perspective was the desire shown by the diminutive player to help his side out in defence, chasing back as hard as anyone and making five tackles in the ninety minutes. This emphasised his new approach to the game under Jurgen Klopp and has made him a more complete player.

Kevin De Bruyne: The game against Bournemouth was Kevin De Bruyne’s first back after a long lay-off due to his knee injury, missing 12 matches in total. Incredibly, it looked as though he had never been away. Back alongside the Belgian, Silva looked reinvigorated and refreshed with greater energy. De Bruyne operated in between the lines and could not be picked up by Eddie Howe’s men, creating two chances from these areas. De Bruyne bagged a goal on his return to the action before being granted a rest ahead of the mid-week Champions League fixture, producing a sumptuous volley to finish off a fine attacking move by Manchester City, guiding the ball home with his instep. An even better goal almost came his way when the summer signing from Wolfsburg struck the ball cleanly first time, calling Artur Boruc into a top quality save.

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Dieumerci Mbokani: At 30 years of age, Dieumerci Mbokani has been in the service of a fair number of clubs during his time in the professional game, but there is no doubt surrounding his contribution to this Norwich City side. His all-round performance was superb against Newcastle United, providing a perfect target for the rest of The Canaries to operate around, linking particularly well with January signing Steven Naismith. Mbokani created four chances with his barrel-chested approach to leading the line, also coming out on top in eight aerial duels. His goal; Norwich’s second of the day on their path to a crucial victory against The Magpies, was a pile-driver that was so powerful, it almost carried the goalkeeper into the net with it. He does not always look the most graceful on the field of play, but has nonetheless proven effective for Norwich so far this season.

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