Martial, Mane and Sane make Premier League team of the week XI

 
Just when it seemed like Chelsea had the title sewn up, little old Burnley showed that Antonio Conte’s side aren’t totally infallible.
A 1-1 draw at Turf Moor meant that collectively the chasing pack squeezed a little closer, with wins for Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and
Man City.
Swansea’s 2-0 win over Leicester means that things at the other end of the table are just as fascinating as well.
So who starred in the latest round of action? We’ve selected our team of the weekend…

GK: Thibaut Courtois – Chelsea

The Chelsea goalkeeper had to be at his best to keep Burnley from winning at Turf Moor on Sunday. The Belgian could do nothing to stop Robbie Brady’s lethal free-kick, but he reacted brilliantly to deny Andre Gray and Ashley Barnes.

DF: Bruno Martins Indi

Crystal Palace put in a much improved performance following their shameful display in the 4-0 loss to Sunderland the previous week. However it still wasn’t enough, but that had much to do with some resolute Stoke defending. Indi was the standout player at the back for the Potters, making numerous tackles and hardly putting a pass astray.

DF: David Luiz

 

Despite heavy strapping on his knee and playing in pain, Luiz proved he was the warrior his manager recently labelled him in the trip to Burnley. His positioning and vital tackles kept Sean Dyche’s threatening side to just the one goal and with it secured a barely deserved point for Chelsea.

DF: Alfie Mawson

The centre-back produced a goal worthy of a world-beating striker to open the scoring in Swansea’s 2-0 win over Leicester. After that he then helped keep the champions quiet at the Liberty Stadium as the resurgence under Paul Clement continues.

MF: Anthony Martial

There’s been a lot of speculation over Martial’s future this season, going all the way back to the summer when Manchester United handed his No 9 shirt to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, with more performances like the one in the 2-0 victory over Watford and there will be be no doubt his future lies at Old Trafford. A goal and assist from the Frenchman went a long way to getting in Jose Mourinho’s good books.

MF: Sofiane Feghouli

Feghouli is emerging as an increasingly useful player for West Ham as the season goes on and in the 2-2 draw with West Brom he was highly influential. The Algerian scored and set up another at the London Stadium, proving a constant menace to a usually resolute Baggie backline.

 MF: Sadio Mane

He’s back! Okay, he’s been back from the Africa Cup of Nations for a couple of weeks now but he hadn’t scored since his return until the 2-0 win over Tottenham. In truth the Senegalese could have had more than his pair against the usually formidable Spurs defence.

 MF: Robbie Brady
What a free-kick from the Burnley midfielder. Prior to his whipped left-footed shot in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea, Thibaut Courtois had never been beaten from a direct free-kick in the Premier League. It was difficult to pick out a specific Burnley player because it was a superb team performance from the Clarets, but that strike edges the former Norwich man into this XI.

 MF: Leroy Sane
The Germany international has taken his time to acclimatise to life in the Premier League but he is now proving himself to be a key component of Pep Guardiola’s improving side. The silky winger would’ve been disappointed not to have added to the three goals he has scored in his last four games, but his pace, balance and dribbling ability were to be admired.

ST: Alexis Sanchez

So what if he used his hand to score the first goal at the Emirates – the way Alex Sanchez is playing we’ll let him have it. A brace from Arsenal’s most interested looking player in the 2-0 win over Hull took him to the top of the Premier League scoring charts.
 ST: Manolo Gabbiadini
Southampton were one of the few big spenders in January, splashing £14.6million to bring Gabbiadini in from Napoli. So far the 25-year-old Italian looks worth every penny having scored on his debut and then netting a first-half brace at the weekend in the 4-0 win at Sunderland.

 

 (Metro Sports)