It was a weekend of upsets during the 11th round of Premier League action – and our latest Team of the Week has some surprising new faces as a result.
A sensational Saturday of action, in which Crystal Palace drew with Everton, Chelsea clung on to a 2-2 stalemate with West Brom and Aston Villa and Liverpool, Norwich City and Southampton picked up wins, set the tone for a thrilling weekend.
But the action got even better on Sunday, when Newcastle won at White Hart Lane, Swansea drew 3-3 with Stoke City, Sunderland beat Manchester City and Manchester United conquered Arsenal.
Our first member of this week’s top team was in action on Sunday – and achieved a rather significant feat. Indeed, in single-handedly keeping a clean sheet for Newcastle, Tim Krul (5) was given the full five stars by our man at White Hart Lane, Jay Jaffa. Alan Pardew described the shot stopper as the best Dutch goalkeeper and the Magpies were left indebted to him for a memorable away-day win.
In defence, meanwhile, Krul is joined by the unlikeliest of heroes in Phil Bardsley (4). The former Manchester United man, also in action on Sunday, was superb at the back for Sunderland against Manchester City and even scored the winner for his side.
Bardsley is joined by West Brom’s Jonas Olsson (4) and Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne (4) as we continue our unorthodox theme by going for a back three. Olsson was instrumental as the Baggies earned a point at Stamford Bridge – and Clyne impressed in Southampton’s 4-1 win against Hull.
In midfield, Steven Gerrard (4) makes a welcome return after bossing the game for Liverpool during their 4-0 win over Fulham. The Reds skipper is also joined by Leandro Bacuna (4), who impressed after scoring a superb free kick for Aston Villa against Cardiff City.
But where Gerrard and Bacuna shone, Adam Lallana (4.5) and Stephane Sessegnon (4.5) excelled, as they added goals to their all-round performances for Southampton and West Brom respectively.
Elsewhere, Luis Suarez (4.5) leads a front three after his deadly double at Anfield, while he is joined by fellow goalscorers Wilfried Bony (4), who also netted twice, and Loic Remy (4). Our prolific front three scored five goals between them this weekend alone.
Wayne Rooney (4), Rickie Lambert (4) and Shane Long (4) were unlucky to miss out.