Another weekend of action is in the books, but which five players earned the honour of togging out for our Five-A-Side? Find out here.
Between rugby disappointments and Carl Frampton’s KO, the sporting calendar was as crammed as we can ever remember it this weekend. But the plucky little Premier League managed to gain just a bit of coverage too, as the title was practically gift-wrapped for Manchester United.
But across the board there were some epic performances, none of which were by the players of Manchester City.
Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczesny
The Arsenal rearguard has been more porous than a knackered colander but there are signs that things are improving in the Gunners backline. Firstly Andre Santos has been packed off to Brazil, Nacho Monreal has fitted in well and a clean sheet in their last two games is a big improvement.
The main reason that Sunderland didn’t at least nab a draw at the Stadium of Light was their Polish stopper. Down to 10 men for the last 30 minutes, Szczesny made a ‘worldie’ to deny Steven Fletcher and while he got a helping hand from some poor Sunderland finish, he deserves the No 1 shirt here.
Defender: Rafael
The Brazilian can be frustrating to watch. Sometimes he can look very naïve and easily exposed. In other games he looks like a world-class right back. Unfortunately for Everton, he put in a performance from the second category on Sunday. A constant threat going forward, Rafael also kept Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar relatively quiet, which is no mean feat in itself.
Add in an assist, and the wee fella gets the nod this week.
Midfield: Jason Puncheon
For the celebration alone he probably deserves his place here but the Southampton midfielder had an excellent game against Manchester City to boot. Industrious, energetic, more up for the fight than his City counterparts and a goalscorer too, he did more in his hour on the picth than everyone in pale blue did in 90.
Midfield: Gareth Bale
Bale becomes the first player to hold onto his precious Five-A-Side slot following yet another exceptional weekend. Bale scored both goals against Newcastle. He showcased his dead-ball skills with the first, his speed and power with the second. We won’t be joining Jeff Stelling in the ‘better than Ronaldo’ stuff just yet but there is no doubting Bale’s importance to Spurs Champions League hopes.
Forward: Michu
We had started to lose a bit of faith in Michu. Scoreless in the league since earlier December, we thought the Spaniard was suffering a bad mid-season slump. If he was, it seems to be sorted now with two goals and an assist for Swansea against a hapless QPR. Only Luis Suarez and RVP have scored more league goals this season and his finishing technique is up there with the best in the business.
Anyone we missed? Do let us know below.
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