It’s a new month in the Premier League, which unfortunately means an impending international break to the chagrin of fans around the world. As we coast towards a weekend with no top flight football, though, there is at least plenty of time to dissect and analyse the finest individual performances from Matchweek 11.
In the space of just a couple of days, we saw a relatively dramatic shift in the shape of the top four with multiple headline results. Whilst Chelsea’s surprise home draw with Burnley and Manchester City’s dominant victory over rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford are prime examples of this, the result of the weekend belongs to West Ham, who ended Liverpool’s 25-game unbeaten run to rise up to third place in the league.
Meanwhile, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Southampton continued on their impressive recent trajectory up the table. It’s time now to choose our five Stars of the Week for the 11th time this season.
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Stars in Premier League – Gameweek 11
Goalkeeper: Nick Pope (Burnley)
Chelsea’s rampaging run of form being stopped at home in a clash against a bottom-three side – who saw that coming?
Probably no one, in all likelihood, and Nick Pope was a hero between the sticks for Burnley as they fought to earn an exceptional point at Stamford Bridge. Although he had no chance of stopping Kai Havertz’s pinpoint header, Pope was outstanding all game, making two brilliant saves from Callum Hudson-Odoi as Chelsea wasted a plethora of other chances.
In the end, Pope’s contribution was enough as Burnley nicked a late equaliser, with the England goalkeeper reminding everyone just how good he is at his best.
Defender: Ben White (Arsenal)
Much like Chelsea, Arsenal were also guilty of wasting an array of chances, but due to a near-faultless defensive performance, were able to escape unburned in a narrow 1-0 win over Watford.
In a fine all-round display, Ben White was a Rolls-Royce for Arsenal in the centre of the park, combining some composed defending with the occasional foray forward, one of which created the chance from which Emile Smith-Rowe scored the winner early on in the second half.
It now looks like White has fully settled in at Arsenal, and his quality has started to shine through in recent weeks.
Midfielder: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva has already starred at grounds such as Anfield, Stamford Bridge and the King Power so far this season, and he added Old Trafford to that list on Saturday with a fantastic display in the Manchester Derby.
Alongside the likes of Rodri and compatriot Joao Cancelo, Silva ran the show against United, completing four take-ons and recording 95% passing accuracy. The midfielder showed great determination to get on the end of Cancelo’s cross on the stroke of half time, and his poked effort on the stretch found a way past David De Gea to effectively seal the win.
Comfortably one of the best performers in the league so far this season.
Forward: Adam Armstrong (Southampton)
It was something of a quiet weekend for strikers in the Premier League, but Southampton new boy Adam Armstrong enjoyed a terrific night against Aston Villa on Friday.
The former Blackburn striker ran onto a loose ball in the early stages of the game and hit a fierce first time shot straight into the Villa net from the edge of the box to claim his first goal at St Mary’s. Other than his ultimately decisive goal, Armstrong was a thorn in the side of the opposition throughout, combining flair and pace to torment a largely ineffective Villa.
It’s taken a bit of time, but it looks like his partnership with Che Adams is starting to click, which can only be good news for a Southampton side that has already looked revitalised in recent matches.
Manager: David Moyes (West Ham United)
Pep Guardiola looked a certainty for the manager of the week following his side’s irrepressible display at Old Trafford, but another amazing result for West Ham United means that David Moyes scoops the accolade.
In a perfectly balanced display, the Hammers did an excellent job of nullifying Liverpool’s near-unstoppable front three in open play, and went for the throat on set pieces and counter-attacks to exploit Liverpool’s weaknesses. It was ultimately two corners and a rapid counter-attack that sunk the Reds, as West Ham put an end to their unbeaten run in the league which had stretched back to early March.
West Ham now sit third going into this international break, just three points off the top, and Moyes is doing a simply astonishing job so far in his second stint at the club.
