The opening week of the Premier League saw some outstanding individual performances as the best league in the world kicked off for the 2014-15 campaign. There were wins for Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool while Louis Van Gaal’s career at Manchester United began with a shock home defeat.
Our Premier League Team of The Week shapes up in a 4-3-3 formation, and is as follows:
Goalkeeper
Allan McGregor (Hull City):
The Scotsman was at the core of Hull City’s impressive away victory on the opening day at newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers. McGregor delivered a no-nonsense performance, dealing with dangers inside the penalty area with minimum fuss.
He then made the telling contribution late on, ensuring all three points for the Tigers with a penalty save from Charlie Austin.
Defence
Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea):
The Serbian powerhouse got his season off to a flyer just like he did in the last couple of campaigns. Ivanovic scored the third goal in a 3-1 win for Chelsea against Burnley at Turf Moor. Defensively, he looked impenetrable as always. Despite there being a lot of speculation regarding his place in the side with the arrival of Filipe Luis, Jose Mourinho won’t even think of dropping him in such form.
James Chester (Hull City):
Manchester United reject Chester had been kept away from the first team during his time at Old Trafford by Rio Ferdinand, who left the Red Devils for QPR this summer. Chester therefore had a moment to savour at Loftus when he got ahead ofFerdinand to head home the winner. He was extremely unlucky to give away a penalty late on, when the referee harshly adjudged him to have handled the ball. Charlie Austin though, couldn’t convert, and justice as served.
Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur):
The 19 year-old Englishman had a dream debut at Upton Park, as he capped off an impressive performance with a stoppage-time winner to win all three points for Spurs. The future looks bright for the defender, who was signed from Sporting Lisbon earlier in the summer.
Andrew Roberston (Hull City):
Three representatives in the back five shows just how good Hull were defensively against QPR. Left-back Robertson put in a stellar performance on his debut for Steve Bruce’s side, making overlapping runs on a regular basis whilst having no problem completing his defensive responsibilities. The 20 year-old Scot joined from Dundee United in the summer and is one to watch out for this season.
Midfield
Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea City):
Sigurdsson played the part of party-pooper at Old Trafford in the first game of the season on Saturday. The Icelandic midfielder scored the winner in Louis Van Gaal’s first game in charge of Manchester United, after having set up the first goal for Ki Sung-Yueng. Sigurdsson return to Wales after his short-spell with Tottenham Hotspur has revitalised Swansea’s midfield, as they looked a threat all afternoon.
Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea):
If Arsenal fans were hoping for Fabregas to be a flop at Stamford Bridge, there wishes have certainly not been granted. The former Gunner got his life at Chelsea off to the best possible start, having a hand in all three goals as the Blues beat Burnley 3-1. His pass for Andre Schurrle’s goal was one of the best you’ll see all season, while his ability at taking set-pieces is something Chelsea sorely missed last year. Along with Nemanja Matic, Fabregas anchored midfield for Jose Mourinho’s side, and his tremendous vision and ability may just be the piece of the Chelsea jigsaw that was missing last season.
Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal):
If Arsenal win the Premier League this year, the man to lead them to it will unodoubtedly be Aaron Ramsey. The Welshmen has been in astounding form for the Gunners since the start of last season, and was in the right place at the right time once again to score a stoppage-time winner against Crystal Palace. He looked a threat throughout the game, getting into good positions and finding the right passes every time he was on the ball.
Forwards
Raheem Sterling (Liverpool):
Sterling carried on where he left off last season, scoring one goal and setting up the other for striker-partner Daniel Sturridge in a 2-1 in for the Reds against Southampton. He filled the void left by Luis Suarez perfectly, and justified all the talk in pre-season about him being the main man for Brendan Rodgers this season. Even at the tender age of 19, Sterling has shown great maturity and responsibility since become a first-teamer last season.
Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion):
The 21 year-old, who was Albion’s top scorer last season, got this campaign off to the perfect start by scoring a brace in a 2-2 draw against Sunderland. He was the only player in Gameweek 1 to score more than one goal, and had it not been a last-gasp equaliser from Sebastien Larsson, he would have been the match-winner in Alan Irvine’s first game in charge at the Hawthorns.
Diego Costa (Chelsea):
Where Fernando Torres took 14 games score his first Premier League goal for Chelsea, Diego Costa took just 17 minutes. The Spaniard showed the Blues’ fans what they have been missing in the past couple of seasons by putting in a fantastic performance in the win at Burnley. Apart from the goal he scored, Costa’s link-up play, pace, strength and ability to hold the ball were all in evidence at Turf Moor.
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