5-star Liverpool dominate Premier League team of the week as Jota shines
Liverpool kept the pressure on Chelsea with a comfortable 4-0 win over Southampton to dominate the Premier League team of the week as no fewer than five Reds players make the cut. Arsenal and Leicester also have two players feature following respective victories over Newcastle and Watford.
The first of five Liverpool players to make the cut features between the sticks. The Reds may have earned a 4-0 win over Southampton, but the South Coast side still had their chances to peg the Merseyside outfit back, noted in that Alisson was forced into three saves on home turf. The Brazilian also made one tackle and won one aerial duel to return a WhoScored rating of 8.04.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal) - 8.53
Takehiro Tomiyasu ensures the backline isn't dominated by Liverpool as the Japanese defender put in a star man showing in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Newcastle. The Gunners dominated on home turf with Tomiyasu superb down the right. He provided the assist for Gabriel Martinelli's excellent second half strike, that coming from one of three key passes, while three tackles and two dribbles rounded off a fine display from the 23-year-old.
Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool) - 7.97
Ibrahima Konate has been forced to bide his time and wait for his chance in a Liverpool shirt, so much so that Saturday's 4-0 win over Southampton marked just his fourth league start for the 2019/20 champions. Konate didn't really put a foot wrong in the victory either as he made five clearances, three interceptions and two tackles, all the while winning seven aerial duels, to cap an outing that warranted a WhoScored rating of 7.97.
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) - 8.44
Konate's centre-back partner Virgil van Dijk also features at the heart of the defence. Van Dijk's first league goal of the season came in Liverpool's thumping victory over his former employers, finding a way past Alex McCarthy with his only effort on goal. The Dutchman was often in the right place at the right time to alleviate pressure on the goal, making six clearances in total, and was solid in possession, finding a teammate with 91.5% of his 70 attempted passes, to help land a WhoScored rating of 8.44.
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool) - 7.90
Rounding off the defence is Liverpool star Andrew Robertson. The left-back registered his first home league assist of 2021 in the 4-0 win over Southampton, setting up Diogo Jota's first goal of the afternoon from one of four key passes. Two clearances and one interception marked a solid showing for the Scot, who returned a WhoScored rating of 7.90 on Saturday.
Of the eight Premier League goals Bukayo Saka has scored in his career, two have come against Newcastle as the England international found the breakthrough at the Emirates on Saturday. Before being forced off midway through the second half, Saka had managed three shots in total, and was unfortunate not to add an assist having created two goalscoring chances. An additional two dribbles pushed his WhoScored rating up to 7.91.
James Maddison (Leicester) - 9.58
With a WhoScored rating of 9.58, James Maddison is our Premier League player of the week. Maddison had a direct hand in three of Leicester's four goals in their 4-2 win over Watford, following up his goal after just 16 minutes with a brace of assists for Jamie Vardy shortly before the break, those coming from respective returns of four shots and five key passes as the 25-year-old looked back to his best in a Foxes shirt.
John McGinn (Aston Villa) - 8.83
Aston Villa made it two wins from two under the watchful eye of Steven Gerrard as they returned to Birmingham with three points in tow. John McGinn scored what proved the decisive goal in the Villans' 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday, and was a ball winning machine for Villa, too, returning a 100% tackle success rate from seven attempted tackles. The Scot also completed all three attempted dribbles to help return a WhoScored rating of 8.83.
Leandro Trossard (Brighton) - 7.81
Brighton may have been booed off at full time of their 0-0 draw with Leeds, a result that stretches their winless run to eight matches, but Leandro Trossard did what he could to secure all the spoils at the AMEX on Saturday. The Belgian managed four shots and two key passes against a Leeds side that struggled to keep Trossard in check as he completed five dribbles. The 26-year-old earned the WhoScored man of the match award from the stalemate and a spot in the team of the week with a rating of 7.81.
Jamie Vardy (Leicester) - 8.93
Jamie Vardy ended a four-game goalless run with a brace in Leicester's 4-2 win over Watford, hitting the back of the net with two of five shots at the King Power Stadium. Vardy closed the gap on Salah in the race for the Golden Boot to two goals with an excellent performance that deserved a WhoScored rating of 8.93.
Having netted in Liverpool's 4-0 win over Arsenal, Diogo Jota followed that up with a brace against Southampton on Saturday. The 24-year-old managed a whopping seven shots against Saints, the most in the Premier League over the weekend, as he tormented the visitors' backline, completing three dribbles and drawing three fouls, to round off the team of the week with a WhoScored rating of 8.87.
