Team of Week 31: Liverpool stars dominate, excellent Eze and solid Stones star

Pulse Sports' Premier League Team of Week 31

PREMIER LEAGUE Team of Week 31: Liverpool stars dominate, excellent Eze and solid Stones star

Tunde Young 10:49 - 18.04.2023

Following every round of Premier League fixtures, Pulse Sports presents the most impressive performers of the matchday.

Match week 31 of the Premier League produced goals and stellar performances from multiple forwards across the league. Here are the top performers from the latest round of action.

Pulse Sports' Premier League Team of Week 31
Pulse Sports' Premier League Team of Week 31

Goalkeeper

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)

Kepa Arizzabalaga was on the losing side in Chelsea’s embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to Brighton but the Spaniard was the only reason the scoreline did not reflect the true flow of the game.

Brighton dominated Chelsea from start to finish, ending the game with 58% possession and 26 shots on goal from which Kepa made nine saves including a potential save of the season contender, denying Evan Ferguson’s header from point-blank range.

Defenders

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been the subject of Jurgen Klopp’s experiment in the last two games in which he has featured more as an inverted wingback rather than his more accustomed fullback position.

Trent-Alexander Arnold was fantastic for Liverpool against Leeds United
Trent-Alexander Arnold was fantastic for Liverpool against Leeds United

His man-of-the-match display in Liverpool’s 6-1 annihilation of Leeds United saw him look like the Trent of old again, with 153 touches and two key passes which led to two superb assists.

John Stones (Manchester City)

Speaking of experiments, centre-back John Stones has been excelling in the Manchester City midfield in recent weeks and he continued that trend with a short but effective display against Leicester City at the weekend.

Stones scored the first in a 3-1 win with a superb volley after just five minutes and even though he only played 45 minutes, he still completed 98% of his passes in a dominant first half for Pep Guardiola’s team.

Craig Dawson (Wolves)

Pretty much anyone in the Wolves' defence could have made it in the team for their rearguard display in the 2-0 win against Brentford but Craig Dawson was a cut above the rest.

The 32-year-old had three clearances, two blocks, two tackles and won all of his aerial and ground duels to seal the clean sheet against the seventh-highest-scoring team in the league.

Diogo Dalot (Manchester United)

Keeping with the trend of players trying out new positions, right fullback Diogo Dalot was used as a left-back in Manchester United’s 2-0 win away at Nottingham Forest and it is safe to say he held his own.

Dalot won 100% of his ground duels with two tackles and an interception but his goal was the most telling contribution as he finished nicely after being played through by Antony.

Midfielders

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

Bruno Fernandes did not have a goal contribution for Manchester United against Nottingham Forest on Sunday but he was arguably the best player on the pitch.

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He hit the bar twice and was denied by a stunning Keylor Navas save with 95 touches and 100% accuracy on long balls, he was phenomenal.

Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)

Eberechi Eze was the star of the show in Crystal Palace’s 2-0 win away at Southampton, scoring both goals including a goal of the week contender for his second.

He also won 10 of 17 ground duels and was successful with four of his five dribble attempts as well as four tackles in what was a complete midfield performance. 

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Liverpool ran through Leeds United at Elland Road on Monday night and talisman Mohamed Salah scored twice, one in each half to seal the emphatic win.

The Egyptian superstar finished clinically on both occasions with his favourite left foot, scoring Liverpool’s second and fourth goals of the game to become the player with the most left-footed goals in Premier League history with 106 goals, surpassing Robbie Fowler.

Diego Jota (Liverpool)

Still on Liverpool’s thrashing of Leeds, Diogo Jota imprinted his name all over the game with two goals and an assist.

The Portuguese ended his 32-game goal drought with his first goal in the 52nd minute after being played through nicely by Curtis Jones and then followed up with another smart finish in the 73rd off Jordan Henderson’s assist.

Forwards

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

Aston Villa thumped Newcastle 3-0 at Villa Park in the early kickoff on Saturday thanks to Ollie Watkins’ heroics who sealed the fifth consecutive win with two goals and an assist.

Beyond his goals which now take his season tally to a personal best 15 Premier League goals, Watkins completed 85% of his passes including two key passes and created one big chance which led to the assist for the opening goal. He also had a goal ruled out by VAR for a marginal offside call.

Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)

Bournemouth pulled off the shocker of the weekend with a 3-2 win away at Tottenham and Dominic Solanke was the key actor with clutch plays including a goal and two assists.

Solanke set up Matias Vina to equalise in the first half and then scored himself to give Bournemouth the lead and although Spurs equalised late on, the 25-year-old striker kept his composure to play in Dango Ouattara to score a 95th-minute winner.

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