Garth Crooks Team of the Week: Salah, Gabriel, Willian, Rodríguez



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Garth's Team of the Week

The Premier League season is well underway, and Liverpool’s title defense began with an exciting 4-3 win against the promoted Leeds United.

Leicester enjoyed a 3-0 win at the hyped West Brom, Newcastle drew attention when defeated West Ham 2-0, while Crystal Palace beat Southampton 1-0.

Finally, Chelsea beat Brighton 3-1 and wolves won 2-0 at Sheffield United in Monday’s games.

Take a look at my team of the week, and then try creating yours at the bottom of this piece.

Team of the week

Goalkeeper – Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace)

Win Guaita

Guaita: A save by Che Adams and another by Danny Ings produced Crystal Palace’s first win in nine league games. Wilfried Zaha could have scored the only goal against Southampton, but Vicente Guaita won the match.

I saw Guaita produce some very shaky performances towards the end of last season. And once Palace was mathematically secure, Zaha’s exhibits sank. Fortunately, both men were in a very different mood against Southampton.

If Palace is going to avoid another relegation fight, then Guaita must be in his prime, and Zaha has to score a lot more goals to justify his price.

Did you know Vicente Guaita made five saves to accompany his clean sheet against Southampton. Only once has he made more saves keeping a clean sheet for Palace (eight against Brighton in February).

Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Leicester), Gabriel (Arsenal), Romain Saiss (Wolves), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton)

Timothy Castagne (Leicester), Gabriel (Arsenal), Romain Saiss (Wolves), Tariq Lamptey (Chelsea)

Chestnuts: Leicester were 3-0 up at The Hawthorns and they had hardly broken a sweat. West Brom had expended so much energy trying to contain the visitors, it was only a matter of time before cracks began to appear in his defense.

It was Timothy Castagne who made the breakthrough, and the fact that the defender appeared in Albion’s area in open play says all that can be done about the way Brendan Rodgers wants his team to play.

It is always a very good sign that other players other than forwards want to score goals.

Did you know Timothy Castagne became the fifth Belgian to score in his Premier League debut, after Luc Nilis, Thomas Vermaelen, Christian Benteke and Leandro Trossard.

Gabriel: I think Arsenal’s performance in the first half at Fulham was impressive, especially Kieran Tierney’s contribution. However, it was Gabriel who caught my attention.

The 22-year-old Brazilian looked dominant on the back and comfortable with the ball. Arsenal seem to benefit from the inspired additions of Gabriel and Willian to the setup, and suddenly they seem like a team with options.

Fulham, for its part, seems hesitant and lacking in quality, especially in the last third. Unless they can get Aleksandar Mitrovic to snap in and score goals, I think the writing could already be on the wall.

Did you know In addition to becoming the 10th Arsenal player to score in his Premier League debut, Gabriel also completed 108 passes (out of 114 attempts), at least 24 more than any other player in this game.

Saiss: This was an outstanding performance by the Wolves, and in particular Romain Saiss, at Sheffield United on Monday.

The Moroccan defender scored a fabulous header and had another flash off the post with Aaron Ramsdale defeated. He then joined in a breakaway attack and forced the Sheffield United goalkeeper to launch a tremendous shot at the post, before going off the line at the other end to deny the Blades a certain goal.

The Wolves defender had a great game.

Did you know Striker Saiss recorded a maximum of 45 passes in the victory at Bramall Lane, completing 89% of them (40).

Lamptey: It was a comfortable win for Chelsea at the end on Monday, although there was a moment when I thought they were working hard in Brighton.

I feel like Brighton will have another season fighting relegation but there is a bright spark in their ranks and his name is Tariq Lamptey. I saw him come in as a substitute for Chelsea in what was his Premier League debut against Arsenal last December and he was outstanding. However, to gain playing time, he decided to leave Stamford Bridge.

I have no doubt that you have made the right decision. And if he continues to play as he did against Chelsea, he will not be in Brighton for long.

Did you know Lamptey provided the assist for Trossard’s goal and embarked on a joint game of five dribbles.

Midfield: Jeff Hendrick (Newcastle), James Rodríguez (Everton), Willian (Arsenal)

Jeff Hendrick (Newcastle), James Rodríguez (Everton), Willian (Arsenal)

Hendrick: At West Ham, there was a series of impressive demonstrations by the newcomers from Newcastle. The chosen one of the group was Jeff Hendrick.

In addition to being smart on the ball, Hendrick has a keen eye for goal. He set up Callum Wilson’s debut spike before hitting a delightful blow that edged past Lukasz Fabianski to put the game well beyond the Hammers.

This time last season, Steve Bruce was arguably the most unpopular man in the Northeast. Now he is considered a very credible coach, having created a team worthy of the area.

Meanwhile, West Ham continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Did you know Jeff Hendrick scored and assisted against West Ham; it was his first time in the Premier League in what was his 123rd appearance in the competition.

Rodriguez: When I heard that Carlo Ancelotti had lured James Rodríguez to Goodison Park, it was clear that Everton’s days of mediocrity were over.

The Colombian international looked extremely comfortable in a renewed midfield that outscored the Spurs.

With Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure alongside Rodriguez, the Toffees seem quite capable of at least finishing in the top six.

By contrast, Tottenham’s signings seem less inspiring. Worrying times for the Spurs.

Did you know James Rodríguez became the first Premier League rookie to create at least five chances since Alexis Sánchez for Arsenal in August 2014.

Willian: Regular readers will know what I think of Willian as a player. I said last season that Chelsea couldn’t afford to lose him. Letting it go to London rivals Arsenal, of all teams, was insane and could cost them dearly in the final analysis.

Against a Fulham team that was out of reach, Willian produced a debut performance that must have been a dying watch for his former coach Frank Lampard. The Brazilian was barely getting his bearings with a free kick that went over Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak and crashed into the post. He left Craven Cottage with two assists under his belt and a 3-0 win.

What has Chelsea done?

Did you know Willian became the first player to assist to two goals in his Premier League debut for Arsenal since Ray Parlor did so against Liverpool in August 1992.

Forwards: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)

Incorrect: What a way to reintroduce yourself to the Premier League after 16 years. I have never seen a team come out of the championship and go head-to-head with Liverpool like Leeds United did on Saturday. This was at Anfield and not Elland Road, by the way. I thought Leeds was magnificent. The question now is: Can they turn performances like this into points? Another inspired performance from Mohamed Salah was needed to get the champions out of trouble.

If other teams can bring games to Liverpool in the same way that Leeds did, then an incredible season awaits us.

Did you know Mohamed Salah scored his 50, 51 and 52 goals at home in the Premier League against Leeds. He reached 50 goals at home in 63 appearances, only Alan Shearer (47 applications) has made it faster.

Calvert-Lewin: Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header at Tottenham was worthy of winning any game. In fact, it was so good that any additional consideration for including Jamie Vardy or Callum Wilson on my team for the week was suddenly out of the question.

With Carlo Ancelotti, this boy is getting better with every game. It could be a decisive season for the young Evertonian. He has all the elements to be a top striker. If you can stay in shape, which invariably means taking care of yourself, you can be whatever you want.

Did you know Dominic Calvert-Lewin is Everton’s top scorer in Premier League matches with Carlo Ancelotti with nine goals in 21 appearances.

Aubameyang: I have enormous respect for Scotty Parker, but what does Fulham expect its manager to do with little or no money? Create real scorers from scratch?

After 57 minutes, Fulham trailed 3-0 at home to Arsenal, and the home side had only had one serious shot on goal. Meanwhile, Alexandre Lacazette and the star of the show, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, showed the Fulham forwards what predatory instincts really are like.

Aubameyang’s target was in a different class. Now that I think about it, Arsenal too.

Did you know Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang became the first player to score on matchday one of consecutive Premier League seasons with Arsenal since Robert Pires in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

Thieves of matter

It seems that sense has finally prevailed. Jon Moss’ decision, at Crystal Palace on Saturday, to reverse the dismissal of Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters after consulting video evidence is, in my opinion, a breakthrough. At last, it seems as if the umpires have found the courage to regain control of the game and not let Stockley Park impose themselves.

Regular readers will know how shocked I have been by the stance shown last season by so many referees, who seemed to depend on decisions made by others and refused to take matters into their own hands. There were even times when they allowed the game to descend into chaos.

If an official is in doubt, seeking the support of video evidence is a strength, not a weakness. Of course, the referees will make mistakes, but they must be their own mistakes.

The referee is in charge of the game and his decision is always final. Nothing, but nothing, should interfere with that golden rule.

Choose your XI from our list and share it with your friends.

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