Premier League Team of Week: Fellaini, Coutinho, Bolasie and Benteke Shine
Welcome to the 32nd installment of our Premier League Team of the Week for the 2014-15 season.
We analysed every game to pick out a star XI from the weekend's fixtures, choosing the best players to form a viable formation (in this case, a 3-5-1-1).
Manchester City fans may wish to look away, as Manchester United players dominate the selection after winning the north-west derby, 4-2, on Sunday. There's also room for a few Aston Villa players after a brilliant win at White Hart Lane.
Disagree with our selections? Hit us up in the comments section below to start the conversation!
GK: Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea
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In goal it has to be Thibaut Courtois, who came up trumps once again as Chelsea eked out a messy 1-0 victory at west London rivals Queens Park Rangers.
The Blues scored with their first shot on target in the 88th minute, signifying how they truly failed to get going, and had it not been for their big Belgian in goal, making good saves from Charlie Austin and Co., they'd have been buried in the upset of the week.
David De Gea has stolen the limelight this season, but Courtois has been worth 10 points alone.
DEF: Phil Jones, Manchester United
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Manchester United fans will hope the injury that forced Phil Jones off late during the derby win isn't too serious, as he was in the process of putting together a strong game.
The Red Devils have looked rather decent at the back of late—a shock to many, given the poor standards shown before March—and Jones is a key component. When he fancies, he can be a wrecking ball. He handled Manchester City's elite forwards in exceptional fashion.
DEF: Ron Vlaar, Aston Villa
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Ron Vlaar had a rather rough return to Premier League duty at Villa Park last week as Aston Villa shipped three goals against Queens Park Rangers, but he excelled on Saturday at White Hart Lane to help claim a clean sheet.
Tottenham Hotspur were poor and didn't threaten as much as you'd think, but Vlaar breathed confidence into his back line and dealt with a change in partner after Ciaran Clark went off with a knee injury.
A few vital headers and clearances allowed his team to secure a win.
DEF: Antonio Valencia, Manchester United
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Antonio Valencia put in a strong showing for Manchester United this weekend, providing some simplicity and reliability to what was a fairly extravagant team performance overall.
He defended well and steered clear of mistakes in the final third, simply laying the ball off to teammates Juan Mata and Ander Herrera higher up, and he made one key block on Sergio Aguero in the first half, racing back to block his intended square ball for a David Silva tap-in.
A solid 90 minutes.
DM: Francis Coquelin, Arsenal
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Another week, another monstrous performance from Francis Coquelin.
He tallied up 11 interceptions, per WhoScored.com, in another destructive, stifling performance, cutting out passes into the midfield and starting attacks.
His passing needs work—he had a hand in the goal, but his pass to Alexis Sanchez to spring the attack was too heavy and required excellence from the Chilean to control it—but it's the only tangible weakness in his game right now.
CM: Marouane Fellaini, Manchester United
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Marouane Fellaini now looks like the colossus we saw at Everton—the man David Moyes actually signed for north of £27 million.
He dominated in midfield, using his big body to shield the ball and start attacks high after collecting longer passes, and he brushed Yaya Toure aside on more than one occasion.
Constantly drifting to the back post for crosses, he found himself one-on-one with Gael Clichy and nodded an easy finish home to give Manchester United the lead. They never looked back.
CM: Joey Barton, Queens Park Rangers
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Queens Park Rangers may have lost to Chelsea this weekend, but they were combative and strong in the middle and probably edged it in terms of performance. That doesn't count for much in the league table, but it does land Joey Barton on the Premier League Team of the Week.
The Englishman made it a war zone in the centre of the park, snapping about and ensuring the Blues never settled into a passing rhythm. Cesc Fabregas struggled to make an impact, and Nemanja Matic fired off some rogue passes under pressure.
Wing: Yannick Bolasie, Crystal Palace
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Yannick Bolasie excelled this weekend, netting an 11-minute hat-trick against Sunderland in the second half to propel his Crystal Palace side over the 40-point threshold.
Two of the goals were simple long balls over the top, catching a woeful Black Cats defence somehow off guard, and Glenn Murray provided just enough distraction to ensure his colleague wound up with goal-scoring chances.
All of Bolasie's finishes were neat.
Wing: Ashley Young, Manchester United
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Ashley Young, take a bow!
Every week for the past four weeks, the former Aston Villa man has been performing superbly, restricting Angel Di Maria to a bench role as he takes over for the left wing.
He scored a good goal following an Ander Herrera cross in the Manchester derby on Sunday, and he served up two assists as the man-mountain Marouane Fellaini fed off his aerial deliveries.
AM/CF: Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool
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We've got Philippe Coutinho drifting and dribbling all over our formation, with his performance against Newcastle United on Monday up there with his best ever.
Put simply, he ran rings around the Magpies defence, confusing them and drawing up to four of them at any time to challenge him, creating pockets of space for others to utilise.
Raheem Sterling and Joe Allen scored the goals, but it was Coutinho who opened up the holes.
ST: Christian Benteke, Aston Villa
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There were a few contenders for the striker's spot here, notably Glenn Murray, but Christian Benteke took it upon himself to beat Tottenham Hotspur and secure three vital points for Aston Villa.
He scored a wonderful glancing header, guiding it in off the post from a distance, to put his side in the lead, and then he acted as the target man and holder every team craves, swatting away challenges with ease as he protected the ball and setup attacks.
His through-ball to Fabian Delph, setting up a missed one-on-one, was inch-perfect.
