English Premier League Gameday: Team of the Week for Week 5
The fifth weekend of games in the Premier League seen one of the biggest rivalries in English football come to a head.
Old Trafford hosted the much anticipated games between Manchester United and Liverpool and although the game may not go down as a classic it was certainly dramatic.
Chelsea one again ended a game with four goals in the plus column. Newcastle bounced back from a poor result against Blackpool, to take three hard fought points away to Everton.
Tottenham hosted Wolves and saved their blushes in the second-half by coming back from a goal down to win the game 3-1.
Manchester City joined their city rivals in celebrating three points, while West Ham took their first points of the season.
The following list consists the best starting eleven from the weekend of games. The formation I will be using is the age old 4-4-2.
Goalkeeper: Brad Friedal - Aston Villa
1 of 11
Things have not been as good as they may have looked before the season for Aston Villa, but they have their big American goalkeeper for the point they took at the weekend.
Despite conceding a goal Brad Friedal put on a man-of-the-match display and prevented his side loses back to back games by concede twice after going ahead.
The American had to pull out a range of numerous saves to keep his team in the game and prevent Bolton taking all three points.
Right Back: Alan Hutton - Tottenham
2 of 11
There are very few times that a substitution will make his way into the team of the week, but Alan Hutton did exactly that.
Hutton came of the bench early in the second half to try and give Tottenham some attacking threat from the back.
Wolves struggled to keep him under wraps and he busted his gut to make it up and down the right flank. Hutton strove forward and forced the issue and won a penalty which helped push Tottenham in the right direction.
He also drove forward near the close of the game and got his name on the scoresheet to wrap the game up for Tottenham, albeit fortuitously from a deflection, but he made the deflection occur.
Centre Back: Chris Samba - Blackburn Rovers
3 of 11
Chris Samba is swiftly becoming one of the most consistent and impressive centre backs in the Premier League.
Samba got his name on the scoresheet with a nice header on the edge of the box, albeit the goal may have been disallowed as the Fulham goalkeeper seemed to be impeded as his came out to gather the ball.
Fulham had very little going forward and Damien Duff could manage very little in the shadow of Chris Samba. The rock and anchor of the Blackburn defense is one of the major reasons why Blackburn will push for Europe this season.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Centre Back: Nemanja Vidic - Manchester United
4 of 11
Despite having a few months of defensive jitters, Nemanja Vidic has regained his strength in form and has been a rock in the heart of the backline for Man United.
The captaincy has helped Vidic's morale and find form and he was against solid at the back against Liverpool.
Vidic stomped any fears he had of Fernando Torres after preventing the Spaniard to get a foot in the game. The Serbian was unbeatable in the air and dominated anything that came into his zone.
Left Back: Ashley Cole - Chelsea
5 of 11
Despite being picked to play at left back that did not stop Ashley Cole being the furthest player forward for Chelsea from time to time.
Cole has not reached his blistering best that he is capable of but he certainly is still a threat playing at halfway to that.
He has very little to do at the back but was a force going forward. Blackpool could not stop him driving into the box and whipping in very dangerous crosses.
He did not get his name on the scoresheet, nor did he get an assist but he certainly did a job on the back line of Blackpool.
Right Midfield: Nani - Manchester United
6 of 11
Many were ready to place Nani in the pool of Manchester United failures but this season he has up'd his game and has been one of the most important players in the United team.
Nani had Liverpool's left back, Paul Konchesky in his pocket all game. He showed glimpses of dazzling skill but the most important thing he did was put his head down and take on the Liverpool defense.
He whipped in a great ball to set up Berbatov for his second and he also smashed a great effort off the bar.
Centre Midfield: Steed Malbranque - Sunderland
7 of 11
Arsenal will feel like they were robbed, but Sunderland will feel they that got just what they deserved from the game.
Steed Malbranque was without doubt the best player on the pitch for Sunderland. He was the main attacking vessel for Sunderland and showed a great piece of skill when surrounded by three Arsenal players to make space. A move that even the Gunners could appreciate.
He did the duty of a centre midfielder perfectly by going both forward and backwards, and he worked continuously to win possession back for his team as well as to retain it.
Attacking Midfield: Florent Malouda - Chelsea
8 of 11
Frank who? The main man in the attacking midfield role for Chelsea is Frenchman Florent Malouda. Every game he acts as if he another striker for Chelsea.
He has scored seven goals already from midfield for Chelsea and that is after just five games.
Malouda has started to have this great habit of getting into the right area at the right time and hitting the back of the net.
His first was a tap in but his second was smashed into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Malouda is putting a strong case for the best midfielder in the Premier League.
Left Midfield: Hatem Ben Arfa - Newcastle
9 of 11
Newcastle were stunned by a two-nil home defeat to Blackpool, but they straighten things with a solid performance against Everton at Goodison Park.
Left winger Hatem Ben Arfa was the stand-out player for the Magpies. He showed great pace and desire, and looked to trouble Everton at every moment.
He used the winger as well as cutting into the middle, and that is were he found his goal. If it was not for Berbatov's stunning overhead kick the strike of the weekend would definitely have gone to Ben Arfa.
Forward: Didier Drogba - Chelsea
10 of 11
Didier Drogba may have only netted once against Blackpool, but he was on top form and was unstoppable. Drogba forced his way around the Blackpool defense and he could not have done anymore for the Chelsea cause.
His goal was not a classic but they all count. He also could have easily been handed a penalty after he was chopped down deep in the Blackpool penalty area.
Drogba's movement was amazing and created the space for Kalou and Malouda to move into.
Blackpool will have nightmares of Drogba for the next few nights.
Forward: Dimitar Berbatov - Manchester United
11 of 11
There was no doubt about who was going to occupy one of the striker roles this week. Dimitar Berbatov keeps improving week to week and is proving that he was worth every single penny that Alex Ferguson put up for him.
He worked from start to finish and was unmarkable by the Liverpool centre backs. His control and vision topped off with great goal scoring made him the toast of Manchester for the past few days.
Berbatov showed great strength and determination to get two headers, one against Fernando Torres as he was falling away from the net. He also towered above Jamie Carragher to net the winner.
However, the cream of his hat-trick was undoubtedly his second. A cross came in very high, the Bulgarian took one touch on his tight to set the ball, and then he overhead kicked the ball into the back of the Liverpool net off the crossbar.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
