Garth Crooks, a BBC football pundit, compiles his thoughts following each Premier League weekend and shares his Team of the Week with you.
Ederson (Manchester City): Colin Bell, Yaya Toure, or David Silva did a better job of delivering the transition from Ederton to Bernardo Silva toward the end of the first half. A better pass could not have been created by any of Manchester City's former midfield geniuses. The Brazilian has raised the bar for goalkeeping ever since he joined Manchester City. In every park and playground in the world, keepers are now expected to play football in addition to making saves, which Ederson can undoubtedly do. However, he is now expanding his repertoire to include passes that can be split in defense, even against Liverpool. What will become of it?
There isn't a cleaner ball striker in the Premier League than Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), with the exception of Kevin de Bruyne. Erling Haaland almost always manages to get a corner of the net, but his strikes aren't nearly as precise as Arnold Arnold's. The Liverpool defender is a throwback to the days when greats like Chris Lawler and Alec Lindsey enjoyed scoring goals and hitting the ball with equal sweetness. Darwin Nunez made an effort to ruin Liverpool's good performance at Manchester City. Instead of picking fights and expressing his annoyance at the opposition manager because he has been substituted, Nunez should really spend his time focusing on the reason why his goals aren't increasing.
Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle): I don't believe I've ever witnessed anything quite like it: Reece James was dismissed for two of the most pitiful and pointless bookings you'll ever see, Thiago Silva pretended to be thinking elsewhere, and Chelsea was expelled after four goals were scored against them. Jamaal Lascelles, who has patiently waited to not only rejoin this Newcastle team but is now one of their main contributors, scored a goal in that game. Before the international break, some Newcastle supporters questioned the team's commitment against Bournemouth due to a long list of injuries. What are they saying this week, I wonder?
Nathan Ake (Manchester City): As an 18-year-old protege, I watched this young man play for Chelsea. There's no denying that Chelsea let him go because he appeared capable of a career in the sport but still needed to work hard to achieve top-tier defender status, become an international player, or even represent the defeated team in Europe. You can tell how hard the Dutchman worked by the fact that he has now accomplished all of the aforementioned. He was quite brilliant in how he eliminated two players from the game before delivering the ideal pass for Erling Haaland to defeat Liverpool. This is yet another sign of Manchester City's hiring practices' caliber. Despite not paying a fortune for him, the city was still able to find the gem.
Declan Rice (Arsenal): Mikel Arteta is free to criticize all he wants for maintaining his team's professionalism and keeping a clean sheet against Brentford, but Arsenal prevailed. Declan Rice was a genius when he noticed Aaron Ramsdale was having trouble, moved behind his goalkeeper, and perfectly positioned himself to kick the ball off the line. As influential as Martin Odegaard was for the Gunners last season, Rice is proving to be. Arsenal now has a respectable run of games before facing Villa, Liverpool, and Brighton at home after the victory moves them to the top of the table. None of these things will be simple, but anything is possible if they can maintain their lead into the new year.
Michael Olise (Crystal Palace): I'm not entirely sure how Luton defeated Crystal Palace in this game. It is obvious that Palace's defeat was influenced by losing Cheick Doucoure and Eberechi Eze so early in the game. Michael Olise, however, is a player for Crystal Palace who will undoubtedly be just as significant to the team as Wilfried Zaha was when he was there, albeit hopefully without the attitude. His sensational 74-minute equalizer ought to have been sufficient to win the Eagles a point. Roy Hodgson, meanwhile, is regarded as the doyen among managers due to his succinct, dignified, and measured contribution in his post-match interview. Without breaking any laws, he was biting and cutting at the officials. It's time for this man to receive a knighthood for his game-related contributions.
Mohammed Kudus (West Ham): When David Moyes learned that Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen, two of his best players, had returned from international duty hurt, he must have been giggling uncontrollably. Mohammed Kudus, who will represent Ghana against Comoros in a World Cup qualifier, is fortunate to have returned from his trip to the Indian Ocean. I'm not sure what transpired in Comoros after Ghana's 1-0 loss, but Kudus, who was outstanding when he returned for West Ham against Burnley, didn't appear to be impacted. Kudus was the Hammers' star player on two separate occasions when he created magical moments that led to goals for the team. Burnley, meanwhile, is seated at the foot of the table, their confidence growing with each setback.
Anthony Gordon: (Newcastle) Eddie Howe is in charge of this player at Newcastle, and he is still doing well. Jamaal Lascelles' finish to put Newcastle 4-1 up was brilliant, and the ball for him to go home was fantastic. The former Everton player has adjusted to his new surroundings like a duck to water and appears to have been born to play for the Geordies. The Magpies, however, have the harshest schedule yet. On Tuesday, they play at Paris St-Germain before returning home on Saturday to face Manchester United. After visiting Everton, Tottenham, and Milan, they play Chelsea once more in the Carabao Cup quarterfinals. That is the cost you must pay if you want to be a big club.
Alejandro Garnacho (Man Utd): I saw it, but I'm not sure I can take it at face value. Alejandro Garnacho's overhead bicycle kick against Everton for Manchester United was incredible. The technique's timing and execution were the best I've ever seen. We are only in November, but it will likely win the season's goal. That much was impressive. Manchester United was also calmed down by the goal, and for the majority of the first half, they appeared at ease. You should be able to tell how good the goal was just by the fact that lad didn't do much else during this game. This was a belter, and goals are what matter.
What a great game this was between Nottingham Forest and Brighton, says Joao Pedro of Brighton. You have the right to celebrate with your supporters when you play like Brighton did and triumph away from home. After only 21 minutes, Joao Pedro switched the game for the Seagulls by joining Ansu Fati. The visitors received points thanks to the Brazilian's brilliant header and deft use of penalty. Steve Cooper was equally dissatisfied with the outcome as he was with Roberto de Zerbi, the manager of Brighton, who had become engrossed in the euphoria and neglected to shake hands after the game. It wasn't personal, I'm sure, but calling Mr. Cooper on Monday morning and apologizing would have been appropriate.
You can't give a top-tier striker three touches in the box and expect anything less than to see the ball land in your own net, says Erling Haaland (Man City). When defenders give a striker in Haaland's class space and time in the penalty area, they are reminded by Joel Matip and Virgil Van Dijk. All you need to know about Haaland's desire to put the ball in the back of the net is revealed by the way he celebrates his goals. In Premier League history, the Norwegian has now scored 50 goals more quickly than any other striker.
The Problem's Crooks
After learning just before the game that former player and manager Terry Venables had passed away, Tottenham's game took on a different appearance.
Terry was the one who gave me my England Under-21 debut against Bulgaria, so I had always had a special affection for him. I convinced myself that I had just played myself out of his starting lineup because I was so anxious and had the worst training session imaginable before the game. When I saw Terry approaching me, I was feeling hopeless and dejected as I picked up all the balls from my terrible finishing that I had scattered across the Leicester City training ground. He was about to tell me he was dropping me from the team, I thought.
He slowly took one of the balls I had in my arms and said, "Calm down, I know what you can do," without anyone noticing. Just unwind because you're playing tonight. We all carried on with the training session as if nothing had happened and no one was the wiser after he turned around and threw the ball I had just taken from me onto the field.
I couldn't believe it. He didn't just have faith in me; he also knew the suffering and anguish I was experiencing and was ready to end it without telling my team members.
I had a million dollars in my pocket and was equally committed to repaying the manager's confidence in me. I scored a hat-trick, and we defeated Bulgaria 5-0. No other manager in charge of that team, in my opinion, could have handled the circumstance the way he did. Since then, I've spent a lot of time with him, but that incident never came up again.
Almost every Terry Venables player I've come across has a similar tale to tell. He was an excellent communicator in addition to being a football player and manager. Few players could match his ability to connect with them. Without him, the game would be less competitive because he was unique.
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