Premier League Team of the Week: De Bruyne, Salah and Moura feature

Premier League best XI for Week 17, featuring Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and Lucas Moura.

Kevin De Bruyne’s place as the jewel in the Manchester City crown is secure after the way he dominated hapless Arsenal in Week 17 of the 2019-20 Premier League season.

De Bruyne scored twice and assisted another goal to help City run riot at the Emirates Stadium. The emphatic win was enough to get the Citizens back on track in the league, but the defending champions are still 14 points behind leaders Liverpool, who were inspired by Mohamed Salah on Saturday.

Salah scored both goals to lift the Reds above a sluggish performance and beat bottom-of-the-table Watford. Things got better for Liverpool when second-place Leicester dropped points at home to a Norwich side enjoying a rare strong showing defensively, thanks in large part to right-back Max Aarons.

Tottenham aren’t in the title picture, but Spurs are closing the gap on the top four after beating Wolves 2-1 on Sunday. Jan Vertonghen settled things in injury time, but Lucas Moura was the true star of the show for Jose Mourinho’s men.

Find out who else makes the latest Premier League team of the week:

Goalkeeper: Aaron Ramsdale, Bournemouth

The end of Bournemouth’s recent losing run owed a lot to the determined performance of Aaron Ramsdale. He was outstanding between the sticks during Saturday’s 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Ramsdale made impressive saves in key moments to keep the Cherries in the game. His crucial intervention to deny Emerson Palmieri preceded Dan Gosling’s winner for the visitors.

Bournemouth still needed Ramsdale to help preserve a slender lead. The 21-year-old stopper answered the call when he rebuffed a late effort from Mateo Kovacic.

Goals have been an issue for the Cherries this season, but improvement at the back has been noticeable. Ramsdale’s rapid development is a big reason why.

Defender: Diego Rico, Bournemouth

While Ramsdale has impressed for Bournemouth, Diego Rico rates as another astute find by Cherries boss Eddie Howe. The Spaniard has been a quiet revelation at left-back, providing pinpoint deliveries from both open play and set-piece situations.

Rico has also been maturing into a capable defender, a side of his game he showcased against Chelsea. It was Rico’s job to keep Willian and Cesar Azpilicueta subdued, a tough task but one the former Leganes defender managed well.

Willian suffered through a drab performance because of Rico’s positional sense, discipline and well-timed tackling. Meanwhile, Azpilicueta was rarely afforded any room to cross on the overlap.

Keeping a clean sheet at Stamford Bridge without injured talisman Nathan Ake was no small achievement. Rico made sure the Cherries didn’t buckle under pressure.

Defender: Jack O’Connell, Sheffield United

Sheffield United’s ability to ruffle feathers in England’s top flight comes from the strong platform provided by their three-man defense. Jack O’Connell is a key member of the trio, and the ball-playing center-back was exceptional during Saturday’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa.

The latter arrived at Bramall Lane with more than a few threats to worry the hosts. There was the pace and strength of bullish target man Wesley up top, whose attributes were complemented by the flair and guile of Jack Grealish, as well as John McGinn’s shooting power.

Yet none of those players managed to make a dent because of O’Connell’s assurance. He never let himself be bullied in the air by Wesley, helping John Egan render the striker moot.

O’Connell also rarely afforded McGinn time and space to test the Sheffield goal from distance. On the ball, O’Connell chose his options well, threading passes between the lines to release wing-backs Enda Stevens and George Baldock in space.

Keeping the heart of his defense intact won’t be easy for Blades’ boss Chris Wilder, with big clubs sure to run the rule over O’Connell, Egan and Co. next summer.

Defender: Ben Mee, Burnley

When Newcastle arrived at Turf Moor with both Andy Carroll and Joelinton in the starting lineup, the message to Burnley’s defenders was clear. They were going to have to be strong in the air.

Fortunately for the Clarets, Ben Mee was never likely to shy away from the challenge. Instead, the rugged center-back relished battling Joelinton and Carroll head on.

Mee’s appetite for a slugfest meant Burnley’s defense was barely troubled by Newcastle’s aerial bombardment. Being under little pressure at the back meant the Clarets could focus on mustering enough of an attacking threat to edge the game thanks to Chris Wood’s lone goal.

Defender: Max Aarons, Norwich

Norwich weren’t expected to frustrate Leicester, but a surprisingly stubborn rearguard action halted the Foxes’ title challenge. It was led by Aarons, who kept the door shut at the back and posed a credible threat going forward.

Aarons’ remit at the start of the day was to nullify Ben Chilwell’s runs from left-back and also be mindful of Jamie Vardy’s penchant to roam the channels.

Both challenges required full concentration from Aarons, who responded in kind. He tracked Chilwell brilliantly, denying the Foxes one of their favorite attacking outlets.

Aarons routinely blocked crosses and also helped central defender Christoph Zimmerman double up on Vardy whenever the striker tried to take a different path to goal.

This was a mature and composed performance from a precocious 19-year-old who will only get better.

Midfielder: Lucas Moura, Tottenham

Jose Mourinho’s early impact at Spurs can best be summed up by the turnaround in the performances of Lucas Moura. The Brazilian was in danger of becoming a forgotten figure under Mauricio Pochettino, but Mourinho has made the winger a feature of his team.

Moura continued to repay the faith with a star turn during the 2-1 win over Wolves. Spurs opened the scoring in style thanks to a spectacular strike from Moura.

The goal embodied the pace, flair and decisive shooting power key to the 27-year-old’s best game. It also maintained what is becoming a prolific run since Mourinho took charge:

Moura continued to drag a usually well-drilled Wolves team out of shape after his goal. His trickery and vision helped create excellent chances for Eric Dier and Dele Alli, continuing an impressive renaissance on Mourinho’s watch.

Midfielder: Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City

De Bruyne was in the mood for a masterclass in north London, signalling his intent after just two minutes.

https://twitter.com/NBCSportsSoccer/status/1206253421734612993

Fortunately for lovers of the beautiful game, this wonderstrike was merely the opening salvo from a playmaker at the peak of his powers. De Bruyne proceeded to routinely exploit space intelligently, pick the right passes and make the most of opportunities that came his way.

Fittingly, the Belgian went from goalscorer to provider when he teed up Raheem Sterling to score City’s second on 15 minutes. There was still time for De Bruyne to end the game as a contest by finding the net again five minutes before the break.

He slipped into cruise control after the restart, a just reward for delivering one of the signature displays of the season:

The title may be beyond City, but this team won’t finish the campaign without silverware of some kind as long as De Bruyne continues to orchestrate things.

Midfielder: John Fleck, Sheffield United

The Sheffield United engine room doesn’t get the plaudits a versatile back five receives, but it’s just as important to the team’s success.

It was the men in the middle who had Villa chasing shadows, with John Lundstam and John Fleck offering something extra. The latter proved decisive by bagging a brace, scoring his first five minutes into the second half after collecting a smart pass from Lundstram.

Fleck was unerring in front of goal again on 73 minutes when his finish rewarded dazzling work from striker David McGoldrick. With four goals to his credit already, Scotland international Fleck has handled the step up to England’s top flight superbly, just like the rest of his team.

Midfielder: Adama Traore, Wolves

Allowing an unmarked Vertonghen to head in a stoppage-time winner meant Wolves had wasted a brilliant performance from Adama Traore. The spark-plug winger ran Tottenham ragged from the right.

Traore’s electric pace, natural running power and willingness to take on shots kept Vertonghen and Spurs’ goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga busy. An early sighter from Traore was a warning Spurs did not heed, and the former Barcelona product continued to find space and threaten goal.

Traore’s endeavor was eventually rewarded when he unleashed a thunderbolt on 67 minutes:

While it wasn’t enough to earn Wolves a share of the points, Traore’s goal underlined the magic he is starting to produce on a regular basis.

Striker: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool

An ankle injury and brief tension with strike partner Sadio Mane contributed to a somewhat stunted first half of the season for Salah. Yet Liverpool’s attacking talisman appears to finally to have his groove back after his two-goal show against Watford.

Those goals increased Salah’s tally to nine in the league and 13 in all competitions. More important, the Egyptian has found the net in each of his last three starts.

He kept momentum going against the Hornets by going for goal whenever the chance came his way:

https://twitter.com/StatmanDave/status/1205855926042931200

Salah’s greedy streak can irk team-mates, but it’s also a major reason why defenses fear him. His pace and snap shots are why markers can never rest when Salah is around, and why Liverpool force so many mistakes from the opposition high up the pitch.

Salah rediscovering his best form is dragging Liverpool through some fairly pedestrian overall performances. He’s also likely to drag the Reds to the title.

Striker: Teemu Pukki, Norwich

The Pukki Blinder is another striker who has revived his form when his team needs him most. Pukki’s goal against Leicester, his third in his last four appearances, helped earn an unlikely and precious point for a Norwich squad still facing a fight to beat the drop.

Aside from banking a point, Pukki’s goal also put the Finn in a unique position among scorers in the English game:

https://twitter.com/BBCMOTD/status/1205987342240112640

The Canaries got a true bargain when Pukki signed on a free transfer back in 2018. His goals will be the difference between safety and relegation.