Taylor
Belletti Laursen Lescott Grounds
Ronaldo Wright-Phillips Richardson Young
Ashton Carew
Goalkeeper
(1) Maik Taylor (Birmingham)
As Arsenal piled on the pressure looking for a win, Taylor was among the busiest men on the pitch. He produced a string of saves to help earn the Blues a precious point, was only beaten by a penalty and even then nearly got to Emmanuel Adebayor's spot-kick.
Defenders
(2) Juliano Belletti (Chelsea)
Part of a defence that kept a clean sheet, the former Barcelona man underlined his attacking value when, from a first-half corner, he took the ball forward with a couple of touches then picked his spot and fired it into the top corner of the Tottenham net.
(3) Martin Laursen (Aston Villa)
The Danish international is in contract negotiations with his club this week, and another outstanding performance, this time against Reading, will have done his bargaining power no harm at all. Laursen rose to head home a corner just after the break for Villa's second, and later went close with another towering header from another corner. That was the icing on the cake of a solid defensive display.
(4) Joleon Lescott (Everton)
Having suffered in midweek against Chelsea, Lescott put in a commanding performance against Manchester City, outstanding in defence as Everton shut out Sven-Goran Eriksson's men, and decisive as an auxilliary attacker when turning in Mikel Arteta's cross from close-range after 31 minutes to wrap up victory for the Toffees.
(5) Jonathan Grounds (Middlesbrough)
The 19-year-old Boro left-back impressed against Liverpool with an assured performance on his first-team debut, and staked a claim for further opportunities as the latest promising young graduate of the Middlesbrough academy.
Midfielders
(6) Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
United's Portuguese winger has become almost a fixture in this Best XI, and his scintillating hat-trick against hapless Newcastle - his first Premier League treble - made it impossible yet again to leave him out. His remarkable goalscoring form - 22 already this season in all competitions - seems to get better and better, and he is surely a good bet to retain his player of the year accolade.
(7) Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea)
The Chelsea midfielder has flourished with regular games under Avram Grant, and he followed up his man-of-the-match performance against Everton in midweek with another against Tottenham on Saturday. A box of tricks throughout, he nearly set up Nicolas Anelka wit s debut goal, before making the game safe for Chelsea with a powerful shot from the edge of the area.
(8) Kieran Richardson (Sunderland)
The former Manchester United man was inspired against Portsmouth, scoring twice and hitting the woodwork as Sunderland earned a vital win in their fight against relegation. He took control of the game shortly after the half-hour mark, drilling a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner after being cleverly picked out by Kenwyne Jones, then picking up a loose ball, taking it past Herman Hreidarsson and finishing with a powerful drive into the opposite corner. He was only denied a hat-trick by the width of the crossbar.
(9) Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
The former Watford winger had a field day against Reading, leading the Royals' defence a merry dance all afternoon to devastating effect with his speed and accurate crossing. He was involved in all three Villa goals, crossing for the first two and playing in Gabriel Agbonlahor with an astute through-ball that the winger squared to Carew for the third. Manager Martin O'Neill said of Young: "He has taken things by storm. He has been fantastic. He also works hard. The way in which he tracks back is brilliant. He can go 60 yards at pace, beat players and has the ability to deliver from the open play of free-kicks."
Strikers
(10) Dean Ashton (West Ham)
Ashton is making up for lost time since his long lay-offs through injury, and produced a stirring centre-forward's display against Fulham. He scored his sixth goal of the season with a powerful header from Freddie Ljungberg's right-wing cross, and was denied two more only by the excellence of Antti Niemi, the Finnish keeper spectacularly tipping one effort on to the crossbar and then stopping another Ashton bullet when the striker cut in from the left.
(11) John Carew (Aston Villa)
The tall Norwegian was too hot for Reading to handle, and led the line with power and authority, scoring twice in a fine Villa victory. First he glanced in an inswinging free-kick to open the scoring, then had a shot tipped over by Hahnemann, before finishing an incisive attack that saw Agbonlahor run on to Young's through-ball and square it across the face of goal for Carew.
Honourable Mentions
There is an argument for including all the Manchester United side for their devastating second-half showing against Newcastle, and certainly Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Wayne Rooney and two-goal Carlos Tevez deserve mentions.
As far as goalkeepers are concerned, Antti Niemi (Fulham) had a compelling private duel with Dean Ashton, while Scott Carson shone for Aston Villa, as did Craig Gordon for Sunderland, and Petr Cech was in good form for Chelsea. And apart from letting in six and being one of those at fault for United's farcical second, Shay Given was actually Newcastle's best player.
Anton Ferdinand (West Ham) rates a mention with his brother, and Stephen Warnock and Christopher Samba were the pick of Blackburn's defenders. Liam Ridgewell (Birmingham), Dean Whitehead (Sunderland) and Luke Young (Middlesbrough) all did well.
In midfield, the performances of Jason Koumas (Wigan), Alex Hleb (Arsenal),Mikel Arteta and Phil Neville (Everton), Mark Noble and Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham), George Boateng (Middlesbrough) and Blackburn's David Bentley were all worthy of mention.
Among the strikers, apart from Tevez, Kenwyne Jones had an outstanding game for Sunderland, and Nicolas Anelka produced a highly promising cameo after coming on as a substitute for Chelsea. There was also a moment of pure class from Fernando Torres as the Spaniard salvaged a draw for Liverpool at Middlesbrough with a scorching shot from 20 yards.
Belletti Laursen Lescott Grounds
Ronaldo Wright-Phillips Richardson Young
Ashton Carew
Goalkeeper
(1) Maik Taylor (Birmingham)
As Arsenal piled on the pressure looking for a win, Taylor was among the busiest men on the pitch. He produced a string of saves to help earn the Blues a precious point, was only beaten by a penalty and even then nearly got to Emmanuel Adebayor's spot-kick.
Defenders
(2) Juliano Belletti (Chelsea)
Part of a defence that kept a clean sheet, the former Barcelona man underlined his attacking value when, from a first-half corner, he took the ball forward with a couple of touches then picked his spot and fired it into the top corner of the Tottenham net.
(3) Martin Laursen (Aston Villa)
The Danish international is in contract negotiations with his club this week, and another outstanding performance, this time against Reading, will have done his bargaining power no harm at all. Laursen rose to head home a corner just after the break for Villa's second, and later went close with another towering header from another corner. That was the icing on the cake of a solid defensive display.
(4) Joleon Lescott (Everton)
Having suffered in midweek against Chelsea, Lescott put in a commanding performance against Manchester City, outstanding in defence as Everton shut out Sven-Goran Eriksson's men, and decisive as an auxilliary attacker when turning in Mikel Arteta's cross from close-range after 31 minutes to wrap up victory for the Toffees.
(5) Jonathan Grounds (Middlesbrough)
The 19-year-old Boro left-back impressed against Liverpool with an assured performance on his first-team debut, and staked a claim for further opportunities as the latest promising young graduate of the Middlesbrough academy.
Midfielders
(6) Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
United's Portuguese winger has become almost a fixture in this Best XI, and his scintillating hat-trick against hapless Newcastle - his first Premier League treble - made it impossible yet again to leave him out. His remarkable goalscoring form - 22 already this season in all competitions - seems to get better and better, and he is surely a good bet to retain his player of the year accolade.
(7) Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea)
The Chelsea midfielder has flourished with regular games under Avram Grant, and he followed up his man-of-the-match performance against Everton in midweek with another against Tottenham on Saturday. A box of tricks throughout, he nearly set up Nicolas Anelka wit s debut goal, before making the game safe for Chelsea with a powerful shot from the edge of the area.
(8) Kieran Richardson (Sunderland)
The former Manchester United man was inspired against Portsmouth, scoring twice and hitting the woodwork as Sunderland earned a vital win in their fight against relegation. He took control of the game shortly after the half-hour mark, drilling a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner after being cleverly picked out by Kenwyne Jones, then picking up a loose ball, taking it past Herman Hreidarsson and finishing with a powerful drive into the opposite corner. He was only denied a hat-trick by the width of the crossbar.
(9) Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
The former Watford winger had a field day against Reading, leading the Royals' defence a merry dance all afternoon to devastating effect with his speed and accurate crossing. He was involved in all three Villa goals, crossing for the first two and playing in Gabriel Agbonlahor with an astute through-ball that the winger squared to Carew for the third. Manager Martin O'Neill said of Young: "He has taken things by storm. He has been fantastic. He also works hard. The way in which he tracks back is brilliant. He can go 60 yards at pace, beat players and has the ability to deliver from the open play of free-kicks."
Strikers
(10) Dean Ashton (West Ham)
Ashton is making up for lost time since his long lay-offs through injury, and produced a stirring centre-forward's display against Fulham. He scored his sixth goal of the season with a powerful header from Freddie Ljungberg's right-wing cross, and was denied two more only by the excellence of Antti Niemi, the Finnish keeper spectacularly tipping one effort on to the crossbar and then stopping another Ashton bullet when the striker cut in from the left.
(11) John Carew (Aston Villa)
The tall Norwegian was too hot for Reading to handle, and led the line with power and authority, scoring twice in a fine Villa victory. First he glanced in an inswinging free-kick to open the scoring, then had a shot tipped over by Hahnemann, before finishing an incisive attack that saw Agbonlahor run on to Young's through-ball and square it across the face of goal for Carew.
Honourable Mentions
There is an argument for including all the Manchester United side for their devastating second-half showing against Newcastle, and certainly Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Wayne Rooney and two-goal Carlos Tevez deserve mentions.
As far as goalkeepers are concerned, Antti Niemi (Fulham) had a compelling private duel with Dean Ashton, while Scott Carson shone for Aston Villa, as did Craig Gordon for Sunderland, and Petr Cech was in good form for Chelsea. And apart from letting in six and being one of those at fault for United's farcical second, Shay Given was actually Newcastle's best player.
Anton Ferdinand (West Ham) rates a mention with his brother, and Stephen Warnock and Christopher Samba were the pick of Blackburn's defenders. Liam Ridgewell (Birmingham), Dean Whitehead (Sunderland) and Luke Young (Middlesbrough) all did well.
In midfield, the performances of Jason Koumas (Wigan), Alex Hleb (Arsenal),Mikel Arteta and Phil Neville (Everton), Mark Noble and Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham), George Boateng (Middlesbrough) and Blackburn's David Bentley were all worthy of mention.
Among the strikers, apart from Tevez, Kenwyne Jones had an outstanding game for Sunderland, and Nicolas Anelka produced a highly promising cameo after coming on as a substitute for Chelsea. There was also a moment of pure class from Fernando Torres as the Spaniard salvaged a draw for Liverpool at Middlesbrough with a scorching shot from 20 yards.
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