Premier League team of the week - round 5

David de Gea's penalty save earned Manchester United all three points at West Ham
David de Gea's penalty save earned Manchester United all three points at West Ham / Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
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Week five in the Premier League was breathtaking from start to finish.

From the 38 shots on goal between Newcastle and Leeds on Friday night to Mark Noble climbing off the bench to miss a last-gasp penalty for West Ham against Manchester United, the weekend action really did have it all.

But, as is tradition, the quality contributions of the weekend must be narrowed down to an outstanding team of the week. Here's who made the 90min cut this week...


Premier League team of the week - round 5

1. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Thiago Silva
Thiago Silva was imperious against Tottenham - and scored from a corner / Visionhaus/Getty Images

David de Gea (GK) - Karl Darlow can feel hard done by after saving 36,173 shots against Leeds. But De Gea saved his first Premier League penalty in seven years, earning Manchester United a vital three points at West Ham.

Thiago Silva (CB) - He may be knocking on the door of 37 years old, but you wouldn't know it watching Silva against Spurs. Imperious in defence and scored a great header.

Virgil van Dijk (CB) - Liverpool are back in the groove and it's no coincidence that their upturn in form has correlated with Virgil van Dijk's return to fitness.

Antonio Rudiger (CB) - Chelsea supporters will be praying for a breakthrough in new contract talks with Rudiger. Solid as rock at the back, he was terrific moving forward and wrapped up the points against Spurs with a crisp low finish.

2. Wing-Backs & Midfielders

Matty Cash
Matty Cash scored his first Premier League goal against Everton / Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Matty Cash (RWB) - Villa put in a superb second half performance against Everton, inspired by a quick cameo from substitute Leon Bailey. But the real star of the show was Cash, who bagged his first Premier League goal and was generally excellent.

Oriol Romeu (CM) - "They have good players, like Oriol Romeu who is one of the best midfield players in the Premier League" - those the words of Pep Guardiola after Manchester City mustered just one shot on target against Southampton. Say no more.

Martin Odegaard (CM) - Arsenal needed somebody to stand up and take responsibility at Burnley, and that's exactly what Odegaard did. One wonderful free kick later and the points were going back to north London.

Marcos Alonso (LWB) - One of the Premier League's form players right now, Alonso had Tottenham new boy Emerson Royal on toast all afternoon - and could easily have bagged himself a hat-trick. Instead, he grabbed an assist as Chelsea cruised to a 3-0 win.

3. Forwards

Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah scored again against Crystal Palace / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

Mohamed Salah (RW) - Sadio Mane netted his 100th goal for Liverpool - and scored for the ninth game in a row against Crystal Palace - but it was Salah who again stole the show, scoring one and assisting another in a 3-0 win at Anfield.

Ivan Toney (ST) - Many wondered whether Toney would have the quality to succeed at Premier League level. Okay, his goal was a penalty, but his overall display at Wolves in Brentford's 2-0 win was top notch, as is his partnership with Bryan Mbuemo.

Ismaila Sarr (LW) - Watford know they must beat the likes of Norwich to have any chance of staving off relegation, and they also know Ismaila Sarr must be fit and firing. At Carrow Road, victory was secured and Sarr was excellent - scoring twice in a man of the match display.


Manager: Thomas Tuchel

There were a number of superb team performances over the course of the weekend, but Chelsea were the standout side. Thomas Tuchel's tactical changes at half-time enabled the Blues to overwhelm Tottenham on their own patch, culminating in a fantastic 3-0 win.

Honourable mentions: Karl Darlow (GK), Kristoffer Ajer (CB), Douglas Luiz (CM), Leandro Trossard (RW), Jesse Lingard (LW), Sadio Mane (LW), Allan Saint-Maximin (ST)