Manchester City are represented in the latest Premier League team of the week that has been selected by BBC pundit Garth Crooks.
Actually Garth is now down as a ‘Football Analyst’ these days, a posh term for a pundit then!
The performances by Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho for Manchester City during their festive fixtures was enough to earn them a place in the side alongside the other, in the opinion of the former Spurs striker anyway, most impressive performers in the topflight over the last few matchdays.
I think we’ll already know ourselves, and not just based on the latest performance, why Crooks, we’ll also not argue with it, selected the trio as part of his team but explaining his choice he told the BBC.
Walker:
‘It was nice to see rival managers Roy Hodgson and Pep Guardiola sitting together reflecting on what was arguably the most entertaining 0-0 draw of the festive period when Crystal Palace held Manchester City on New Year’s Eve. This was a very different test for City and short of an excellent penalty save from Ederson, Palace would have taken all three points. However, there were some star performances from City in that game, and Walker’s was definitely one of them. Walker has played every game throughout the festive period and been as solid as a rock. The England full-back has matured under Guardiola, especially as a defender. He tamed the menace of Wilfried Zaha for most of the game against Palace and made City look almost impenetrable down their right side. Walker has made the transition from Tottenham to City look easy. And now he is on the verge of winning a Premier League title as well. I was amazed by the amount of money City were prepared to pay for him, but no-one is talking about that £50m price tag now, are they? Least of all me.’
Sterling:
‘The touch around the corner from Sergio Aguero for Sterling to finish against Bournemouth was just mesmerising. Sterling was brilliant on the ball yet again and the England star provided a glorious ball for Danilo to scored his first goal for the club in the 4-0 win over the Cherries. Sterling has proved to be a total pain in the neck for Bournemouth this season as he robbed them of points in the reverse fixture at the start of the season. Against Newcastle, Sterling, who has a striking resemblance to a young Eusebio (and has his pace), was electric once again and seems to be latching onto everything Kevin de Bruyne throws at him. The awareness these City players seem to have acquired under the careful development of Pep Guardiola is simply breath-taking.’
Fernandinho:
‘When they give out the industry awards at the end of the season I can almost guarantee Fernandinho will not be among them. No PFA team of the season award, or Players’ Player of the Year, but what he is guaranteed is a place every week in the best team in the country. Fernandinho is another player who has played in every Manchester City fixture throughout the festive period and been absolutely magnificent. I adore this player because he is a throwback to the old-fashioned midfielder on whom you can always depend. David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne will get the awards but with Fernandinho in the team and with their unassailable lead, Pep Guardiola knows City will win the only award that really matters and that is the Premier League title. And it doesn’t get better than that.’
It’s always good to see the club represented in this way, so well played to all three for their recognition.
Full Team:
Mat Ryan (Brighton), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal).
