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 Vincent Kompany, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero in the two one victory over Huddersfield Town at the weekend at the John Smith’s Stadium 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 latest weekend.
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.
Kompany:
‘Too cute for Laurent Depoitre and too strong for Rajiv van la Parra. And that was just the first 30 minutes. Vincent Kompany laid his marker down very early. But what a masterstroke by Pep Guardiola to leave Kompany completely out of matters concerning Feyenoord in midweek and to save him to face Huddersfield. The goal City conceded against Huddersfield was a freak – and it needed to be in order for the Terriers to get something out of this match. However, with Nicolas Otamendi as unpredictable as ever, City needed some sort of insurance policy at the back. Kompany proved to be precisely that. To see him withdrawn on 70 minutes was the ultimate brinkmanship by Guardiola. To take off your best and most valuable defender and put on a centre-forward in order to win the game deserved the victory all by itself. Who would have thought Manchester City beating Huddersfield would have been such an important victory? But it took guts by Guardiola and at a cost to Kompany.’
Sterling:
‘This lad is developing at an extraordinary rate under Pep Guardiola. I can’t remember if I have ever seen him look so hungry for goals. It was Sterling who broke through the Huddersfield defence in the opening minute of the second half, when I thought he should have had a penalty but referee Craig Pawson thought otherwise. Almost in the next move, Sterling was brought down in the penalty area because of his threatening pace and determination to get in behind the Huddersfield backline. It was that resolve that earned City the winner and one they richly deserved. Huddersfield fans won’t thank me for saying this but when you play football and take the sort of risks City do, you have to admire them. This is the second time this season that Sterling has won the game for Manchester City in the dying minutes of the match. The last time he did it, he got sent off. This time he sent City eight points clear of the pack.’
Aguero:
‘At the highest level, football is all about bottle – and Sergio Aguero has plenty of it. At 1-0 down at Huddersfield, the Argentine takes a penalty and converts it as though it’s a training session. I could feel the pressure just waiting for Aguero to pick his spot. However, what has been clear in Aguero’s game this season has been a greater willingness to work for the team. I always got the feeling under Manuel Pellegrini that Aguero was the big star and, along with David Silva and Yaya Toure, ran the show. But since Guardiola’s arrival there is a much greater appreciation of the team from the Argentina international, and he no longer looks like the only person in the team who has permission to score a goal. Make no mistake, he is a world-class player and good at scoring goals – but what I love about him is how he seems to relish the big moments in a match. In fact, the bigger the moment the more he seems to enjoy it. That in itself is what I call world class. Watching City play these days is an absolute pleasure and not only reinforces how football can be played, but how it should be played.’
It’s always good to see the club represented in this way, and well played to the trio for their recognition, but the most important thing about the weekend was of course the win.
Full Team:
Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Will Hughes (Watford), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Crystal Palace), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City).
