Liverpool 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 performance by Philippe Coutinho in the four nil victory over Bournemouth at the weekend at Dean Court 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 Coutinho as part of his team but explaining his choice he told the BBC.
‘Those of you who read my Team Of The Week on a regular basis will know what I think of Philippe Coutinho. He is a genius as far as I am concerned, and Liverpool should think themselves very lucky to still have him. Against Bournemouth he was his usual self – running the show with his normal brilliance. This game was over after 45 minutes at the Vitality Stadium. This was also a very different Jurgen Klopp than we saw seven days ago, when he was moaning about teams not wanting to play. It’s very simple Jurgen – play your best team and you will beat the weaker ones. Bournemouth went toe to toe with Liverpool and played into Klopp’s hands by trying to beat them at their own game. There was never any chance of that. So the stage was left for Coutinho to dazzle and sparkle and he didn’t disappoint. His goal was just fabulous. His touch around the corner which started the move was simply gorgeous. He then went on to complete a solo run before planting the ball past a helpless Asmir Begovic. I have Coutinho neck and neck with De Bruyne, David Silva and Sergio Aguero for my player of the season.’
It’s always good to see the club represented in this way, and well played to Coutinho for his recognition, but the most important thing about the weekend was of course the points.
Full Team:
Mathew Ryan (Brighton), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), James Collins (West Ham United), Marcos Alonso (Chelsea), Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace), Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City).
