Gameweek 11 of the 2021-22 Premier League season is done and dusted, with Chelsea still leading the way at the top of the pile despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley on home soil.
Manchester City now sit three points adrift of Thomas Tuchel's side after downing Manchester United 2-0 in the derby, while Liverpool saw West Ham United usurp them following a 3-2 defeat in the capital.
Arsenal took advantage of their rivals' slip-ups to rise to fifth following a 1-0 win over Watford, while Brighton & Hove Albion's winless streak continued with a 1-1 draw versus Newcastle United.
Tottenham Hotspur kicked off the Antonio Conte reign in the Premier League with a goalless stalemate at Everton, and their London rivals Crystal Palace continued their surge with a 2-0 success over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Elsewhere, Norwich City claimed their first win of the season against Brentford, Leicester City and Leeds United played out a 1-1 stalemate, and Southampton overcame Aston Villa in a game that cost Dean Smith his job.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Team of the Week for gameweek 11 of the Premier League season.
DEFENCE
© Reuters
Ben Foster deserves an honourable mention for defying his age at the Emirates, but Norwich would not have claimed their first victory of the season without Tim Krul, who made a total of six saves to restrict Brentford to one goal and play a key part in the Canaries' triumph.
Unsurprisingly, the West Ham representatives pile in this week, and the first Hammer to earn a spot is Kurt Zouma, whose second-half header proved decisive at the London Stadium as the Frenchman peeled into space at the back stick to head home, while he also made three blocks and seven clearances to preserve his side's lead.
Arsenal's Ben White sent a clear selection message to England manager Gareth Southgate after his recent snub, as the ex-Brighton man stood firm at the back against Watford with six clearances, three blocks, three interceptions and six aerial duels won to help extend the Gunners' unbeaten streak.
Another North London member of our three-man backline starred during Conte's first Premier League game in charge of Tottenham, as Cristian Romero posted an 89% pass accuracy, won three of his four aerial duels and made four blocks in a solid Merseyside display.
MIDFIELD
© Reuters
His goal contributions went unrewarded on the day, but take nothing away from Trent Alexander-Arnold's display against West Ham, as the right-back left Lukasz Fabianski rooted to the spot with a delightful strike following a free kick and provided the assist for Divock Origi's late consolation on the day.
On the opposite side of the engine room, Joao Cancelo continues to thrive in his left-back role for City and had a hand in both goals on the day - providing the cross which Eric Bailly turned into his own net before picking out the run of Bernardo Silva at the back stick - and 89% of the Portuguese's passes also came off.
There were no prizes for guessing who was the star of the show in Palace's win over Wolves, as Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher once again stole the show with his fourth league goal of the season - albeit a deflected one - and the Englishman also made four key passes and four tackles in an all-action display.
An unwavering force in the middle of the park, Declan Rice's showing against Liverpool was exemplary for any young defensive midfielder, as the England international won six of his eight ground duels, made five tackles and completed 91% of his passes in the capital. Ahead of him is a man who only ended the day with one goal rather than two, but Pablo Fornals was the heartbeat of the Hammers side which sunk Liverpool and thoroughly deserved to be on the winning side.
ATTACK
© Reuters
Brighton's Leandro Trossard certainly won his crucial penalty in controversial fashion against Newcastle, but the tricky Belgian certainly did his talking on the pitch - coolly firing home the spot kick and posting four accurate long balls from five such attempts.
The final member of our Team of the Week scored the first goal of gameweek 11 - and his first since the opening day of the season - as Southampton's Adam Armstrong ended his goal drought in impressive fashion with a thunderous finish against Villa and also succeeded with three of his four dribble attempts in front of his own fans.
SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-1-2): Krul; Zouma, White, Romero; Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Gallagher, Cancelo; Fornals; Trossard, Armstrong
