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Premier League Team of the Week - Mohamed Salah, Marcus Rashford, Leroy Sane

Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week from gameweek 23, including Mohamed Salah, Leroy Sane and Marcus Rashford.

Gameweek 23 of the Premier League season did not disappoint, with two seven-goal thrillers, a crucial London derby and a relegation six-pointer.

Liverpool remain four points clear at the top of the table courtesy of their topsy-turvy 4-3 win over Crystal Palace at Anfield, a result Manchester City responded to by beating Huddersfield Town on Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur needed a late winner to overcome Fulham and strengthen their grip on third place, but Chelsea fell to defeat at Arsenal which blows the top four wide open.

Manchester United are also right in the mix after they made it seven wins from seven under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, while there were also triumphs for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bournemouth and Southampton.

Newcastle United climbed out of the bottom three with victory over fellow strugglers Cardiff City, while the only draw of the round saw Watford and Burnley play out a stalemate.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week for gameweek 23.



PL TOTW GW23

Tom Heaton appears to have wrested the goalkeeper's jersey back off Joe Hart at Burnley now, and he showed another example of exactly why by making four saves en route to a clean sheet against Watford at Vicarage Road.

The most high-profile match of the gameweek came at the Emirates as Arsenal took on Chelsea, and the Gunners picked up a huge win thanks largely to the performance at both ends from Laurent Koscielny, who coupled his goal with a rare clean sheet.

Hector Bellerin was also instrumental in that clean sheet in addition to registering an assist before being stretchered off with a serious-looking injury, while on the opposite flank Danilo netted Man City's 100th goal in all competitions this season with a deflected strike at Huddersfield.

There was fierce competition for places at centre-back this week - the likes of Steve Cook, Jamaal Lascelles, Jan Bednarek, James Tarkowski and Sokratis Papastathopoulos all deserve mentions - but Fabian Schar is a shoo-in following his two-goal show against Cardiff. Schar's first was something we are more used to seeing from the likes of Lionel Messi and, while his second did not quite meet that standard, he is still the first Newcastle defender to score twice in a game since 1996.

The Magpies will be hopeful that the result proves to be a catalyst for an upturn in form, as Ralph Hasenhuttl's appointment at Southampton has been. The Saints beat Everton this weekend, and James Ward-Prowse was a key part of that victory beyond just his goal.

Paul Pogba, Isaac Hayden and Ruben Neves should also be mentioned, but the second deep-lying midfield role in this team goes to Neves's clubmate Joao Moutinho, who picked up two assists in Wolves' thrilling 4-3 triumph over Leicester City.

The star of that particular show was Diogo Jota, though, as he became the first Wolves player to score a top-flight hat-trick since 1977, including a dramatic last-gasp winner to down the Foxes once and for all.

Liverpool were also 4-3 winners, and two of those goals came from inventive Mohamed Salah finishes as he reached 50 in the Premier League from just 72 appearances - only three players in the competition's history have ever taken fewer games.

Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane were both in contention for the final spot in the three behind the striker, and the latter just about edges it having contributed a goal and an assist in a quickfire double which took the game beyond Huddersfield after an under-par first-half display from the champions.

There was also plenty of competition for the centre-forward role in this team too with Raul Jimenez and Alexandre Lacazette in contention, but Marcus Rashford is one of the league's in-form players at the moment having been made United's number one striker and he shone again with a goal in their win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

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Barney Corkhill
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Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring against Brighton & Hove Albion on January 12, 2019.
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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