The Match Day 11 has come to an end and the stats are showing a sorry tale for the defenders with a single clean sheet across the board with only Chelsea managing to keep a tepid Everton side out in a 5-0 win. The players shielding the backline and marshalling the midfield, playing the symbolic messengers between the defence and attack carrying the ball over to the front line and sometimes feeling a bit adventurous and take a pop themselves. A majority of the midfielders failed to carry out their roles perfectly which exposed the defence to the menacing and free-flowing attackers the Premier league boast of now. But amidst all of this, there were a handful of players who stood out and contributed positively in both attack and defence. Let us take a brief look at the3 midfielders who caught our eye over the weekend.
MARTEN DE ROON
The record summer signing for Middlesbrough- Marten de Roon’s life in England got off to a poor start after he was injured in the very first match against Stoke. Having missed a handful of matches, it seems the player is eager to make up for lost time and has settled well into his new surroundings. He was employed in a 3-man midfield by the newly flexible Aitor Karanka and full marks to him for being able to pop up with a bullet header after a midfield performance where he worked himself to the ground against a dominant City side.
FERNANDINHO
Manchester City failed to apply the finishing touches to their dominant performance over the Teesiders and while one could argue about the chances the attackers missed, one cannot fault Fernandinho for another near faultless showing in midfield. He has made the position in front of the defence his own and while Gundogan was primarily brought in for that role, he has had to be adjusted in the line-up.
The Brazilian was once again an ever-present factor in midfield and he received passes and distributed play beautifully. He had little defending to do which might have helped his cause but it won’t take anything away from the performance. He had 87 successful passes with an accuracy of 87% and also provided 1 key pass.
NEMANJA MATIC
The Serbian was expected to be moved on by the majority of the people associated with the club but in a joint effort by the manager and the player, they have managed to turn things around and Matic has established himself as one of the more important players in the team which has been absolutely phenomenal. His partnership with N’Golo Kante has been lauded and is the launch pad for Chelsea attacks and the wall to be broken down before coming up against the defence. Matic had 76 successful passes with an accuracy of 92%. He further provided 3 key passes and also came up with an assist.
STAS COURTESY: SQUAWKA.COM
