The Premier League kicked off this weekend with an end to end 2-2 draw between Leicester City and Stoke City. That four-goal thriller was then followed by several 1-0 wins in the 3 pm kickoffs as Huddersfield beat West Brom 1-0. Newcastle lost 1-0 to Bournemouth, Southampton lost 1-0 to Burnley and Brighton beat Swansea 1-0.
Thankfully the late Saturday game was a bit more exciting as Liverpool put four past West Ham.
Spurs then beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in the early kickoff on Sunday. Followed by Manchester City beating Arsenal 3-1 to remain unbeaten. And also put pressure on 2nd place Manchester United who lost 1-0 to Chelsea in one of two late kickoffs. The other late kickoff saw Everton come from 2-0 down to beat Watford 3-2. Here are three players who could be the Premier League POTW for week 11. You can vote for who you think should be POTW be clicking on the tweet embedded at the bottom of this article.
Xherdan Shaqiri vs Leicester City
Stoke City have certainly struggled for form in recent weeks. They had won just three times in the league this season and Mark Hughes is coming under increasing pressure.
So, when Stoke hosted a revitalised Leicester side, they knew they would face a tough test.
They also knew they needed to get something from the game. This did not look to be happening as Leicester took the lead in the 33rd minute through Iborra. Luckily for Stoke, Shaqiri was on form on Saturday.
He picked up the ball in the 39th minute inside the Leicester box before finessing past Schmeichel to make it 1-1. However, Leicester would retake the lead once again in the 60th minute through Mahrez.
But once again Shaqiri would come to Stoke’s rescue. This time in the form of an assist. Shaqiri whipped in a great corner to the front post in the 73rd minute which Crouched smashed home to bring the game level an earn Stoke a point.
Shaqiri’s overall display was solid and it’s safe to say he was vital in helping Stoke rescue a point.
Mohamed Salah vs West Ham
Since signing for Liverpool over the summer Salah has been Liverpool’s MVP. He is their top scorer and before Saturday’s game with West Ham, he had scored five and assisted three in 10 league games.
So, it’s not surprising that Salah was once again Liverpool’s stand out player vs West Ham. It was Salah who opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 21st minute when he and Mane counter attacked and Salah finished calmly.
The Egyptian would then be involved in Liverpool’s second as it was his delivery that saw Matip eventually stab home Liverpool’s second after a bit of a mix up in the box.
He would also score Liverpool’s 4th goal of the day. He and Mane linked up once again as Salah controlled Mane’s ball on the edge of the box before smashing it past Hart and putting the game firmly to bed.
Leighton Baines vs Watford
Everton have been having a nightmare in the league this season. They started the day in the relegation zone. They had also only won twice in 10 league games.
But after sacking Ronald Koeman they knew they needed a response against an inform Watford side. This didn’t look to be happening as they were 2-0 down in the 64th minute.
Luckily for Everton, they showed some great team spirit and fight to bring it back to 3-2 and earn a hard-fought three points.
One man who was key to the fightback was Leighton Baines. Baines, despite being a left back was involved in two out of the three Everton goals. For the second, Baines whipped in a great corner to the back post for Calvert-Lewin who brought Everton level.
Then to complete the comeback, Baines calmly converted a great penalty in the 91st minute. Baines also managed a 92.9% pass accuracy vs Watford, the most of any Everton player. He also made two key interceptions and three clearances showing that he was solid both at the back and going forward for Everton.
Stats from Whoscored.com
