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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Premier League team of the week including four Tottenham stars and inspirational return

It was another entertaining weekend in the Premier League, as Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the table to six points with a 1-0 away win against Everton.

Liverpool and Chelsea - as well as Arsenal and Leicester - were not in action due to the EFL Cup final, allowing Pep Guardiola's champions to take advantage.

Elsewhere, Manchester United failed to beat Watford at Old Trafford in a goalless draw and Burnley took another step towards safety with a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.

Newcastle's relegation fears were eased with a 2-0 win at Brentford - their fourth win in five Premier League games - and Tottenham hammered Leeds 4-0 at Elland Road.

Here, Mirror Football takes a look at the best players on show this weekend.

Who should've been included in our Team of the Week? Let us know in the comments below!

Ben Foster put in a solid performance against his former club on Saturday (Getty Images)

Ben Foster

Saturday was a good day to be a Watford fan, as Roy Hodgson's side kept Cristiano Ronaldo and his battling colleagues at bay.

Goalkeeper Foster made three important saves to thwart his former club and give the Hornets a priceless point. His defence also deserves a lot of respect for their efforts.

United, meanwhile, remain in fourth - two points ahead of West Ham in fifth.

More worryingly, though, Arsenal are just two points behind in sixth with three games in hand. The Gunners will surely be feeling confident about their top four chances.

"It’s not very often you come to Old Trafford and get to keep a clean sheet so we can be happy with ourselves today," said Foster at full-time.

Matty Cash

Matty Cash sent his support to Tomasz Kedziora after scoring against Brighton (PA)

Aston Villa got back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, beating Brighton 2-0 at the Amex thanks to goals from Cash and Ollie Watkins.

Cash's goal was one of the moments of the weekend. The Poland international hit lovely strike from the edge of the area before unveiling an important message.

"Tomasz Kedziora and family, stay strong my bro," it read, directed at his international team-mate Kedziora, who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and is in the war-torn city.

Cash was controversially booked for displaying the message, even though the Premier League reposted it on social media in a show of support for Ukraine.

The result saw Villa move nine points clear of the relegation zone, while it's now three consecutive defeats for Brighton.

Cristian Romero

Cristian Romero has impressed since joining Tottenham last summer (NurPhoto/PA Images)

The 23-year-old put in another solid display for Tottenham on Saturday, although the attackers took the headlines in the 4-0 triumph.

Spurs appear to have got a serious defender on their hands in Romero, which isn't always the case when it comes to the underachieving north London club.

"Romero is perfect for the Premier League," Antonio Conte recently said. "He’s strong physically, he has the timing to anticipate and good personality to play with the ball.

"Despite being a young player, he has good experience, he’s strong. I like him. For sure, he has a lot of space for improvement."

Fabian Schar

Fabian Schar has given Newcastle a boost since his return to the starting XI (Getty Images)

Romero's defensive partner this week is Schar, who was excellent in Newcastle's priceless win against Brentford on Saturday.

The Toon have improved significantly since he returned to the team under Eddie Howe, not losing any of their last seven Premier League games.

In fact, Newcastle's last defeat was a 4-0 hammering by Man City in December. Schar was on the bench for that fixture.

After struggling under Steve Bruce earlier in the campaign, Newcastle are looking like a force again and they're more likely to finish in the top 10 than suffer relegation at this rate.

Everyone has been talking about who the mega-rich club will sign next season, but what about keeping the likes of Schar on board?

He's out of contract at the end of the season and rumours suggest Napoli are interested.

Newcastle fans are keen to get fresh talent through the door in the summer, yet it's just as important they keep their best players. And Schar certainly falls under that category.

Kyle Walker-Peters

Kyle Walker-Peters is doing a stellar job at left-back for Southampton (AFP via Getty Images)

Walker-Peters has gone under the radar this season, but he deserves a lot of credit for solving Southampton's left-back conundrum.

Ryan Bertrand - the Saints' long-term left-back - joined Leicester on a free transfer last summer and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was left wondering who could fill the void.

But Walker-Peters - a right-back by trade - has slotted nicely into the role, with 19-year-old Tino Livramento taking his regular position.

The 24-year-old delivered another quality display on Friday, helping Southampton beat Norwich 2-0 at St Mary's to move up to ninth and European contention.

With both Walker-Peters and Livramento impressing right now, the Saints will do well to keep them both on their books in the summer.

Christian Eriksen

Christian Eriksen made his long-waited return against Newcastle at the weekend (Action Images via Reuters)

Saturday will live long in the memory for Eriksen, as he made his first professional appearance since suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

When the father-of-two collapsed in Copenhagen, many questioned whether he would survive - let alone play football again.

Eriksen's recovery has been remarkable and inspirational, to say the least. Brentford may have lost the game, but somethings are just more important than football.

"If you take away the result, I'm one happy man," said the Denmark international.

"To go through what I've been through, being back is a wonderful feeling... It's been very special since day one. [Brentford] have taken good care of me.

"Everyone's been really happy about it and everyone's been really helpful.

"Everyone is here. My family, my parents, my kids, my mother-in-law and some doctors who have been helping me back and forth.

"What they've been through is even tougher than what I've been through."

Tomas Soucek

Tomas Soucek scored against Wolves on his 27th birthday (REUTERS)

Declan Rice will feel unfortunate not to be included, as Soucek just gets the nod over his West Ham colleague.

The midfielder scored the only goal of the game on his 27th birthday, as the Hammers defeated top-four rivals Wolves 1-0 at the London Stadium on Sunday.

The result leaves Wolves seven points off fourth. They were in touching distance of the Champions League before these last two games against Arsenal and West Ham.

"This goal is maybe the best gift for what I could do for the fans and everyone," said Soucek after the game.

"Also for my grandfather, who came here for the first time. He has supported me since my childhood, so this goal is for him. He’s 80 in a week, too!"

Joelinton

Joelinton has become an accomplished midfielder under Eddie Howe (Getty Images)

Anyone who's ever watched Joelinton one-on-one with a goalkeeper will tell you he's not a striker, so it's nice to see him finally flourishing as a box-to-box midfielder.

He's now looking like the man who cost £40million in the summer of 2019, giving Newcastle some much-needed energy in midfield and having a greater influence on the game.

And he took his goal well on Saturday. The Brazilian rose above the Brentford defence to nod home and set the Toon on their way to three priceless points.

A year ago, many would've said Joelinton wouldn't be part of Newcastle's cash-laden future. Now, however, he looks set to be a pivotal part of their midfield for years to come.

Dejan Kulusevski

Dejan Kulusevski has done well since joining Spurs from Juventus (Action Images via Reuters)

Tottenham's January window was underwhelming - missing out on Liverpool newbie Luis Diaz - but they seemed to have found a gem in Kulusevski.

The Swede is forming a prolific alliance alongside Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, scoring a wonderful goal against Leeds on Saturday.

Kulusevski was forced into the corner of the pitch, but managed to wriggle his way out of his tight position and beat Illan Meslier at his near post.

It was a moment that not only demonstrated his pace and strength, but also his technical ability. And it's hard to stop players who've got those three traits.

The good news is Spurs have got him on an 18-month loan deal, with an option to buy the talent permanently. He may just be the man to kick-start Conte's tenure at the club.

Harry Kane

Harry Kane added a goal and an assist to his impressive tally on Saturday (Visionhaus/Getty Images)

It's great to see this man back to his best. Kane is on fire again, producing a superb finish for Tottenham's third goal to secure the points at Elland Road.

And his assist for Son's goal was even better. The England captain noticed his colleague's run from the half-way line and played a perfect delivery into his path.

Kane now has eight Premier League goals this season and, although he won't win the Golden Boot, is likely to still finish with a decent tally.

Anywhere near the 15-goal mark would put him in the shop window again and, you never known, he may get that dream move to Man City after all.

Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min and Kane have become the most prolific partnership in Premier League history (Getty Images)

Kane's assist may have been delightful, but it takes two to tango. Son controlled the ball perfectly and waited for Meslier to commit himself before slotting it home.

Kane and Son now boast the most prolific partnership in Premier League history, combining to find the back of the net 37 times in the competition.

Saturday's result leaves Spurs seventh in the table, five points behind United with two games in hand. Arsenal's position is perhaps the biggest concern.

If they are going to sneak into fourth, they will need Son, Kane and Kulusevski to deliver between now and the end of the term.

It seems unlikely they'll qualify for the Champions League, but at least Conte will feel as if he's got a chance of finishing the season strongly.

"We have a fantastic manager," insists Son. "He brings passion, he brings so much positive energy. We are all happy to work with him.

"I think it’s so, so important we keep this. That’s why he’s special. He’s so passionate. He wants to win, he wants clean sheets, he wants us to be better.

"This I think is such a positive signal. We should take this as improvement and we should be also that passionate for the games coming."

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