Huddersfield Town are represented in the latest Premier League team of the week that has been selected by BBC pundit Garth Crooks.
Actually Garth is now down as a ‘Football Analyst’ these days, a posh term for a pundit then!
The performances by Jonas Lossl and Steve Mounie in the three nil victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend at Selhurst Park was enough to earn the duo a place in the side alongside the other, in the opinion of the former Spurs striker anyway, most impressive performers in the topflight over the latest weekend.
I think we’ll already know ourselves, and not just based on the latest performance, why Crooks, we’ll also not argue with it, selected both as part of his team but explaining his choice he told the BBC.
Lossl:
‘I thought that Wilfried Zaha missed a glorious chance to put Palace back into their game against Huddersfield. However, when I saw the television replay, it was crystal clear that Jonas Lossl somehow got his foot to the ball to divert what was actually an excellent strike around the post for a corner. If that wasn’t a game changer, then the header from Christian Benteke that followed was. It was vintage centre-forward play from the Belgian striker but equalled only by a superb save from the Danish keeper. It was obvious to me that Lossl’s intention was to keep a clean sheet at all costs. Lots of goalkeepers may have that intention when they start a match but it’s not always matched by their performance. Lossl was sensational and another excellent addition to a side who will need a few more results like this one at Selhurst Park if they intend to retain their Premier League status. As for Palace, losing at home to Liverpool, for example, is one thing but a 3-0 defeat by Huddersfield is another matter entirely. The newly installed Frank de Boer only lasted 85 days as manager of Inter Milan – and if the Eagles suffer many more defeats like this, the Dutchman could find himself surpassing even that dismal record and staring at another P45 very quickly.’
Mounie:
‘If a promoted side are going to stand any chance of survival in the Premier League, they need to have a goalscorer. Steve Mounie scored plenty at Montpellier but whoever decided that the Benin international could perform the same duties in the Premier League must really know a striker when they see one. Mounie was superb against Crystal Palace. There were a number of clubs in England who took a look at him but weren’t prepared to take a chance. David Wagner did and we all can see why now. The striker scored two brilliant goals and should have crowned his performance with a hat-trick. It wasn’t just his goals that impressed either, it was his all-round general hold up play. That will prove a very important feature especially when the goals dry up – and they will at some stage. He wasn’t the only player that caught my eye in the Huddersfield line-up either. Aaron Mooy, looks a player and, along with Mounie, could be Huddersfield’s ticket to another season in the big time.’
It’s always good to see the club represented in this way, and well played to both for their recognition, but the most important thing about the weekend was of course the win.
Full Team:
Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield Town), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Stephen Ward (Burnley), Wayne Rooney (Everton), Nemanja Matic (Manchester United), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Stefano Okaka (Watford), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Steve Mounie (Huddersfield Town).
