Toon trio join Saints, Palace pair in Prem’s worst weekend XI
Jamal Lascelles put his hand up for selection early on Saturday and the Newcastle skipper is joined by a couple of Eagles and a Seagull.
Here is the worst Premier League XI from the weekend according to Whoscored ratings.
GK: Alex McCarthy – 5.35
The Southampton keeper had four put past him at Anfield but few could hold McCarthy culpable for Saints’ biggest defeat of the season. He stood no chance with any of Liverpool’s three first-half goals, and though Virgil van Dijk’s volley seemed to find a way through him, the biggest question mark hangs over the visitors’ defending to allow the centre-back a volley on goal direct from a corner.
CB: Jan Bednarek – 5.51
Bednarek perhaps suffered the most of any Saint at Anfield. He was hooked at half-time with a bad case of twisted blood after being pulled all over by Liverpool’s front three. In 45 minutes, he managed 17 touches and 12 passes, of which four he gave away – three by humping hopeful punts somewhere in the general direction of the Southampton attackers.
CB: William Troost-Ekong – 5.01
It almost didn’t matter what the Watford centre-back did in the 74 minutes after; his error to gift Leicester their opener at the King Power was inexcusable. “William was sure there was nobody behind him,” said Claudio Ranieri but how could the defender have known without scanning? He had plenty of time while Jonny Evans’ long ball hung in the air, which Troost-Ekong chose to leave for James Maddison lurking between the back line and goalkeeper.
CB: Jamaal Lascelles
One positive many Newcastle fans appear to have taken from the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal is the fact that their skipper will be suspended for the must-win Norwich game on Tuesday night. This was not a good look…
https://twitter.com/EddyWeatherburn/status/1464912154117742594
RWB: Andros Townsend – 5.93
Townsend stood out in a crowded field as Everton’s worst performer in their defeat at Brentford. The winger gave away the crucial penalty, he relinquished possession 15 times and he was booked before being hooked with 20 minutes to go. Rafa out?
LWB: Matt Ritchie – 5.52
Newcastle fans might not be too downhearted over Ritchie’s suspension for Tuesday either. In 67 minutes as a left-back at Arsenal, he managed only 19 touches, completing just six of his nine passes, failing in two attempts to cross and another couple of long balls. Defensively, Ritchie failed to make a tackle – he was dribbled past three times – while losing all of his five duels.
Premier League winners and losers
DM: Imran Louza – 5.94
Watford’s defensive screen failed to protect the defence in 45 minutes before he was sent for a shower at half-time. A pity after Louza’s outstanding performance against Manchester United last week, but his replacement, Ozan Tufan, fared even worse – rating 5.81 in his 45 minutes.
DM: Luka Milivojevic – 5.88
The Palace skipper was largely bypassed by Villa at Selhurst Park, with Milivojevic offering little in a defensive or attacking capacity. He was taken off after an hour on a yellow card, having given the ball away too often – he lost possession 13 times – while losing two of his seven duels.
MF: Michael Olise – 5.80
Playing on the right, Olise rated as the worst Palace performer, which seems a little harsh. One suspects his numbers were skewed somewhat by his crossing. Nine times he attempted a delivery; nine times he failed to find a Palace teammate. Overall he lost possession 23 times which, yeah, isn’t good…
CF: Neal Maupay – 5.87
Brighton fell back into their wasteful bad habits against Leeds on Saturday and Maupay was more culpable than anyone. His first-half miss, sidefooting over in front of an open goal, rivalled Pierre-Emerick Aubameyanmg for the worst miss of the weekend and the fact Graham Potter preferred Jurgen Locadia for the final stages with the Seagulls chasing a goal spoke volumes of the manager’s opinion of Maupay’s performance.
CF: Callum Wilson – 5.80
Wilson failed to register a shot on Arsenal’s goal and while he might feel he should have had a penalty, you might say he chose the easy option to go down rather than take on Aaron Ramsdale one-versus-one. It didn’t help that his Newcastle teammates consistently refused to go forward without any conviction, but 13 touches is a miserable afternoon’s work.