Richard Jolly
English football columnist Richard Jolly names his Best XI in the Premier League for the December 13-14 weekend. Click through the arrows above to see the team.
Goalkeeper: David de Gea (Manchester United). Maintained his extraordinary form this season with a series of saves to keep Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli out.
Right-back: Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea). Untroubled defensively and excellent when he attacked – a typical Ivanovic performance against Hull on Saturday.
Centre-back: Michael Carrick (Manchester United). A makeshift defender, at age 33, but his composure in possession stood out at Old Trafford.
Centre-back: Jason Shackell (Burnley). His side have kept five clean sheets this season and their captain helped frustrate Southampton at Turf Moor.
Left-back: Sebastien Pocognoli (West Brom). It’s a shame he was guilty of a blatant dive because the Belgian broke forward with verve and effectiveness otherwise.
Right midfield: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham). The Dane made Tottenham’s first goal and scored their winner in an excellent victory over Swansea.
Centre midfield: Frank Lampard (Manchester City). Drew level with Thierry Henry on 175 Premier League goals after his winner at Leicester.
Centre midfield: Santi Cazorla (Arsenal). Two terrific chipped finishes made it a wonderful 30th birthday for Arsenal’s Spanish schemer, who was the scourge of Newcastle.
Left midfield: Eden Hazard (Chelsea). The classiest player on show at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Hazard opened the scoring in the comfortable win over Hull.
Centre forward: Harry Kane (Tottenham). The White Hart Lane cult hero cemented his place as top Spurs scorer with a header at Swansea and another industrious display.
Centre forward: Olivier Giroud (Arsenal). Fit again and firing, the Frenchman scored twice against Newcastle to take his tally to four goals in five games.
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