The players who let their sides down this weekend.
With the latest round of Premier League fixtures now all-but-over, save for tomorrow evening’s clash between Stoke City and Newcastle United, we’ve taken the time to look at the ugly side of the weekend’s action and picked out this XI of players who really weren’t at the races.
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Sunday in Pictures
GK) Rob Green (QPR)
It wasn’t the worst weekend ever for Premier League goalkeepers, but QPR’s Rob Green will feel that he should’ve done much better with Ryan Bertrand’s opening goal for Southampton.
RB) Tony Hibbert (Everton)
Hibbert made his first Premier League start for some 18 months and, for the most part, it showed against the rampaging Raheem Sterling.
CB) Jason Shackell (Burnley)
Has been excellent for Burnley so far this season, but found himself overwhelmed by a rampant West Brom side.
CB) Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City)
City’s big money summer signing followed up his wonderful debut against Chelsea last week with an absolute stinker, scoring an own goal and conceding a penalty against Hull City.
LB) Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur)
Clearly targeted by Arsenal down the right, Pochettino’s decision to give Danny Rose a five-year deal this summer still looks peculiar.
CM) Esteban Cambiasso (Leicester City)
After a fine debut against Manchester United last weekend, Cambiasso was dreadful here, routinely giving the ball away against Crystal Palace.
CM) Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal)
Doesn’t look like the answer to Arsenal’s defensive midfield issues – Flamini came on for the injured Arteta and gifted Spurs a goal when he was caught in possession.
AM) Matty Phillips (QPR)
An absolute passenger during QPR’s defeat to Southampton, Phillips simply doesn’t look like a Premier League player.
AM) Lazar Markovic (Liverpool)
Has struggled to adapt to the Premier League and made no impact on the Merseyside Derby, despite being given a start by manager Brendan Rodgers.
AM) Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
Played in a wide position, as he sometimes is by manager Roberto Martinez, the Toffees’ record signing had very little influence on things for Everton.
SC) Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
His all-round play was okay and scored a fine goal to open the scoring against West Ham, but his stupid kick on Stewart Downing is what will be remembered, depriving van Gaal of his captain’s services for three games.