It was a dire weekend for Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United; six of their struggling stars feature in the Premier League’s worst XI for matchday 15.
This team is based on WhoScored’s player ratings…
GK: Andre Onana (Manchester United) – 4.37
The Cameroon international has been one of Man Utd’s better performers over the past 18 months, but he remains prone to the odd disasterclass and the loss to Nottm Forest was a match to forget for the goalkeeper.
He was wrong-footed for Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal, but the shot was still directed at the middle of the net and should have been saved. Then him and Lisandro Martinez had a ‘mare when failing to deal with Chris Wood’s looping header which needlessly found the bottom corner.
READ: Only four players spared ‘sack of potato’ status at Man Utd
RB: Tino Livramento (Newcastle United) – 5.98
Eddie Howe’s side succumbed to homebodies Brentford, who piled the pressure on the fifth-favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked. The England newbie made a weak attempt to prevent Kevin Schade’s late goal in his side’s 4-2 win as the right-back’s slip made the winger’s task of putting the game to bed much easier than it should have been.
CB: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) – 5.73
With a ban potentially looming, captain Guehi did not help Palace in their 2-2 draw against faltering Manchester City. Erling Haaland beat the centre-back in the air as the striker – who has reportedly ‘agreed a secret clause’ for a new contract – headed home to end his three-game Premier League goal drought. So, the freakish forward remains ridiculous.
CB: Leny Yoro (Manchester United) – 5.74
United’s summer signing is gradually getting up to speed after returning from injury and was subbed after 66 minutes against Forest. The move for the aforementioned mess of Gibbs-White’s goal started as Bruno Fernandes failed to find the centre-back with a misplaced pass. Afterwards, shortly before coming off, the teenager did not get close enough to Wood for his headed winner.
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LB: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea) – 5.03
Cucurella had his blushes spared by his attackers as Chelsea fought back from behind to hammer another nail in Ange Postecoglou’s coffin. Two slips resulted in two goals inside the opening 15 minutes for Spurs, who sprinted into an early lead thanks largely to the full-back’s now-binned boots.
CM: Yves Bissouma (Tottenham Hotspur) – 5.91
There was a comedy of errors from Spurs as they let another 2-0 lead slip. They did so by gifting Chelsea two penalties, which were cooly dispatched by Cole Palmer. The first was awarded after Bissouma took out Moises Caicedo with a reckless challenge, which pushed an exasperated Jamie Carragher to call the centre-midfielder “braindead” on co-commentary.
CM: Pape Sarr (Tottenham Hotspur) – 5.83
Sarr (i.e. stupid Spurs midfielder No.2) is included after he barged into the back of Palmer in the penalty box to hand Chelsea the opportunity to seal another win at Tottenham with their fourth goal. The England international could not believe his luck after playing for a foul and proceeded to embarrass stand-in goalkeeper Fraser Forster with a brutal panenka from the spot. Little wonder Postecoglou has become a bit of a d*ck…
RW: Kasey McAteer (Leicester City) – 5.93
As he did against West Ham, new Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy showcased his ability to make positive in-game changes as his side scored two late goals to salvage a much-needed point. Jamie Vardy – who grabbed a goal and an assist – is unsurprisingly loving life under the Dutchman, while McAteer was one of the players dragged off with half an hour remaining after struggling to make an impact.
CAM: Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United) – 6.08
Starting alongside Fernandes as one of Ruben Amorim’s No.10s, Garnacho was comfortably the weakest of United’s attacking players and was subbed after 58 minutes. He had a one-on-one saved by Matz Sels before Rasmus Hojlund netted the rebound and Rio Ferdinand may be right in saying he does not “fit” into the head coach’s preferred system.
READ: Greedy Man Utd among those who MUST stop exploiting loyalty
LW: Jordan Ayew (Leicester City) – 6.07
Ayew was taken off at the same time as McAteer. His best moments this season have come as an impact substitute and Vardy was the only Leicester starter with fewer touches than the 33-year-old, who had a blocked shot before half-time and that was about it.
ST: Evanilson (AFC Bournemouth) – 5.87
Bournemouth’s club-record £40m signing has done okay since replacing Dominic Solanke – who has been one of Tottenham’s bright sparks this season – but he struggled against Ipswich Town. He only had a measly 16 touches and after he failed to hit the target with his three shots, he was subbed and not involved as Andoni Iraola’s side completed a dramatic late comeback.
