Garth Crooks' Team of the Week: Diaz, Foden, Sterling, Mitoma, Wissa and more

Garth Crooks' team of the week

At the end of every round of fixtures, BBC football pundit Garth Crooks is on hand to give you his Team of the Week.

Who has he picked for the second weekend of the Premier League season?

Take a look below and, as ever, Garth also has his say on the game's big talking points in the Crooks of the Matter.

Garth Crooks' team of the weekGoalkeeper

Ederson (Manchester City): The moment it left his boot I was yelling "what a ball!". Ederson is known for his ability to control the ball with his feet, especially in and around his own penalty area, and seldom kicks it long. But when he does it's with purpose.

The ball to Julian Alvarez in the first half couldn't have been better delivered if Kevin de Bruyne had made the pass. The ball was superb and set up Erling Haaland with a glorious chance against Newcastle.

Ederson is as good with his feet as he is with his hands.

In a highly competitive match where six players were booked, referee Robert Jones didn't send one player off. No-one wants to return to the days of the assassins, but how refreshing to watch a competitive fixture played in the right spirit. Well done Rob Jones.

Defenders

Kyle Walker (Manchester City): This was an outstanding performance by Manchester City and their captain Kyle Walker. They had just returned from Athens, having beaten Sevilla in the Super Cup in midweek, and competed with Newcastle as if they had never been away.

The mark of a top team is their ability to win in Europe and get a result on their return to their domestic league. Walker was as professional as it gets against Newcastle, despite having played the entire match in Greece, converted his penalty in the shootout, lifted the trophy and then led his team out a few days later like it was another day at the office.

With this sort of mentality City look like they are on course for another special season.

Cristian Romero (Tottenham): We know this footballer is a good defender. You don't play for Argentina in the World Cup final if you can't play.

Towards the end of last season I thought Romero became a little tired after his exploits in Qatar, as well as frustrated by the poor performance of Spurs, forcing him to make tackles he had no right to make.

He was unlucky to be substituted against Brentford on the opening day of the season with suspected concussion but was outstanding against Manchester United.

Well done Michael Oliver for not giving a handball against Romero here when it was clearly ball to hand and travelling at the speed of light. Everyone knows the rule is a bad one.

William Saliba (Arsenal): Saliba missed the back end of last season and it arguably cost Arsenal the title. Now he is is back in the Arsenal line-up and they look like a team capable of keeping clean sheets again.

This was an important victory for the Gunners away at Crystal Palace. Six points in their two opening games keeps the pressure on Manchester City and sends a message to the rest of the league that they are up for the battle once again this season.

The home side made life very difficult for the visitors, but they couldn't penetrate Arsenal's defensive backline even one the visitors went down to 10 men, and that was largely due to the presence of Saliba.

If referees are going to make the point of booking players for taking a throw-in, as in the case of Tomiyasu for time wasting, can they set a time limit during which the player can have the ball in his hands so he knows where he stands, please?

Midfielders

Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool): He can certainly play. Liverpool's new signing Szoboszlai showed all the touches of a good player against Bournemouth and looks like he wants to be constantly involved in the play.

Well, if he's going to wear Liverpool's number eight shirt, someone at Anfield had better tell him what that means and who has worn that shirt before him.

Sammy Lee, Brian Hall, Jimmy Case and Steven Gerrard, who immortalised the jersey, have all worn that shirt with distinction. Szoboszlai needs to know he has big shoes to fill and a heart to match.

Phil Foden (Manchester City): In the absence of the departed Ilkay Gundogan and the injured De Bruyne, it needed someone like Foden to step up and make the difference. The ball for Alvarez to score was done without so much as a glance.

It was as though Foden instinctively knew where his strike partner was and what was required. The big question is Foden whether deliver what Gundogan and De Bruyne have delivered for Guardiola without them.

His performance against Newcastle was of the highest standard and suggests he can, but winning trophies has never been easy. I suppose the Super Cup is not a bad way to start.

Solly March (Brighton): Wolves suffered a terrible injustice against Manchester United, but what took place at Molineux in the opening 10 minutes of the second half against a rampant Brighton wasn't just alarming, but cause for real concern.

Newly appointed manager Gary O'Neil had inherited all the confidence and motivation his predecessor Julen Lopetegui could have given his team prior to his surprise departure. All that seemed to evaporate minutes into the second half when the Seagulls ripped Wolves apart.

Solly March epitomised the drive and determination shown by the team from the south coast and his goals were worthy rewards for his efforts.

Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton): What a goal. The run, control and quality of finish against Wolves were world-class. In fact Mitoma has been producing this type of form with such regularity that I can't believe he's still on the south coast.

Manchester United have Jadon Sancho and Antony in their ranks and I haven't seen anything like the quality or ability from either of those two players that I have seen from this lad. How do United get it so wrong?

I accept that Old Trafford is a daunting stage and the stakes are much higher there, but Mitoma is a United player if ever I saw one.

Forwards

Luis Diaz (Liverpool): He scored a well taken goal last week against Chelsea, but the improvisation Diaz displayed in his finish against Bournemouth shows just how competent he can be in front of goal.

The penalty awarded to Liverpool by referee Thomas Bramall was as surprising as it was unnecessary, however it was the dismissal of Alexis Mac Allister that was alarming.

The tackle was high because the ball sat up, but the challenge was neither dangerous or reckless. Fans, players and managers should not be surprised by a sending off - it should be obvious - and this was not. If a referee is going to send a player off because he cannot determine the difference between a bad, dangerous or reckless foul, I question whether he should be out there at all.

Raheem Sterling (Chelsea): This game should have been way out of sight for West Ham in the first 45 minutes.

You'd think that a player who cost £106m might convert a spot-kick from 12 yards, and his team-mate who cost £115m might make a tackle without giving a penalty away - but Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo failed respectively on both counts.

It used to be the goalscorers that cost the big money, but Chelsea seem to have more money than sense these days. The Blues have now spent a total of £221m for two midfield players and there are hardly 10 goals a season between them.

Sterling was their only shining light in this fixture and he did everything he possibly could to bring his team back into the game. This was the best game I have seen from the England player since he starred in Euro 2020.

Boy, have Chelsea got some work to do. At least it looks like they've got Sterling playing again.

Yoane Wissa (Brentford): Bryan Mbeumo may have scored two goals against Fulham, but it was Yoane Wissa who did all the damage. All credit to Brentford's manager Thomas Frank, who didn't panic and go out and buy a striker to replace last season's top scorer Ivan Toney following his suspension.

The Bees have two excellent front players in Wissa and Mbeumo, who possess the capacity to cause any side all kinds of problems. What a pity referee Darren Bond saw something in the challenge from Tim Ream that no-one else saw, giving a needless penalty to the away side as well as marching orders to the Fulham captain, and with it ruined a damned good game.

Short presentational grey line

The Crooks of the Matter

The decision by Howard Webb to drop Simon Hooper and his team from officiating in this weekend's Premier League fixtures was the right thing to do. It took the heat out of a difficult situation and gave the referee time for some quiet reflection.

Hooper's decision not to award Wolves a penalty after Manchester United's goalkeeper Andre Onana had badly impeded Sasa Kalajdzic, having failed to make any contact with the ball, was a not just a clear and obvious mistake but a shocking error of judgement.

When you then consider that neither VAR nor the referee's assistants felt the need to intervene in order to correct the calamity, you could have been forgiven at this point for wondering what on earth was going on.

Playing away against Manchester United or Liverpool is as big a test for officials, as it is for players. I know how demanding that can be - but that's the job. The officials, like players, need to be at the top of their game.

However, when the reputation of the league is being brought into question - and it took Webb 24 hours after the incident at Old Trafford took place to intervene - it is incumbent on the game's authorities to step in. The immediate response from the PGMOL to condemn Hooper's poor judgement and apologise to Wolves for the error was proportionate as it was essential.

The Premier League must protect the reputation of its league at all costs. The game is nothing if it cannot recognise when a genuine mistake has been made and own up to it. After all, we all make them.

Everything you need to know about your Premier League team bannerBBC Sport banner footer

Top Stories

Elsewhere on the BBC