Premier League Team of the Week: Gibbs-White and Cherki deliver the goods

[p]The marquee game did not disappoint with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/arsenal-hA1Zm19f/manchester-city-Wtn9Stg0/?mid=U3M9iQJ6"]Manchester City landing a key blow in the title race with a 2-1 win over Arsenal[/a], narrowing the gap to the leaders down to three points.[/p][p]Elsewhere, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/everton-KluSTr9s/liverpool-lId4TMwf/?mid=GtGge8Ks"]Liverpool scored late to win[/a] the first Merseyside derby at Everton's new stadium 2-1, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/aston-villa-W00wmLO0/sunderland-WSzc94ws/?mid=xzTRt95l"]Aston Villa won a thriller 4-3 against Sunderland[/a] and Leeds and Nottingham Forest earned victories to pull away from the relegation zone.[/p][image alt="Premier League Team of the Week" id="d3a146e0-0c5f-4962-b0c1-7c4d4ce04bf2" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="11870f01-4798-48df-9d80-8f9e183c0730" original-width="1080" original-height="1350" /][h2]Goalkeeper[/h2][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leno-bernd/jwRV63z0/"]Bernd Leno[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fulham/69ZiU2Om/"]Fulham[/a]) - 7.6[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/brentford-xYe7DwID/fulham-69ZiU2Om/?mid=dxqTvmz1"]Fulham's 0-0 draw at Brentford[/a] lacked real quality for large portions of the match, but Leno still had to be sharp when needed.[/p][p]The German made four saves for the Cottagers, which included one of the stops of the season as he showed fast reflexes to deny Dango Ouattara in the 90th minute.[/p][embed guid="30098c5d-7126-4b14-b548-cac01574b5e2" url="https://x.com/i/status/2046182092539568169" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Defenders[/h2][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/justin-james/vqYXNUDI/"]James Justin[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/leeds/tUxUbLR2/"]Leeds[/a]) - 9.1[/b][/p][p]Justin put together a top performance both in defence and going forward in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/leeds-tUxUbLR2/wolves-j3Azpf5d/?mid=djO1gnkf"]Leeds' 3-0 win over Burnley[/a].[/p][p]He won nine duels, four tackles and made six clearances after scoring a superb acrobatic effort to open the scoring.[/p][embed guid="86819b43-a12b-4306-a8de-329f9086ba9e" url="https://x.com/i/status/2045609184368943236" social-type="twitter" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/konate-ibrahima/QJlbDbQe/"]Ibrahima Konate[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/liverpool/lId4TMwf/"]Liverpool[/a]) - 8.3[/b][/p][p]Konate had to stay concentrated for Liverpool as they downed bitter rivals Everton late on.[/p][p]The Frenchman looked solid at the back, winning nine duels, all three tackles and making seven clearances.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/canvot-jaydee/fPUrL2AL/"]Jaydee Canvot[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Crystal Palace[/a]) - 8.5[/b][/p][p]Young Crystal Palace star Canvot put together one of his best defensive displays in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/crystal-palace-AovF1Mia/west-ham-Cxq57r8g/?mid=pbPN0UdK"]the Eagles' subdued 0-0 draw with West Ham[/a].[/p][p]The 19-year-old made a game-high 11 clearances, won eight duels and boasted a passing accuracy of 92%.[/p][h2]Midfielders[/h2][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tavernier-marcus/jFqXIRZj/"]Marcus Tavernier[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bournemouth/OtpNdwrc/"]Bournemouth[/a]) - 8.4[/b][/p][p]An energetic Tavernier epitomised Bournemouth's season as he inspired their [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/bournemouth-OtpNdwrc/newcastle-p6ahwuwJ/?mid=QVFIk4lJ"]2-1 win at Newcastle[/a].[/p][p]The former Newcastle academy player opened the scoring by tapping in from close range.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gibbs-white-morgan/beZNT1bB/"]Morgan Gibbs-White[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nottingham/UsushcZr/"]Nottingham Forest[/a]) - 9.1[/b][/p][p]Gibbs-White has stepped up in Forest's hour of need and he more than did his bit with a 15-minute hat-trick in a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/burnley-z3dmTMMO/nottingham-UsushcZr/?mid=hx84D7tQ"]4-1 rout of Burnley[/a].[/p][p]Two clinical strikes and a well-placed header clawed Forest into the lead after they were trailing, which eventually helped them pull five points clear of the drop. [/p][embed guid="befc0f12-5e51-4695-a17b-920b512cf6cd" url="https://x.com/i/status/2046197801088946346" social-type="twitter" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandes-bruno/GYvAMDm2/"]Bruno Fernandes[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/ppjDR086/"]Manchester United[/a]) - 8.2[/b][/p][p]United's assist machine Fernandes appears to be storming his way towards the Premier League record as he notched his 18th of the season in their [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/chelsea-4fGZN2oK/manchester-utd-ppjDR086/?mid=42nywR4D"]1-0 win at Chelsea[/a].[/p][p]The Portuguese's cross was dispatched by Matheus Cunha, meaning he needs just two more assists to match the mark of 20 set by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cherki-mathis/vm0eu2V3/"]Rayan Cherki[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Manchester City[/a]) - 8.4[/b][/p][p]Cherki looked at his silky best for City against Arsenal with a series of deft touches, dribbles and a wonderful individual goal.[/p][p]The tricky Frenchman weaved his way into the penalty area, evading a couple of challenges before slotting into the corner to give City a precious lead in the high-stakes title clash.[/p][embed guid="4746aba7-1896-41d7-870d-3c1fcd86f972" url="https://x.com/i/status/2046174537101033827" social-type="twitter" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rogers-morgan/lp4jm80n/"]Morgan Rogers[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aston-villa/W00wmLO0/"]Aston Villa[/a]) - 8.2[/b][/p][p]Villa star Rogers had his say in what turned out to be a high-scoring, eventual win at home to Sunderland.[/p][p]Rogers picked up possession in the box and tucked away his shot via the foot of the post with his weaker left foot.[/p][h2]Forwards[/h2][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/watkins-ollie/rHnOkDD8/"]Ollie Watkins[/a] (Aston Villa) - 9.2[/b][/p][p]Hitting a vein of scoring form, Watkins more than made his mark as he netted twice and also notched an assist in Villa's victory.[/p][p]The England striker took four shots, had eight touches in the box and created two big chances as he recorded a 9.2 [i]Flashscore[/i] player rating, the highest score of the week.[/p][image alt="Watkins v Sunderland" id="7eb00645-7946-47e5-9193-ad721881f8c5" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform / REUTERS / Tony O'Brien" guid="666f8799-98ab-41a0-a36c-92cb5641c1e4" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/simons-xavi/noo0L9zk/"]Xavi Simons[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tottenham/UDg08Ohm/"]Tottenham[/a]) - 8.1[/b][/p][p]Dutch star Simons gave everything for Tottenham and scored a beautiful curling effort in their [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/brighton-2XrRecc3/tottenham-UDg08Ohm/?mid=xAqy8o4m"]2-2 draw with Brighton[/a].[/p][p]The 23-year-old took four shots, created one big chance and drew four fouls for Spurs, who were denied at the death and still remain in the relegation zone.[/p]