EA SPORTS Team Of The Week - Week 9
Tom Henderson
2011-10-24
What an amazing weekend of matches in the Barclays Premier League!
This weekend saw 7 goals in the Manchester derby (6 of them blue) with David Silva running the show, plus the most action packed 1-0 result we've seen in ages (QPR vs. 9 man Chelsea) and another Robin Van Persie masterclass, this time coming on as a sub to score 2 late goals (well supported by Gervinho with 2 assists and a goal!).
Check out the EA SPORTS Team of the Week below - what do you think, did we get it right? It was a very tough week to pick it. Dzeko or Balotelli for one...
With thanks to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, we also have these interesting stats to pull out from the weekend's games.
Liverpool vs. Norwich
• Norwich City came away from Anfield with a hard fought 1-1 draw to continue their impressive start to the Premier League campaign. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that for the 2nd game week in succession it was the Canaries who covered more distance as a team than any other Premier League team completing 77.61 miles during game week 9. In 2nd place was Liverpool who covered 76.1 miles which suggests this was a highly energetic game.
• Norwich’s midfield duo of Bradley Johnson and Wesley Hoolahan each put in an impressive shift during the game, each covering 8.05 miles of ground. According to The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index this was the highest distance travelled by any Premier League player in game week 9.
Newcastle vs. Wigan
• Newcastle continued their brilliant unbeaten start to the season with Yohan Cabaye scoring his first goal for the magpies to earn a hard fought 1-0 victory over Wigan. In recent game weeks The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index has highlighted French midfielder duo Cheik Tiote and Yohan Cabaye as key players to the Newcastle side and yet again this was proved to be the case in game week 9. Cabaye (7.04 miles) and Tiote (6.87 miles) covered more distance during the game than any other Newcastle player. Both players also had the highest average speed during the game for Newcastle with Cabaye averaging 5.46mph and Tiote 5.04mph.
QPR vs. Chelsea
• Chelsea had two players sent off and lost out to a Heidar Helguson penalty in a heated west London derby. Down to 9 men after just 41 minutes it no surprise to see The EA SPORTS Player performance Index show Chelsea covered the least distance out of any other team during game week 9 with 59.13 miles. In contrast QPR covered over 12 miles more distance during the game (71.3 miles)
Manchester United vs. Manchester City
• Manchester City ran riot during the Manchester derby at Old Trafford with a stunning 6-1 victory to move 5 points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League. James Milner had a solid game with the hard working England international assisting 1 goal and covering the most distance of any player (7.51 miles) during the game.
• The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that in the 2nd half of the game City covered 34.95 miles as a team with 10 men United only covering 30.83 miles.
• Robin van Persie came off the bench to inspire Arsenal to a fourth straight Premier League win at home to Stoke. In the 24 minutes Van Persie was on the pitch he scored two goals a covered 2.04 miles of ground.
• The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows Moroccan Marouane Chamakh hit a top speed of 26.81mph during the game. This was the highest top speed of any Premier League player during game week 9.
Team GB - London 2012
It was announced early this week that current England u21 manager Stuart Pearce will be the Team GB boss during the 2012 London Olympics. This week The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index provides you with some interesting stats on Premier League players who could make the squad:
Aaron Ramsey – The energetic Welsh midfielder was once again Arsenals top player when it came to distance covered during game week 9 covering 7.75 miles. He also had the highest average speed in play 5.34mph out of any Arsenal player.
Charlie Adam – The impressive Scottish midfielder was one of only 3 players to cover over 8 miles of ground during a game in game week 9 with 8.02 miles. The other 2 were Norwich’s Bradley Johnson and Wesley Hoolahan.
Peter Crouch – Interestingly The EA SPORTS Player performance Index shows the England forward recorded the fastest speed of any British striker this game week with 26.73mph. Fulham’s Bobby Zamora was 2nd with 26.42mph.
