Garth Crooks’ Team of the Week: Stones, Fernandes, Enciso, Eze, Haaland

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United): It’s good to see Christian Eriksen back in a Manchester United shirt and playing alongside Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes so effectively. They are all top-class players and on their day match-winners. Fernandes, however, was the standout midfield player against Nottingham Forest. The Portugal international is not everyone’s cup of tea but when he’s on his game he’s as good as any midfielder in the country. As for the East Midlands club they are no longer the soft touch they were at the start of the season. Steve Cooper has assembled a team that still might survive.

Harry Wilson (Fulham): It would appear normal service has resumed with the Cottagers. Their performance against Everton at Goodison Park seemed controlled and professional, which is a far cry from what we saw at Old Trafford some weeks ago. Most importantly Fulham have learned a valuable lesson after their trip to Manchester United, and that is to remain focused whatever the circumstances. Harry Wilson epitomised that feature and played a masterful role in their victory over a poor Everton. Sean Dyche is right – Everton have fallen back into old habits and it’s his job to make sure it doesn’t continue.

Julio Enciso (Brighton): How come Brighton can find talent at a fraction of the price Chelsea pay and still produce better results? All credit to Brighton – they have three mini-superstars in the midst. Kaoru Mitoma is having a magnificent season, Evan Ferguson is a sensational prospect and now Julio Enciso, the 19-year-old from Paraguay who ripped the heart out of Chelsea with a magnificent strike. Chelsea could complain about this fixture being played on Saturday and not Sunday because of their midweek Champions League fixture with Real Madrid, but I wouldn’t advise it. They have enough international players to field three teams. Graham Potter and Frank Lampard’s failure to handle the resources available to them is telling. The ability to rotate the squad while competing for European glory and keeping pace with domestic matters at the same time is key to the success for any manager at a big club. There is no doubt the defeat in Madrid took its toll, but Chelsea have the resources to cope with that.

Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace): Victories against Leeds United and now Southampton have not convinced me that Patrick Vieira could not have won these games, having played the teams above them and done all the hard work by putting 27 points on the board, before he was unceremoniously sacked by Crystal Palace. Vieira’s departure only serves to suggest something more than results was responsible for his exit. What I do find interesting is his departure has not affected the team’s performance in any way – in fact they look a happier bunch. Against Leeds it was Michael Olise who caught the eye, and Eberechi Eze, who has been flirting with stardom for some time, who destroyed Southampton. Nine points in three games under Roy Hodgson has virtually secured the Eagles’ position in the Premier League, but Hodgson is almost as old as time itself and can’t go on forever. So what happens now?