, The72 Championship Team of the Week Matchday 3: Phenomenal Phillips

The72 Championship Team of the Week Matchday 3: Phenomenal Phillips

West Bromwich Albion were the standout side in the Sky Bet Championship this week after putting seven past Queens Park Rangers.

Leeds United and Middlesbrough also continued their strong starts to the season with 2-0 wins over Roterham United and Bristol City respectively, whilst a late goal for Nottingham Forest earned them a dramatic 2-2 draw at Wigan Athletic.

Unsurprisingly, three West Brom players feature in this week’s Team of the Week, based on match rating statistics from Whoscored.com, but here is who else made the cut.

Formation: 3-4-3

Goalkeeper: Erwin Mulder (Swansea City) 8.37

Swansea City maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a goalless draw against Birmingham City at St Andrews.

Graham Potter’s side were under the cosh for the majority of Friday evening’s clash, but goalkeeper Erwin Mulder proved to be unbeatable.

The 29-year-old made six saves to deny a Birmingham side who had 17 shots at them.

Mulder was named as Whoscored.com’s star man and was one of a few shining lights in what was a rather dull Friday night stalemate.

Defender: Luke Ayling (Leeds United) 7.88

Leeds extended their 100% home record on Saturday with a 2-0 home win against Rotherham.

Their opener came via full-back Luke Ayling shortly after half time, who put away Kemar Roofe’s wayward shot with a diving header.

The ex-Arsenal defender won four aerial duels and made the joint-highest amount of tackles out of Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Ayling was part of a back line that also kept their first league clean sheet of the campaign.

Defender: Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers) 8.29

Blackburn Rovers defender Darragh Lenihan makes the Team of the Week for the second consecutive match week after a solid performance during their 1-0 win at Hull City.

Lenihan won a staggering 15 aerial duels, nearly twice the amount of the total managed by the entirety of Hull’s back four.

His success rate in the air was 83%, 12% higher than the next best player on the pitch at the KCOM Stadium.

Despite being booked, Lenihan was named as the Star Man and has been key to Rovers’ promising start to the season.

Defender: Kieran Gibbs (West Bromwich Albion) 8.88

Former England international Kieran Gibbs is the first of three Baggies players to feature in this week’s side.

The left-back scored Albion’s second of the match to regain the lead early in the second half and provided the assist for Dwight Gayle’s goal 14 minutes later.

Gibbs made the second highest amount of tackles at The Hawthorns during the dismantling of QPR.

He will be hoping for a big 2018/19 campaign after a tricky final couple of years with Arsenal and having suffered relegation last season with West Brom.

Midfielder: Matt Phillips (West Bromwich Albion) 9.52

This week’s best player in the Championship is Baggies winger Matt Phllips, who netted West Brom’s first and sixth goals of the match.

The Scottish wide-man made 85% of his attempted passes against QPR, the joint-fourth highest from Darren Moore’s starting side.

Despite only having two shots, Phillips proved to be clinical by putting both of them away.

He has three goals and an assist in four league games so far this season and is proving to be one of West Brom’s key men in their quest for an immediate top-flight return.

Midfielder: Shaun Williams (Millwall) 8.98

Millwall earned a 2-1 victory over Derby County at The Den on Saturday and starring for the hosts was Irish midfielder, Shaun Williams.

He provided the assist for their opening goal early on, with his free-kick being turned in by Lee Gregory.

Williams then turned from creator to goalscorer 13 minutes later, as his effort from distance deflected off Fikayo Tomori before rifling into the top corner of the net.

With three key passes, Williams proved to be an influence throughout for The Lions as the result means they remained unbeaten at home this season.

Midfielder: Oliver Norwood (Sheffield United) 8.71

Sheffield United loanee Oliver Norwood marked his league debut for The Blades with a man of the match performance.

Norwood contributed an assist and flourished in the middle of midfield as Chris Wilder’s side were 2-1 winners over Norwich City at Bramall Lane.

The Northen Irishman’s seventh minute corner was headed in by John Egan to give United the lead.

He also made 86% of his attempted 85 passes, completing 23 more passes than any other player on the pitch.

Midfielder: Matty Cash (Nottingham Forest) 8.37

Completing the midfield is Nottingham Forest’s Matty Cash, who netted for the second consecutive match for The Tricky Trees.

Cash scored Forest’s first goal during their 2-2 draw with Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium.

He fired his effort past Latics goalkeeper Christian Walton after being teed up by Joao Carvalho.

The 21-year-old also managed two key passes, the joint-highest of any player in the match and was the only Forest player to do so.

Striker: Neal Maupay (Brentford) 8.79

For the second home game in a row, Brentford striker Neal Maupay scored and created a goal for The Bees in their 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday.

The Frenchman got Brentford’s first at Griffin Park from the penalty spot after Lewis Macloed was fouled by Sam Hutchinson.

Maupay then unselfishly squared the ball across goal to Ollie Watkins who tapped in Brentford’s second to seal the victory.

Brentford’s talisman is currently the only player to have an average match rating higher than eight out of 10 in every league appearance of the campaign and with six direct goal contributions (goals and assists) in three league games, it’s easy to understand why.

Striker: Dwight Gayle (West Bromwich Albion) 8.77

Dwight Gayle marked his first home start for West Bromwich Albion with a goal against Steve McClaren’s QPR.

Gayle got The Baggies’ fourth of the match and was a nuisance for the opposition’s defence all day.

He had three shots in the match, all of which he got on target.

The forward also made one key pass, a total only bettered by teammate Jake Livermore.

Striker: Kemar Roofe (Leeds United) 8.16

Leeds striker Kemar Roofe netted his third league goal in as many games against Rotherham on Saturday.

Roofe also grabbed an assist during the 2-0 victory over the fellow Yorkshire-based side.

He set up Ayling’s header before doubling Leeds’ advantage with a stylish finish.

The forward is the joint-second top goalscorer in the Championship with three goals, only behind West Brom’s Jay Rodriguez.

 

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