Chadli, Lamela, Fabregas star in London-led team of the week
Seven of this week's XI come from the capital with Spurs and Chelsea dominating
The Premier League season is starting to take shape, with Spurs topping the table after two matches, thanks to their emphatic 4-0 win over QPR on Sunday. They are one of four teams to have won both their opening fixtures, along with Swansea, and title favourites Chelsea and Man City.
Champions City won the first of the season's big clashes as they overcame Liverpool on Monday night, and in the weekend's other big showdown Arsenal came from behind to snatch a point against top four rivals Everton.
Manchester United's shaky start continued with a draw against Sunderland, while Crystal Palace, Burnley and QPR are all without a point.
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But who were the stars of the week two games? Here's the pick of the experts' picks:
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea). He appears to have won the battle for the Chelsea number one shirt but Courtois knows that while Petr Cech is on the bench he cannot afford any slip-ups. There weren't any on Saturday as Chelsea overcame Leicester. "He didn't have a great deal to do," says Garth Crooks of the BBC. "But what he did was of the highest order." Two saves from David Nugent were key.
Defence: Eric Dier (Spurs), Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea), Philippe Senderos (Aston Villa), Pablo Zabaleta (Man City). Youngster Dier's sensational start to life in the Premier League continued with a second goal in as many games against QPR. It was a "stellar" show at right back says Bleacher Report. "He got forward to net from a corner and looked calm throughout." Ivanovic was Chelsea's "driving force" against Leicester, says the Daily Mail. He forced a good save from Kasper Schmeichel and set up Diego Costa. "Against all the odds... Senderos has had an exceptional start to his career at Aston Villa", says website Fanatix. He helped the Villans record a second clean sheet against Newcastle. The "ever-reliable" Zabaleta also gets the nod from Goal.com; he may have scored an own goal but other than that he was "solid as ever".
Midfield: Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea), Lee Cattermole (Sunderland), Eric Lamela, Nacer Chadli (both Spurs). Fabregas's impressive return to the Premier League continued against Leicester. "Isn't it lovely to see a midfield player always looking to play the ball forward instead of square or back towards their own goal?" purrs Garth Crooks. Cattermole may be less elegant but he impressed for Sunderland against Man United, "running the show in midfield", according to Bleacher Report. "A much maligned figure throughout last season, Erik Lamela seems to be thriving under new Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino", says Winner Sport. "Playing with a remarkable aura of confidence and skill, Lamela was simply brilliant". Lamela may have provided two assists, but team mate Chadli netted twice to be the top points scorer in fantasy Premier League and the nearest thing to an ever-present in this weekend's dream teams.
Attack: Stevan Jovetic (Man City), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal). Montenegrin striker Jovetic missed much of last season through injury but finally made his mark against Liverpool. He "has come back with a bang in the new season and was impressive throughout", says Goal.com of his two-goal performance on Monday. Giroud changed the game for Arsenal against Everton and scored their injury time equaliser. "Arsenal might have Alexis Sanchez in the mix now, but Giroud has looked the most effective in attack in their opening games," says Garth Crooks – shame he looks set for a spell on the sidelines with injury.
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