Vardy, Skrtel, Valencia and Davis make team of the week

Leicester stars dominate the selection of the Premier League's top performers, alongside Swansea and Southampton heroes

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Jamie Vardy kisses the Premier League trophy
(Image credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

After a weekend that saw Leicester celebrate their first ever league title in style and Manchester City slip up in the race for Champions League football, there is little consensus on the best performers among the pundits.

At the bottom of the table, Sunderland's fine win over Chelsea boosted their chances of survival, especially after local rivals Newcastle failed to beat already relegated Aston Villa and Norwich lost to Manchester United.

But after a scrappy round of matches, who were the stars? Here's The Week's pick of the experts' picks:

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Goalkeeper: Artur Boruc (Bournemouth)

A brilliant double save from a West Brom penalty earns Boruc the nod in goal. "There is no doubt that on his day, the Polish international is a good as any keeper in the league," says Garth Crooks of the BBC. "The question is, does he have enough of those days?"

Defence: Martin Skrtel (Liverpool), Wes Morgan (Leicester City), Virgil van Dijk (Southampton), Antonio Valencia (Man United)

Reds defender Skrtel has had his critics this season but "was in control on Sunday as he helped Liverpool to a clean sheet in their 2-0 win over Watford at Anfield", says the Daily Mail. "Skrtel handled Watford captain Troy Deeney well over 90 minutes as yet another defeat was inflicted on the Hornets."

Leicester showed no signs of a hangover as they put on a masterclass to celebrate winning the title. "Their captain and leader Wes Morgan performed like a man who has never seen a drop of alcohol pass his lips and could have played football the entire weekend without food or water," says the BBC's Crooks. "It's what superheroes are made of and right now Morgan looks like he has got a team full of them."

Southampton stunned Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday to leave second place in the table up for grabs. The performance of Van Dijk was crucial to the win, says The Offside Rule. He "signed a new six-year deal at Southampton on Saturday and he showed why he was worth the huge contract during the Saints' 2-1 win at Tottenham. Harry Kane barely got a sniff at White Hart Lane as van Dijk was a towering figure at the heart of Southampton’s defence."

It wasn't the game of the weekend, but Man United's 1-0 win over Norwich was notable for one performance at least. United "hardly set the world on fire in their narrow win at Norwich, but Valencia again won plaudits for the extra dynamism he adds from right-back", says ESPN.

Midfield: Steven Davis (Southampton), Andy King (Leicester City), Andre Ayew, Ki Sung-yueng (both Swansea)

After missing out on the title, Spurs's season looks to have hit the buffers as Southampton won 2-1. Davis scored twice against the Lilywhites and was the highest Fantasy Premier League points-scorer this week. "Davis made it 1-1 with a close-range strike, but his second was more extravagant as he beat Hugo Lloris from the edge of the box," says website The Offside Rule.

Leicester veteran King showed he still enjoys a knees-up as he "slotted superbly into Leicester’s midfield" against Everton, says Harry Redknapp of the Daily Telegraph. He set up one and scored another. "Anyone who was doubting the quality of Leicester's squad players were given a rude awakening," says the Daily Mail.

Swansea midfielder Ayew was "the architect of an incredible win on the road for the Welsh side", who beat West Ham 4-1, says Goal. Ayew "knocked home Swansea's second from close range and laid on the final goal of the rout to round off a sterling performance."

However, ESPN sees it differently and says Ki was actually the "mastermind" of Swansea's win "volleying home the third goal and dominating a Hammers midfield that had been so impressive" this season.

Attack: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Dwight Gayle (Crystal Palace)

Leicester striker Vardy was back on song as the Foxes celebrated at the King Power Stadium. "Just five days after perhaps the most famous house party in recent history, Vardy was fighting fit to terrorise Everton from the word go, scoring early on before adding another," says ESPN, referring to the viral video of the Leicester squad celebrating the title at Vardy's home. "It almost drew laughter to see him blast his chance for a hat trick over the bar from the penalty spot, so little did it matter."

Palace striker Gayle netted twice against Stoke to secure the Eagles's place in the top flight for another season. "Alan Pardew has dealt with several striker crises this season but will take huge positives from Gayle's performance as he prepares his side for the FA Cup final in less than two weeks' time," says the Mail.

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