Alan Shearer has announced his Premier League team of the week, and once again it includes multiple Newcastle United players.
The Magpies beat Crystal Palace 4-0 to move up to sixth in the Premier League on Saturday, producing a clinical display to put the Eagles to the sword.
Jacob Murphy was the star of the show, grabbing a goal and two assists. There were also strong performances from Anthony Gordon, who got on the scoresheet, and Kieran Trippier, who continued his rich vein of form.
Shearer has named three Toon players in his team of the week, two of which have been mentioned above. Murphy and Trippier have been named in Shearer’s XI, but the third Newcastle star is perhaps a surprising selection.
Nick Pope named in Alan Shearer’s team of the week
The third Newcastle player who Shearer has included in his Premier League team of the week is Nick Pope.
On the 31-year-old, Shearer wrote for the Premier League’s official website: “Made a couple of impressive saves late on to keep another clean sheet. The 4-0 scoreline against Palace didn’t reflect his contribution.”
The Newcastle goalkeeper was outstanding yet again
Given the fact it was 4-0, it was very easy to forget Pope’s performance. But the £10million goalkeeper actually made some brilliant saves to keep Crystal Palace at bay.
He was called upon on multiple occasions, and produced a dramatic dive across his box to stop Odsonne Edouard’s free-kick from landing in the top corner. That was his best stop of the game, and led to him getting a standing ovation from the Gallowgate.
Saves like that ensured Pope got another clean sheet. He now has six to his name this season, with his first coming in the Champions League draw with AC Milan.
Since that night, Pope has looked back to his best after an underwhelming start to the campaign.
He continued his good form at the weekend, even if his strong performance was not too memorable given how dominant Newcastle were in attack.
But Pope certainly deserves praise for his performance, and he has got exactly that from Toon legend Alan Shearer.
