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Raheem Sterling, Paul Pogba and Virgil van Dijk.

Pogba the surprise inclusion in City and Liverpool-dominated PFA Team of the Year

The team is in…

LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER City dominate the Professional Footballers’ Association’s (PFA) Premier League Team of the Year, while there is a surprise inclusion for Manchester United’s Paul Pogba. 

City and Liverpool have been streets ahead of the rest in the Premier League this season and are in a two-way tussle for the title with three games to go. 

As such, 10 spots in the PFA’s Team of the Year are taken up by City and Liverpool players, making it the first time in the history of the combined XI that only three teams have been represented. 

Raheem Sterling and Virgil van Dijk – the two favourites for the individual prize – are present, with the former joined by team-mate Sergio Aguero and the Reds’ Sadio Mane in attack. 

Sterling is enjoying another marvellous season having scored 17 times and set up another 10, while Van Dijk has helped transform Liverpool into title challengers.

Ederson ends David de Gea’s four-year streak as the most-backed goalkeeper, while compatriot Fernandinho is in alongside Pogba, making it the first time two Brazilians have made it into the team in the same season. 

team PFA Twitter. PFA Twitter.

Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte complete the City contingent, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson – the first Scottish player to be included since Darren Fletcher in 2009-10 – slot into a Liverpool-heavy back four. 

The most notable inclusion is surely that of United’s Pogba, however, with the Frenchman a regular target of criticism for a lack of consistency, particularly during the first half of the campaign under Jose Mourinho. 

He soon stepped his game up under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and has 13 goals and nine assists in 33 games, but a haul of seven penalties impacts his record significantly and he has been lambasted over recent weeks for a series of underwhelming performances. 

PFA Premier League Team of the Year in full: 

Ederson (Manchester City); Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Andy Robertson (Liverpool); Fernandinho (Manchester City), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City); Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Sadio Mane (Liverpool).

- Originally published at 09.13

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    Mute Nollaig Elliot
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    Apr 24th 2019, 9:11 AM

    Levy will be sweating now cause he could be the player that opens the floodgates. They’ll have to break the structure to keep him and it’s open season then.

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    Mute Limón Madrugada
    Favourite Limón Madrugada
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    Apr 24th 2019, 2:01 PM

    @Nollaig Elliot: Levy does anything but sweat about these things . He’s a superb negotiator . Just ask Real Madrid . And they’re number 1 on Eriksens list . So if he goes he will go this summer for great money .

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    Mute Alan Fitzgerald
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    Apr 24th 2019, 3:41 PM

    Do they want to want to compete for the league or not. If they do it’s vital to keep players like Eriksen. The cost of rebuilding a team to get back where they are now would be ridiculous if they were to lose the likes of Eriksen Kane Alderweirld etc

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