Has anyone been able to displace Haaland as No 1 in POWER RANKINGS?

Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney are new entries after their goals against Arsenal and Leeds while Aleksandar Mitrovic netted AGAIN – but has anyone been able to displace Erling Haaland as No 1 in this week’s Premier League POWER RANKINGS?

• Arsenal’s perfect record in the league this season came to an end at Man United 
• Tottenham beat Fulham but Manchester City were held away at Aston Villa 
• Liverpool were also involved in a goalless Merseyside derby as Chelsea won 
• Below Sportsmail runs through the ups and downs in this week’s Power Rankings

LAST WEEK’S TOP 10

10. Lloyd Kelly (new entry)

9. Romeo Lavia (new entry)

8. Luis Diaz (down five)

7. Martin Odegaard (down four)

6. Julian Alvarez (new entry)

5. Harry Kane (up two)

4. Raheem Sterling (up two)

3. Aleksandr Mitrovic (new entry)

2. Roberto Firmino (non mover)

1. Erling Haaland (non mover)

The latest round of Premier League action saw plenty of surprises and saw some trends continue in what has been a fascinating campaign so far.

Arsenal’s 100 per cent record came to an end at Old Trafford, with Mikel Arteta’s men going down 3-1 at Man United – who have now won four games in a row – despite an impressive performance.

But Manchester City could not leapfrog them into top spot after managing just a draw at Aston Villa.

Tottenham however closed the gap on the pair with a 2-1 victory against Fulham to remain third in the table.

Liverpool, meanwhile, drew for the third time this season in Saturday’s Merseyside derby, which easily could have gone Everton’s way.

Conor Coady had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR and resulted in a fourth stalemate of the season for Frank Lampard’s men.

Chelsea secured a controversial 2-1 win at home against West Ham, while Bournemouth came from two goals down to beat Nottingham Forest.

There were also 5-2 victories for Brentford and Brighton against Leeds and Leicester, respectively. So with all that in mind, here’s the latest top 10 of Sportsmail‘s Premier League Power Rankings.

The latest round of Premier League action saw lots of surprises and saw some trends continue in what has been a fascinating campaign so far, with Manchester United beating Arsenal

Below are the ups, downs, movers and shakers in Sportsmail’s Premier League Power Rankings

The quietest game for a while for Arsenal’s captain in terms of attacking output, as he struggled to help the Gunners break Man United down.

Instead it was his challenge on Christian Eriksen which VAR then recommended should prevent Gabriel Martinelli’s brilliant goal from counting.

His tendency to pass when the shot could be the better option again frustrated some fans but his substitution was part of Mikel Arteta’s ‘desperate’ – in the words of Gary Neville – triple change when they were chasing the game.

It was the quietest game for a while for Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard in terms of attacking

9. Marcus Rashford (Man United) – NEW ENTRY

Showed just why Manchester United fans are frustrated with his lack of consistency.

Barely had a kick in the first half as Arsenal pressed high and controlled large parts of the opening 45 minutes, but he did provide the assist for Antony’s opener.

He then became United’s main attacking threat after the break, going on to demonstrate a clinical touch to bag two goals.

No doubt he will need to build on this to continue keeping Cristiano Ronaldo out of the side but it was an extremely encouraging performance from the man looking to fight his way back into the England squad in time for the World Cup. 

United’s Rashford showed his clinical edge with a fine double to down the Gunners in a 3-1 win

8. Ivan Toney (Brentford) – NEW ENTRY

Speaking of Gareth Southgate’s squad for Qatar, the latest player to throw his hat into the ring is Toney after his hat-trick for Brentford in their 5-2 hammering of Leeds.

Bees fans and the top flight in general have become accustomed to his one-step, no-look penalty-taking style but most were taken aback with the quality and power with which he struck a sumptuous free-kick. 

He then rounded it off with the most sublime of chips after Illan Meslier had done his best to clear the ball as sweeper keeper.

‘Off the top of my head there is not a better striker on form at the moment after Harry Kane,’ Brentford boss Thomas Frank said. Perhaps he is right.

7. Luis Diaz (Liverpool) – UP ONE

Perhaps lucky to move up in the standings following Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Everton in Saturday’s Merseyside derby.

As ever, the Colombian’s direct running caused a threat and Nathan Patterson had his work cut out.

The former Porto man could easily have seen his shot sneak in rather than hit the inside of the post. 

With Mohamed Salah currently not regularly impacting games and Darwin Nunez still adjusting to life in England, plenty will fall on the shoulders of Diaz to ensure the Reds don’t fall further behind Manchester City. 

Brentford striker Ivan Toney was backed for an England call-up after a hat-trick against Leeds

6. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) – DOWN FOUR 

Perhaps slightly harshly was relegated back to the bench at Goodison Park after scoring in the midweek victory against Newcastle.

But when he was introduced for the second half, he made a telling impact in the Reds’ pressing game and their use of the ball in finding Nunez. 

It perhaps left Fabinho and Harvey Elliott even more exposed behind him but that would not have mattered if the Brazilian had scored. 

The Brazilian could easily have added to the three goals he has scored this season, but was twice brilliantly denied by Jordan Pickford.

Roberto Firmino could have scored against Everton if not for several Jordan Pickford saves

5. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – NEW ENTRY

Dropped out of our rankings for one game-week after starting the Nottingham Forest game on the bench but returns with a bang following a glorious assist for Erling Haaland.

His whipped cross after taking the ball away from Lucas Digne is the sort of delivery that makes him among the best in world football and ensured the Norwegian really could not miss once he had made contact.

He also shook the crossbar with a brilliant effort from a free-kick and despite Aston Villa coming back into the game, was always creating right until the death.

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne delivered a superb assist for Erling Haaland v Aston Villa

4. Raheem Sterling (Chelsea) – NON MOVER

May not have scored for the second time in a week in the controversial victory against West Ham, but he was by far Chelsea’s best attacking threat. 

The England international made a couple of jinking runs, and delivered one fine pass to Christian Pulisic which could have led to more.

It was just one of many fantastic balls he played throughout the game, and while chances to run in behind the Hammers’ back four were limited, he remained a nuisance throughout.

3. Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) – NON MOVER

Those who questioned whether he could become a regular goalscorer in the Premier League are starting to look silly, right?

His goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was the second time the Serbian had scored in a losing cause in north London in the past seven days.

Aleksandar Mitrovic is making questions over if he can cut it in the Premier League look silly

But while at Arsenal he was rather gifted the goal by Gabriel Magalhaes, here he chested a long ball down, stepped inside a defender and then curled a gorgeous effort into the far corner.

His aerial threat will always cause defenders problems but now it is his all-round play which has become a nightmare too. 

2. Harry Kane (Tottenham) – UP THREE

Drew level with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry for 43 goals in London derbies after scoring what turned out to be the winner against Fulham.

But while the goal was relatively simple, it was well deserved with the England captain looking sharp from the get-go, forcing Bernd Leno into action early on following his shot from the edge of the box.  

Perhaps due to Son Heung-min’s struggles in front of goal this season he has himself not managed to register a single assist so far this term.

But given his current form in front of goal – which has seen him net five times in six games – he is likely to be in the running for the Golden Boot yet again this year. 

1. Erling Haaland (Man City) – NON MOVER

Nope, no change in the No 1 position and there could not really be after Haaland netted yet again for the Premier League champions.

It was perhaps one of the simpler ones he will net for City, rising at the back post following De Bruyne’s wonderful cross to tap home.

He did not get much joy otherwise but 10 Premier League goals – the same amount Timo Werner managed in his whole Chelsea career – in six matches is some going.

Six of his 10 goals have come from within the six-yard box too, with only Sterling managing more since the start of last season. Frightening stuff. 

There is no change in the No 1 position after City striker Erling Haaland scored once again

Share this article

Source: Read Full Article