POWER RANKINGS: Which surprise player replaces Haaland at the top
Rodri and James Maddison continue to impress while THREE Brighton players make the top 10… but which surprise star replaces Erling Haaland at the top of the pile in this week’s Premier League POWER RANKINGS?
- Man City, Arsenal and Brighton all continued their perfect starts to the season
- Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle though tasted their first defeats
- WATCH: ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ – Episode 2 – Mail Sport’s brand new football show
Manchester City, Arsenal and Brighton continued their perfect starts to the new Premier League season, while Chelsea, Man United and Newcastle all tasted defeat for the first time.
However, both City and the Gunners were made to work hard for their second wins of the campaign, with 1-0 victories over the Magpies and Crystal Palace respectively.
Brighton top the table after they thumped Wolves 4-1, while there were also significant victories for Brentford and Aston Villa.
There were also wins for Liverpool, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest, on a weekend that saw 26 goals in nine games – as Luton Town’s fixture with Burnley was postponed due to work being done at Kenilworth Road.
But, which players stood out? Mail Sport delves deeper into the 10 hottest players after the matchday two.
Last week’s No 1 Erling Haaland drops out of the top ten after a quiet display against Newcastle, with only three players keeping their place inside the Power Rankings
LAST WEEK’S TOP 10 RANKINGS
10. James Maddison
9. Pervis Estupinan
8. Craig Dawson
7. Rodri
6. Bernd Leno
5. Sandro Tonali
4. Enzo Fernandez
3. Bukayo Saka
2. Alexander Isak
1. Erling Haaland
10. Pape Matar Sarr (new entry)
The 20-year-old Tottenham midfielder makes the Power Rankings for the first time in his career after a fine display against Manchester United.
Sarr only played 212 minutes of Premier League football during his debut campaign with the club, but after featuring in both of Tottenham’s games so far, it’s clear that he will have a bigger part to play under new boss Ange Postecoglou.
In a big match against the Red Devils, he showed all he has to bring to the team, progressing well with the ball. He also won it back with seven recoveries during the match.
It was a dream day for the Senegalese international, as he scored his first goal for the club when he struck home from a deflected Dejan Kulusevski cross.
Pape Matar Sarr scored his first goal for Tottenham in their 2-0 win over Manchester United
9. Phil Foden (new entry)
The Manchester City star finally has the chance to shine in the middle of the park, after the departure of Ilkay Gundogan, topped with the injury to Kevin De Bruyne.
He will have been determined to prove himself in his favoured position, after being regularly used out wide under Pep Guardiola due to their wide array of midfielders.
The England international didn’t even need to glance up when he picked out his team-mate Julian Alvarez who expertly found the top corner in the only goal of the game in their 1-0 win over Newcastle.
His all-round performance against Newcastle was of a very high standard and showed why City should be able to cope fine without De Bruyne – even if the Belgian could be considered the best midfielder in the world.
Guardiola would have been pleased with Phil Foden’s display after Kevin De Bruyne’s injury
8. Pervis Estupinan (up one)
The Brighton left-back is proving Premier League Fantasy players right as he continued his bright start to the season against Wolves.
In their opener he created two big chances while also registering an assist.
Against Wolves, he bagged himself a second assist while also getting onto the scoresheet.
He is one of only three players to keep their place inside the top ten, and one of three Brighton players to make the list.
Pervis Estupinan scored against Wolves while also bagging his second assist in as many games
7. James-Ward Prowse (new entry)
While Chelsea’s £115million British record signing Moises Caicedo had a debut to forget at the weekend, West Ham’s new midfield signing immediately made an impact.
England international Ward-Prowse provided two assists during West Ham’s 3-1 victory over Chelsea.
In fact, it took him just seven minutes to show off his superb set-piece prowess as a wicked corner was headed in by Nayef Aguerd. Then with the scores level, he chipped a ball over the top of the defence which was fired in by Michail Antonio.
The £30m signing proved why he could be one of the shrewdest Premier League signings of the summer and his performance led to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp lauding his delivery as ‘world-class’.
James Ward-Prowse provided two assists in his West Ham debut in their 3-1 win over Chelsea
6. Luis Diaz (new entry)
The Colombian scored a well taken goal against Chelsea last week, and he followed that up with an excellent finish against Bournemouth.
After a sluggish start for the Reds, who went 1-0 down, Diaz showed great composure to score with an acrobatic finish.
Diaz continued to pose a threat during the match, and he later saw a shot saved which Diogo Jota was able to poke in on the rebound.
We never saw the best of Diaz last season due to a lengthy injury lay-off and going off the start of this campaign, it looks like we are going to see a lot more of the player who excited Liverpool fans when he joined in January 2022.
Luis Diaz has two goals in as many games and Liverpool fans could get to see the best of him this season after his lengthy injury lay-off affected his last campaign
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5. Rodri (up one)
The Manchester City midfielder moves up one spot after putting in another solid shift in the middle of the park for the reigning champions.
Rodri kept things ticking throughout the 90 minutes, also putting in some well-timed tackles even if one errant backpass almost gave Newcastle the chance to draw level in the second-half.
He is a reliable player in Man City’s squad and someone Guardiola can trust to bring a sense of calm.
The 27-year-old has in the last 18 months become the best defensive midfielder in the world and perhaps the most crucial cog in Guardiola’s system.
Rodri continues to prove himself to be one of the most important players in Guardiola’s side
4. Kaoru Mitoma (new entry)
The Japanese international provided one of the most entertaining performances among any player in the top-flight last weekend.
He opened the scoring against Wolves. From the left flank he burst around one defender, sprinted away from another, split through another two defenders, before calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
It was a truly world class finish, and he was later able to get himself an assist for team-mate Estupinan in what was a 4-1 victory.
Mitoma is carrying on his excellent form from last season and will surely be the next Brighton star to attract the big teams if he carries on performing like he is.
Kaoru Mitoma netted a brilliant solo goal to open the scoring against Wolves at the weekend
3. Bryan Mbeumo (new entry)
Before the season started many football fans appeared to suggest that Brentford would find it tougher this season due to Ivan Toney’s ban.
But, with Bryan Mbeumo topping the scoring charts on three goals, and Yoane Wissa also contributing, the Bees might just be fine.
Wissa got the ball rolling in the first-half before Mbeumo doubled their lead from the penalty spot.
He then added a third in stoppage time when he tapped into an empty net. Other than that though he had a relatively quiet performance.
But his goals will prove vital for Brentford’s chances of qualifying for Europe, before their main man Toney returns in January.
Bryan Mbeumo is the joint-top scorer in the Premier League after the opening two weekends
2. James Maddison (up eight)
The summer signing from Leicester rockets up the list after he helped to run the show against Manchester United.
He was Tottenham’s main creative hub and he was at the heart of most of their attacking plays throughout the game.
Maddison also went on a couple of impressive runs, and Casemiro struggled to contend with him as the United man was left isolated in the centre of the park.
While he didn’t score or bag an assist, he moves up the charts after a fine display, when the likes of Saka, Haaland, Alexander Isak, Enzo Fernandez and Sandro Tonali – all in last week’s top five – had relatively quiet performances.
Casemiro struggled to contend with James Maddison in the midfield battle at the weekend
1. Solly March (new entry)
The third and final Brighton player to make this list, and he slots in ahead of Mitoma down to the fact he has three goals in his opening two games – jointly topping the Premier League scoring charts at this early stage.
March scored two goals in four minutes in the second-half to put the game out of sight for the Seagulls against Wolves.
Both were easy enough finishes, getting on the end of crosses and poking the ball home, but he showed great composure to tuck both away.
There have been calls in 2023 for March to be rewarded with an England call-up by Gareth Southgate – something which will only increase if he carries on his excellent start to the season.
So two weeks into our Power Rankings, Haaland, Rodri, Maddison and March all have ten points, but there’s still a long way to go.
Solly March jointly tops the Premier League scoring charts after the opening two games
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