Who comes out on top in Mail Sport's POWER RANKINGS this week?
Trent Alexander-Arnold inspires Liverpool to a comeback win, Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins extend their goalscoring runs and Luca Koleosho finally breaks his Burnley duck – but who claims top spot in this week’s POWER RANKINGS?
- Alexander-Arnold was involved in two goals in Liverpool’s thrilling 4-3 win
- Gordon continued his rich vein of form for the Magpies against Man United
- United are like a rotten window frame that you paint over to make it look better, but the problem is still there – It’s All Kicking Off
This Premier League weekend saw Arsenal retain top spot with a 2-1 win over Wolves and European places remain under fierce competition.
Title holders Manchester City drew a third successive league game for the first time since 2009, dropping points against a Tottenham Hotspur side missing several key players but others stepped up for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
At the bottom, Burnley put an end to a miserable home record by trashing Sheffield United 5-0 to move above them in the table.
While Sunday saw goals galore with no side keeping a clean sheet, meaning plenty of forwards got themselves on the score sheet.
Let’s see what this means for Mail Sport’s power rankings going into the mid-week fixtures.
Dejan Kulusevski (left) scored a last-minute leveller for Tottenham against Manchester City
LAST WEEK’S TOP 10 RANKINGS
10. Marcus Tavernier
9. Mohammed Kudus
8. Raheem Sterling
7. Andre Onana
6.Douglas Luiz
5. Anthony Gordon
4. Jeremy Doku
3. William Saliba
2. Mohamed Salah
1. Erling Haaland
10. Luca Koleosho (new entry)
Anyone who has watched a Burnley game this season will see the potential of the Italy U21 international, who stands out with confident wing-play and exciting dribbling sequences.
He is fourth in the league for successful take-ons and top ten for both progressive passes and carries into the penalty area, with manager Vincent Kompany claiming there is no ceiling to what Koleosho can achieve.
He was finally able to pack some punch this weekend as Burnley put an end to a miserable home record by beating Sheffield United 5-0, with Koleosho helping himself to the fourth goal.
Luca Koleosho scored his first goal for Burnley in Saturday’s 5-0 drubbing of Sheffield United
9. Dominic Solanke (new entry)
The former Chelsea and Liverpool youngster is finally reaching the levels once expected of him as a previous Golden Ball winner for England at the successful 2017 England U20 World Cup campaign.
Ahead of the campaign he had never scored over six Premier League goals but Solanke bagged his seventh in just 14 games as Bournemouth drew 2-2 with Aston Villa on Sunday.
The striker now has four goals in his last four home games and is scoring 0.5 goals per 90 minutes this season compared to 0.2 last term.
Dominic Solanke is finally showing the quality his potential as a youngster at Chelsea promised
8. Ollie Watkins (new entry)
The England international netted for the third match in a row and both scored and assisted in the same game for Aston Villa for the sixth time in their 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.
His eight Premier League goals are only bettered by Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-Min.
Also with six assists, the Villa forward is only the fourth player to have more than six league goals and assists for the club in consecutive seasons, but his form will be tested with Manchester City and Arsenal next to visit Villa Park.
Ollie Watkins popped up with a spectacular header to earn Aston Villa a vital point
7. Giovani Lo Celso (new entry)
Giovani Lo Celso has found himself in Ange Postecoglou’s side following key injuries to the Spurs starting XI, including James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr.
The Argentine has taken full advantage. He scored just once in his first 58 Premier League games for Tottenham but has now scored back-to-back.
In Tottenham’s 3-3 draw with Manchester City, Lo Celso was faultless on the ball and completed 100 per cent of his 40 passes.
Giovani Lo Celso has taken full advantage of his installation in the Spurs starting line-up
6. Erling Haaland (down five)
After bagging his 50th Premier League strike at record pace last week, Haaland had one of his worst displays weeks in front of goal in a 3-3 draw with Tottenham.
It was the first time in the Bundesliga or Premier League he has had as many as five shots without recording at least one on target. He also missed a huge opportunity to give City a 2-1 lead after a squared ball from Bernado Silva.
Despite his rare showing, and anger with referee Simon Hooper, he still provided the assist for Jack Grealish to sweep home which made it 3-2 before Dejan Kulusevski’s equaliser.
Erling Haaland had a bitterly frustrating game against Spurs after missing multiple chances
5. Enzo Fernandez (new entry)
Fernandez had attempted more shots than any Premier League player without a goal this season, 22, before bagging the opener against Brighton.
He then went onto score a double for the first time in his professional career.
Having scored the first with a header, Chelsea were under pressure following the dismissal of Conor Gallagher but Enzo put the penalty miss at West Ham behind him and tucked this one away to restore Chelsea’s two goal cushion.
Enzo Fernandez scored a brace for the first time in his professional career against Brighton
4. Mohamed Salah (down two)
Liverpool have been flawless in the league at Anfield this season, winning seven out of seven games.
A major part of that has been the continued form of Salah, who has scored or assisted for 16 league games in row at home, stretching back to last season.
Salah didn’t have a huge impact on Liverpool’s 4-3 victory over Fulham and missed two big chances, but the prolific winger was still able to continue his Anfield goal contribution streak with an assist to Wataru Endo and played five key passes.
Mohamed Salah had an off day in front of goal but was still able to affect the game in Liverpool'[s comeback win with an assist for Wataru Endo’s late equaliser
3. Mohammed Kudus (up six)
Kudus scored again for West Ham in their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, making it three goal contributions in his last four league games.
In a man of the match performance, the Ghanaian completed five dribbles, won possession nine times and swept home the ball from a Vladimir Coufal cutback with the fortune of a deflection.
His form has been so crucial for his side that injured West Ham forward Michail Antonio said Kudus should be the first name on David Moyes’s team sheet on The Player’s Channel podcast he hosts alongside Newcastle forward Callum Wilson.
Mohammed Kudus’s strike against Crystal Palace was his third goal contribution in four games
2. Trent Alexander-Arnold (new entry)
The inverted, Adidas predator-wearing Trent Alexander-Arnold showed he is the heartbeat of the Liverpool side in a 4-3 cracker against Fulham.
In a game where the dangerous duo of Salah and Darwin Nunez did not have much of an impact, Alexander-Arnold made the game his own; winning possession 10 times and distributing the second highest number of successful passes.
His free kick, which led to the opening goal after bouncing off Bernd Leno’s back, was world class and his 88th minute winner was clutch as he successfully took hold of the game and earned the three points for his side.
Trent Alexander-Arnold inspired Liverpool to a thrilling 4-3 comeback win against Fulham
1. Anthony Gordon (up four)
With an injury-stricken squad, Anthony Gordon and his youthful energy have been crucial for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United as he seems to embody the hustle expected from his manager.
After a goal and assist in last week’s 4-1 victory over Chelsea, Gordon popped up with the winner against another European contender to beat Manchester United 1-0.
The 22-year-old is in red hot form and has either scored or assisted in every league home game for Newcastle, now totalling six goals and five assists across all Premier League matches.
Anthony Gordon now has 11 goal involvements in 13 Premier League games this season
IT’S ALL KICKING OFF!
It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.
It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.
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