Mohamed Salah continues to star for Liverpool as James Ward-Prowse keeps up his fine start to life at West Ham… but who reclaims top spot in this week’s POWER RANKINGS after another goal?
- Manchester City continue to lead the Premier League table after another win
- Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal are close behind after also securing victories
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off!
Another week of Premier League football is behind us and it once again included drama, controversy, and late goals.
England’s top division was back with a bang as Manchester City continued to set the pace at the top of the table, chased by the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham, who left things very late against Sheffield United.
At the other end of the table, 10-man Burnley picked up their first point of the season at Nottingham Forest, while Luton remain rooted to the bottom of the league after their fourth loss in four.
However it’s still early days, and there are plenty of points left to play for, though sides will be starting to evaluate their positions in the table and assessing their starts to the new campaign.
So, now the dust has settled, who features in Mail Sport‘s latest Power Rankings?
Manchester City continue to set the pace at the top of the Premier League after beating West Ham 3-1
Tottenham remain in the Champions League places having left it late to topple Sheffield United in North London
LAST WEEK’S TOP 10 RANKINGS
10. James Ward-Prowse
9. Rodri
8. Bryan Mbeumo
7. Kaoru Mitoma
6. Declan Rice
5. Jarrod Bowen
4. James Maddison
3. Erling Haaland
2. Nathan Ferguson
1. Son Heung-min
Your browser does not support iframes.
10 Moussa Diaby (new entry)
Diaby has proven to be a fantastic bit of business for Aston Villa, who have strengthened over the summer and seem set up for another European push this term.
Back in European action this week, Unai Emery has revolutionised the squad and that’s largely in thanks to their headline £45million summer signing.
Providing natural width while getting close to Ollie Watkins, the 24-year-old brings pace, direct running and fine skill to the Villa attack which is missing Jacob Ramsey and Emi Buendia.
Villa won it late against Crystal Palace but Diaby helped inspire them to their 10th home victory in a row – a run that extends back to February – providing a threat throughout the game before winning a late penalty for Douglas Luiz to secure the win.
Moussa Diaby continues to prove to have been a shred piece of business for the ever-improving Aston Villa
9 Rodri (up one)
The Spaniard is perhaps one of the only players who is undroppable for Pep Guardiola given his importance to the Manchester City team.
A man who can stake his claim to be the best defensive midfielders in the world, it’s well-known to Premier League fans by now how clever and astute a player he is.
There were no signature long-range strike for Rodri in City’s 3-1 win over West Ham on Saturday, but he was crucial to breaking up play against the counter-attacking Hammers while orchestrating possession from deep, with his side enjoying 68 per cent of the ball.
Rodri marshalled the midfield again for City in their win over West Ham as the champions made it five wins from five
8 Son Heung-min (down seven)
Perhaps a disappointing weekend for Son on the back of a hat-trick last time out against Burnley, but the Spurs captain continues to provide a focal point for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Playing through the middle again, the South Korea international will always prove a threat in one of the best attacking sides in the league.
Surprisingly taken off after 80 minutes with his side trailing 1-0, he didn’t have the impact on the game many would have hoped and expected, hence his seven-place demotion in this week’s Power Rankings.
But there’s no European football for Tottenham this week so the 31-year-old will have a full week to prepare for the North London derby against Arsenal, and what a game to bounce back in that would be.
Son Heung-min didn’t find the scoresheet for Tottenham after scoring a hat-trick in his side’s previous game
7 Callum Hudson-Odoi (new entry)
Hudson-Odoi could have been forgiven if he was feeling a little nervous ahead of making his debut for Nottingham Forest against Burnley on Monday night.
The former Chelsea man was being touted as one of the stars of the future a few years ago, linked with mega-money moved to some of Europe’s biggest sides and receiving his maiden England call-up at 18.
His career spiralled somewhat, but he has been given a second chance at Forest after his move this summer.
If he was feeling the nerves, he didn’t show it. Winning over the Forest faithful already as he scored one of the goals of the weekend with a fine curling effort on the hour mark, the winger reminded the world of what he can do.
Still just 22, Hudson-Odoi has time on his side as he looks to rebuild his career and fulfil his undoubted potential.
Callum Hudson-Odoi (left) reminded fans just how good he can be on his Nottingham Forest debut against Burnley
6 Declan Rice (non-mover)
One of the talking points of pre-season was how Rice would adapt to playing in a side where he would be surrounded by better players with more emphasis on keeping the ball than there was in his West Ham days.
There are no questions now.
The England man has taken to Arsenal’s midfield like a duck to water, with new manager Mikel Arteta singing the praises of Rice as the Gunners look to mount another title charge.
Rice controlled the game for Arsenal as they were made to work for their 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, and the club are in safe hands with him in their side.
Arsenal continue to shine with new signing Declan Rice patrolling their midfield, beating Everton at the weekend
5 Richarlison (new entry)
The forward received plaudits for speaking out about his mental health over the international break and he looked like he had got a huge monkey off his back against Sheffield United.
Perhaps playing with a point to prove after losing his starting place to Manor Solomon, Richarlison was a man on a mission when he was introduced with 10 minutes to go in the game.
He headed in from Ivan Perisic’s corner to square things up and score his first Premier League goal of the season deep into stoppage time before keeping his cool moments later to tee up Dejan Kulusevski to score the winner.
Potential lift-off at Tottenham for Brazil’s No9.
Richarlison (left) seems to have found new confidence, scoring and providing an assist in Tottenham’s win over Sheffield United
4 Pascal Gross (new entry)
Any one of Brighton’s players could have made the Power Rankings top ten this week after their latest stunning win, this time over Manchester United.
Roberto de Zerbi’s side put on a passing masterclass as they took the Red Devils to the sword at Old Trafford, with Gross scoring the pick of the Seagulls’ three goals when he finished off a move featuring 30 uninterrupted passes.
Gross has been one of the un-sung heroes of Brighton’s success, featuring in both centre midfield and at right back when required, but can be forever relied on by De Zerbi.
His reward has been a maiden Germany call-up and playing a part in Brighton’s European debut later this week.
Pascal Gross (front) scored one of the goals of the weekend in Brighton’s 3-1 victory over Manchester United
3 Mohamed Salah (new entry)
We may never truly know if Salah wanted to leave Liverpool when the Saudi Pro League came knocking, but he’s not shown any signs of it since.
The Egyptian has been Liverpool’s talisman for years and continues to be despite a major reshuffle in attack from his early days as a Red, and he set up all three of Liverpool’s goals as they cam from behind to beat Wolves on Saturday.
He may have only scored two goals in his side’s five games so far, but Jurgen Klopp knows he can rely on the 31-year-old to produce when needed and he shows no signs of slowing down on that front.
It’s West Ham at Anfield up next for Salah before tricking trips to Tottenham and Brighton, and we then may see him really start to spread his wings in an ‘easier’ run of fixtures.
Mohamed Salah set up all three of Liverpool’s goals as the Reds came from behind to topple Wolves at Molineux
2 James Ward-Prowse (up eight)
Many wondered how West Ham would spend the Rice money when the England midfielder departed in the summer, and there is little doubt it has been dished out well.
Seemingly the most successful signing of the lot, Ward-Prowse continues his stellar start to like with the Hammers as he scored his side’s goal against Manchester City to give them a shock lead.
Obviously a huge threat from a dead ball, observers saw a new side to the 28-year-old in the capital over the weekend when he popped up in the box to head in Vladimir Coufal’s cross just after the half-hour mark.
A fan favourite already among Hammers fans. And who can blame them?
James Ward-Prowse impressed again for West Ham as he gave them the lead against Manchester City
Erling Haaland, however, tops the Power Rankings after netting his fifth goal in three games
1 Erling Haaland (up two)
Haaland returns to the top of the Power Rankings this week after netting his fifth goal in three games against West Ham.
The Norway forward is no stranger to top spot, but his late strike saved him from missing out on the pinnacle of our list for another week.
Haaland missed a plethora of big chances against West Ham, but finally got his goal late on to secure the three points for his side, firing in from a smart pass from Bernardo Silva, whose effort he decided not to touch earlier in the game when he could have added another goal to his tally.
And it’s Forest at home up next for the Citizens, so don’t be surprised to see him remain top of the pile on next week’s list too.
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.
Your browser does not support iframes.
Source: Read Full Article