This weekend there was yet another round of intriguing Premier League fixtures that brought a mix of emotions across the division, whether it be fear of a potential impending crisis at Manchester United and Chelsea, relief over narrow home victories in Newcastle and Fulham, or elation at extraordinary last-minute winners from the likes of Tottenham and Aston Villa.
However, throughout that, there were (as always) multiple starring displays from both players and teams alike in every game.
As a result, we’ve decided to pick out three of the best individual performances from players across each of the nine matches that have been played.
- 1. Jérémy Doku
Amongst the abundance of world class talent on display during Manchester City’s 3-1 away win over West Ham, it is telling of Jérémy Doku’s quality that he walked away with one of the most eye-catching displays.
Having been trailing 1-0 at half time, the Belgian’s emphatic equalizer just one minute after play resumed was pivotal in helping Pep Guardiola’s side turn around their fortunes at The London Stadium. Meanwhile, his ability to receive the ball and instantly square-up and drive towards The Hammers’ right-back Vladimír Coufal offered a constant creative threat. As per Fbref, the 21-year-old’s 11 carries into the penalty area were nine more than next best Phil Foden’s, whilst he also led the match in progressive passes received, take-ons, progressive carries, and touches in the opposition penalty area; showing that City are already getting value out of their €60m summer signing.
- 2. Pascal Groß
Although, it was more of a team performance from Roberto De Zerbi’s side, we felt we had to choose one player from Brighton’s outstanding 3-1 victory at Old Trafford. We settled upon Pascal Gross, as the Newly-capped German international was at the heart of play for his side, completing 98 out of his 100 passes (the second most in the game) and playing a pivotal role in Brighton’s scintillating second goal.
Linking play in every third, The newly-capped German international helped The Seagulls transition the ball forwards from a goal-kick, manipulating United’s press in moving the ball from side-to-side, before finishing off the 30-pass move with a right-footed shot placed into the bottom-left corner from just inside the box.
Put simply, the versatile midfielder revels playing against the Red Devils, with this his seventh goal against them- 25% of all his 28 Premier League goals.
- 3. Mohamed Salah
For our third pick, it was hard to look past Mohamed Salah, who once again showed his ability to turn up in key moments for Jürgen Klopp’s men. However this was in slightly different fashion to usual, this time acting as provider, rather than goal scorer.
Following an underwhelming first half which saw them 1-0 down to Wolves, Salah played a decisive role in each of Liverpool’s three goals in the second half. First, his low, drilled, right-footed cross across goal set up Cody Gakpo at the back post. The second saw him play a perfectly weighted pass in behind Wolves’ backline into the path of the underlapping Andy Robertson. He then completed his hat-trick of assists with a deft lay-off for Harvey Elliot, who’s powerful strike was deflected in off Hugo Bueno.
Whilst Klopp’s decision to drop Dominik Szoboszlai deeper certainly played a factor in allowing The Reds to assert control in the game, they undoubtedly would not have secured their 3-1 victory if it weren’t for their star right-winger.
Honourable Mentions
Finally, it’s worth giving some honourable mentions to some other performances that didn’t make our three.
Both Chelsea’s Robert Sánchez and Bournemouth’s Neto made countless goal-stopping saves to ensure their match finished goalless, Martin Ødegaard of Arsenal and Douglas Luiz of Aston Villa were both influential from midfield throughout their sides respective victories, whilst Richarlison coming off the bench to score a 98th minute equaliser and assist Dejan Kulusevski’s 100th minute winner was critical in continuing Ange Postecoglou’s unbeaten run as a Premier League manager and may be a watershed moment in the Brazilian’s career at The Lilywhites.
So, there are three (and a few more) of the best individual performances from this weekend of Premier League football.
Be sure to keep an eye out to see if it will be these names continue their form or if it’s other players standing out during next weekend matches- which will consist of exciting battles such as Burnley vs Manchester United, Chelsea vs Aston Villa, and of course a North London Derby at The Emirates Stadium.
Travis Levison | Get Football
