Premier League Player Rankings: Vardy Dethroned, Lukaku Up, Kane Down
Shocks aplenty in the Premier League last weekend have made way for seismic changes in the player form rankings. Our long-time No. 1 Jamie Vardy has been dethroned (but by who?), one Everton attacker has moved a whopping nine places upward, and we have three new entries to celebrate.
How will these featsāin addition to the myriad of other storylines emerging from the league this weekendāaffect our order?
The rankings are based on players' lastĀ sixĀ games, with slightly more emphasis placed on their most recent outing. Only Premier League performances are counted, and typically, one-week wonders do not find their way in.
We look beyond the statistical measures and into the performance, reviewing tape and gauging impact.
It's not just goals, assists and heroic clearances that impress. It's about how a player contributes to the tactical plan at hand and what impact he has over a 90-minute period.
Take a look and see if you agree with our selections, and if you feelĀ like we've missed anyone, let us know in the comments section below.
Dropping out
1 of 21
Dropping Out
Nicolas Otamendi, Manchester City: Has either been rested or unimpressive over the last three weeks.
Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool: Injured.
Anthony Martial, Manchester United: Hasn't scored a Premier League goal since September, and the good overall showings are dying off too.
20. Jonny Evans, West Bromwich Albion
2 of 21
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Welcome to the Premier League form rankings...Jonny Evans? Yes, Manchester United fans, you've read that correctly.
Since leaving Old Trafford last summer, the Northern Irishman has put in consistently excellent showings for Tony Pulis and emerged as West Brom's star man. He's played centre-back, left-back and even central midfield when required, impressing in all three positions.
Where was this form when United needed him?
19. Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
3 of 21
Last Week: 14
Differential: -5
For the second straight game, Harry Kane toiled away but found no reward. He worked hard and tried to impose himself on the West Brom defence, but nothing really came off.
Against Chelsea the weekend before, he took up some great positions and made some excellent stretching runs, but admittedly even that was somewhat absent here. He crafted one big shooting chance and blew it.
Two games, zero goals and two yellow cards for the Englishman. Moving down.
18. Dele Alli, Tottenham Hotspur
4 of 21
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
It's a top-20 debut for the man of the moment, Dele Alli. There will never be a better time to bring him into the Premier League form rankings.
His volleyed goal to open the scoring against West Bromwich Albion was absolutely incredible, tracking a Toby Alderweireld pass over his shoulder and burying it past Boaz Myhill.
Given his impressive showings in the north London derby and the win over West Ham ahead of this weekend, he's earned his place.
17. Graziano Pelle, Southampton
5 of 21
Last Week: 10
Differential: -7
Graziano Pelle was starved of service this weekend against Aston Villaāa team Southampton should be putting to the swordābut he can't hide behind that excuse in full.
He's able to create his own chances and manhandle defences solo; the last time he played them was in a 6-1 win where he taught Jores Okore a lesson in the air. This time Okore fared far betterādespite it being his first league showing since that 6-1 scorelineāand Pelle came up empty.
Pelle last scored against Bournemouth at the start of November. He's one more underwhelming showing away from an exit.
16. N'Golo Kante, Leicester City
6 of 21
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
N'Golo Kante enters the top 20 after another fine performance. Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy take plenty of the credit for Leicester City's impressive form, but Kante's been stunning in the centre of the park.
He'll tackle anything that moves, dispossess it and surge forward to create opportunities. He displayed a wonderful passing range against Swansea City, grabbed an assist and set the tone for a dominant Foxes showing.
15. Odion Ighalo, Watford
7 of 21
Last Week: 19
Differential: +4
Odion Ighalo's effort levels were never in question on Saturday as he tried and tried for a goal. He saw one wrongly disallowed early on and missed a host of chances thereafter, but he never gave in and was eventually rewarded for his troubles.
All-action, battling performances are the norm for Ighalo, who wins more than his fair share of 50-50s and sees plenty of the ball no matter how much possession Watford have.
He's up to nine for the season now, per WhoScored.com, and stands as one of the surprise storylines of the season.
14. Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham Hotspur
8 of 21
Last Week: 17
Differential: +3
Another excellent performance from Toby Alderweireld sees him move up the rankings once again.
He started superbly, firing a pinpoint long ball from inside his own half into the path of Dele Alli, who converted on the volley to crown a sumptuous goal.
Late on, as West Bromwich Albion upped their game, Spurs shrunk a little and eventually conceded via a cross into the box, but the Belgian hung in and fought superbly.
"Spurs weren't great on Saturday, but Alderweireld was," wrote Dustin Menno of SBNation.com.
13. Bacary Sagna, Manchester City
9 of 21
Last Week: 9
Differential: -4
"A few of the lads are feeling it from the amount of games we're playing," Manuel Pellegrini admitted after Manchester City's loss to Stoke City on Saturday, per ESPNFC.
Bacary Sagna is thought to be one of those lads.
An uninspiring performance at the Britannia Stadium from City led to a deserved defeat, and none of the players were able to get anything going.
Sagna struggled to make any impact in possession as Erik Pieters wrapped up the left side, and defensively he could not track Marko Arnautovic to save his life.
12. Chris Smalling, Manchester United
10 of 21
Last Week: 12
Differential: None
Chris Smalling picked up yet another clean sheet last weekend in Manchester United's 0-0 draw with West Ham, but he wasn't quite as convincing as usual.
The away side attacked with dynamism and thrust though Victor Moses in the first half, and David de Gea had to be on his best behaviour to stop two key one-on-ones early on.
Admittedly he did well against the gargantuan Andy Carrollāand few doāso Smalling stays in 12th.
11. Virgil Van Dijk, Southampton
11 of 21
Last Week: 13
Differential: +2
Southampton's defensive line were absolutely abysmal midweek against Liverpool during the 6-1 loss, but fortunately for Virgil van Dijk, the Premier League player rankings don't take into account cup form.
He returned to normal service on Saturday against Aston Villa, providing a firm and strong presence in defence and helping grind out a point.
Rudy Gestede is monstrous in the air and very difficult to deal with, but Van Dijk, predictably, held his ground.
10. Ross Barkley, Everton
12 of 21
Last Week: 16
Differential: +6
Ross Barkley put in an impressive performance in Everton's draw with Crystal Palace, and it's enough to move him up six places in our top 20.
His slick reverse pass to release Gerard Deulofeu in the build-up to the Toffees' equaliser epitomised the sort of raw, inventive quality he brings to this attack.
He ended the match with a remarkable 93 percent pass accuracy, per WhoScored.comāthe highest of any player on the pitch.
9. Mousa Dembele, Tottenham Hotspur
13 of 21
Last Week: 7
Differential: -2
In a similar fashion to last week, Mousa Dembele played pretty well but didn't impact too heavily. That remarkable slice of form has died off, and he's back to doing normal, expected Dembele things.
Strong on the ball and weaving in the dribble, he shrugged off multiple West Brom challenges in the 1-1 battle on Saturday, but he didn't create much or play his colleagues in for any decent chances.
8. Eric Dier, Tottenham Hotspur
14 of 21
Last Week: 6
Differential: -2
"[Eric]Ā Dier was, well, pretty dire in midfield against West Brom. This was the worst we've seen Eric all year," lamented Dustin Menno for SBNation.comĀ following Tottenham's draw with in the West Midlands.
Usually so strong and assured on the ball and physically dominant when battling for possession, this one just sort of passed him by. He wasn't able to prevent the tide from turning against his side, and when he did get on the ball, his passing was very wasteful.
The bad news is it was probably his worst performance of the season, but the good news is it's likely a complete anomaly.
7. Fernandinho, Manchester City
15 of 21
Last Week: 5
Differential: -2
Fernandinho had a rough outing against Stoke City. Then again, not a single one of the Manchester City players can legitimately claim otherwise.
The Brazilian was withdrawn after 56 minutes for Fabian Delph due to his non-performance in midfield, allowing the Potters to run the show from central ground. He wasn't as bad as Fernando, who eventually substituted himself after damaging his hamstring, but he was pretty close.
Like Eric Dier just below him, this was his first bad performance of the season.
6. Gerard Deulofeu, Everton
16 of 21
Last Week: 15
Differential: +9
Gerard Deulofeu was technically robbed of the assist for Romelu Lukaku's goal on Monday due to the touch Gareth Barry got on the ball before the strike, but it was all him in the build-up.
He was arguably the best player on the pitch, terrorising poor Pape Souare all evening, and the cross that forced the goal was borderline undefendable: If Lukaku didn't knock it in, a defender probably would have.
"That makes seven big chances created by Gerard Deulofeu in under 700 minutes. Elite playmaking numbers," tweeted ESPNFC analyst Michael Caley.
The Spaniard is trending firmly in the right direction, leaping up nine places in the ranking.
5. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City
17 of 21
Last Week: 4
Differential: -1
Usually a bright spark, Kevin De Bruyne was eerily quiet on Saturday afternoonāand that was largely due to the fact he was bottled up by Erik Pieters.
The Stoke City left-back made B/R's Premier League Team of the WeekĀ after wrapping up a high-calibre combo of De Bruyne and Bacary Sagna, then nullified Jesus Navas when he came on too.
De Bruyne struggled to create any openings and barely threatened on goal. Fortunately for him, with those just below him in the rankings underperforming, he only moves down one.
4. Romelu Lukaku, Everton
18 of 21
Last Week: 8
Differential: +4
Romelu Lukaku excelled against Crystal Palace on Monday night, striking both the post and the bar before eventually netting from a Gerard Deulofeu cross.
"He has been very consistent throughout theĀ year, not just this season," Roberto Martinez enthused after the game, perĀ BBC Sport. "To score 26 goals in aĀ calendar year is sensational. He is always there to give us aĀ focal point and score goals."
The close-range finish, drawing Everton level late on, was his 50th Premier League goal. To reach that mark at the age of 22 is astounding.
3. Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
19 of 21
Last Week: 1
Differential: -3
For the first time in six weeks, Jamie Vardy is not top of our Premier League player rankings. It was a hell of a run for the England forward.
After scoring in 11 consecutive games, beating Ruud van Nistelrooy's record by netting in the first half against Manchester United last week, he drew a blank at Swansea City despite straining every fibre to score.
He passed up the chance to squeeze a tough effort on goal by laying up Riyad Mahrez's third selflessly, demonstrating his value as a team player and suggesting that, now his record is sealed, he's satisfied to simply be an assister in a 3-0 win.
2. Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
20 of 21
Last Week: 2
Differential: None
Another week, another Mesut Ozil masterclass in midfield. There really has been no stopping him these past few weeks.
His dominant display against Sunderland had the Emirates Stadium crowd eating out of his palm once again. He just makes tearing opposing defensive structures to pieces look effortless, and it never gets old.
His pass for Joel Campbell's opener took three players out of the game in an instant. Astounding.
1. Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City
21 of 21
Last Week: 3
Differential: +2
Riyad Mahrez topples fellow colleague Jamie Vardy atop our Premier League player rankings after a stunning hat-trick display against Swansea City.
His first was opportunistic, guiding the ball home with his midriff after a corner scramble, while his second and third were well-taken finishes, showcasing that calm, composed element many wingers of his ilk lack.
It's good to have a new No. 1.
.jpg?w=480 "Chiefs Giants Football")
.png?w=600 "Trae Responds to NYC Mayor š¤«")
