Premier League Player Rankings: Ozil Up, Toure Down, Willian out
The Premier League match everyone was looking forward to this weekend, the Manchester derby, heavily disappointed, but the division made up for it with a number of other excellent ties packed with goals and good performances.
We have four new entries this week due to the remarkable standards held to stay in the top 20, with Everton and Chelsea losing their representatives, and Arsenal earning two new ones.
The rankings are based on players' last six 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 (note: no Harry Kane for this reason).
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 feel like we've missed anyone, let us know in the comments section below.
Dropping out
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Dropping Out
Winston Reid, West Ham: Injury has kept him on the sidelines of late.
John Stones, Everton: Struggled for the second game running, this time against Arsenal.
Romelu Lukaku, Everton: It's just not happened for the Belgian in front of goal recently.
Willian, Chelsea: Even Willian's form has dropped under the shadow of Chelsea's performances.
20. Morgan Schneiderlin, Manchester United
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Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
The Manchester derby was a pretty ugly affair in everyone's eyes bar Gary Neville's, per his Daily Telegraph column, but that did at least provide a platform for defensive midfielders to shine.
Step forward, Morgan Schneiderlin. He's been largely fantastic in every game he's played, but only recently has Louis van Gaal begun trusting him to play every game.
He recycled possession well, broke up play superbly and controlled portions of the game.
19. Virgil Van Dijk, Southampton
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Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Ever since Virgil van Dijk was sold down the river by Anthony Martial in Southampton's 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, he's been fantastic.
"The game is much faster in England than in Scotland," Van Dijk admitted soon after that fateful day tangling with the Frenchman, per the Daily Record.
At the weekend, the 24-year-old was the best player on the pitch as Saints played to a 1-1 draw with Liverpool; dominating aerially, impressing with his positional sense and cutting out dangerous passes frequently.
18. Santi Cazorla, Arsenal
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Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
With Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil wowing viewers with eye-popping skills, flicks, passes and finishes, Santi Cazorla has flown under the global radar a little.
He's truly carving a role out for himself deep in midfield—a position few would have thought he could play—and the ease with which he dictates play from that area is astounding.
17. Francis Coquelin, Arsenal
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Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
uMAXit Football's Alex Keble recently investigated the reason for Arsenal's remarkable form, not just this season, but in 2015 on the whole, and he deduced the following:
"Close inspection of statistical trends, and a watchful eye on matchdays, points to one single factor: Francis Coquelin."
The Frenchman featured heavily in our top 20 last season as he shot to form, and now he enters the mix after finding the ultimate level of consistency in 2015-16.
The 24-year-old anchors the Gunners' midfield superbly, dominates the centre, and his passing is improving.
16. Sadio Mane, Southampton
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Last Week: 16
Differential: None
Sadio Mane's performance this weekend was the very definition of a mixed bag: He grabbed the equaliser at Anfield in the 86th minute, forcing the ball over the line following Gaston Ramirez's knock-down, but was sent off moments later.
The red card, actually a second yellow, will sting a bit, as it puts a dampener on his strong showing, but he will only miss the Capital One Cup game against Aston Villa—a fixture he may well have been rested for—and not the following league match against Bournemouth on Sunday.
15. Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham Hotspur
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Last Week: 18
Differential: +3
Toby Alderweireld didn't have to do too much in Tottenham Hotspur's 5-1 win over Bournemouth, but he did step forward at a few key moments in order to clear dangerous chances or balls into the box.
After Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen had combined to give Spurs the lead, Alderweireld made a goal-line clearance to ensure the home side's attempted comeback fell short, knocking the wind out of their sails.
The 26-year-old also technically grabbed an assist for Kane's third goal, heading an Eriksen corner powerfully toward goal and allowing his striker the chance to mop up the rebound.
14. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City
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Last Week: 11
Differential: -3
Kevin De Bruyne has been dazzling spectators with some fantastic performances of late, but in the Manchester derby on Sunday, it was as if he wasn't even playing.
Marcos Rojo did a fantastic job of sewing him up and stopping him from influencing play, with De Bruyne seemingly unable to escape his aggressive, physical attention and close marking.
There will be brighter days ahead for the Belgian.
13. Bacary Sagna, Manchester City
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Last Week: 14
Differential: +1
Bacary Sagna was able to move back to his natural right side this week thanks to the return to fitness of Aleksandar Kolarov, and the former Arsenal man looked typically solid, bedding back in almost immediately.
Another clean sheet under the belt is always a win for a defender, and Sagna's strong blend of defensive aptitude and tempered attacking awareness came to the fore again.
The 32-year-old was by no means the star player on the pitch, but he did—in the end—escape an examination by Anthony Martial and Co.
12. Matteo Darmian, Manchester United
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Last Week: 8
Differential: -4
Bad news for Matteo Darmian: Antonio Valencia was preferred to him for the Manchester derby, starting at right-back in his spot and only allowing him 10 minutes off the bench.
The Italian didn't do a lot wrong when he came on, but the benching is indicative of the faltering trust Louis van Gaal appears to have in him.
11. Graziano Pelle, Southampton
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Last Week: 10
Differential: -1
Graziano Pelle moves down one this week after a surprisingly iffy performance at Anfield.
In the early stages of this season, he's become the fulcrum of this side's attacking play and a key outlet when moving the ball forward, but on Sunday, he wasn't able to pick his passes or assert himself aerially.
There was a moment right at the end, where Gaston Ramirez played him in for a shot on goal to win it, and he completely miskicked the ball and fell over. Sort of summed up his day.
10. Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal
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Last Week: 13
Differential: +3
Alexis Sanchez wasn't his dominant, awe-inspiring self on Saturday evening during Arsenal's win over Everton, but he still managed to impress.
The Chilean wriggled his way between the lines frequently, caused chaos in tracking and won the free-kick which led to the second goal just before half-time.
Having only put in a 7/10 performance—two rungs below his typical 9/10 standard—fears will be sparked over fatigue, but the 26-year-old should be fine.
Due to those above him in the rankings struggling, he moves up three.
9. Yaya Toure, Manchester City
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Last Week: 6
Differential: -3
Yaya Toure was moved into the No. 10 position for the Manchester derby, exciting fans as the formation—and in particular the Ivorian's role—became clear.
Whenever he's been pushed forward in the past, he's been a catalyst for a victory; utilising his power, dribbling ability and wide passing range higher up the pitch.
But on this occasion, it didn't pan out. In fact, he was largely ineffectual—bar a few trademark runs—and looked a touch disinterested at times, too. He was substituted late on for Martin Demichelis.
8. Jefferson Montero, Swansea City
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Last Week: 7
Differential: -1
Jefferson Montero vs. Alan Hutton should really have been a one-sided affair; the difference in talent levels, in addition to the difference in confidence with which the two are playing, is stark.
However, Hutton more or less held his ground. Montero rinsed him on the outside and hit the byline several times, but in the end, saw his crosses blocked for corners, rather than finding a man in the box.
By no means did Montero struggle here, but the end-product was distinctly lacking.
7. Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
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Last Week: 15
Differential: +8
Mesut Ozil put in a stellar performance this weekend and landed in our Premier League Team of the Week. The level he's playing at right now is truly ridiculous.
Ozil grabbed an assist for Olivier Giroud's opener, floating an incredible ball into the box that only needed a glancing header to ensure it pierced the net, and he smacked the post later on after having a rare go at goal himself.
The German leaps up the rankings, but it's deserved. He's been excellent.
6. Eric Dier, Tottenham Hotspur
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Last Week: 9
Differential: +3
Eric Dier returned from suspension to help solidify Tottenham Hotspur's midfield this week, shutting down the central areas and having a hand in controlling play.
Bournemouth scored early on and tested the right flank plenty, targeting Kyle Walker and crossing from that flank, but lost the battle for the middle almost immediately and were never able to put their foot down—even on their home turf.
Dier was a big part of that.
5. Fernandinho, Manchester City
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Last Week: 5
Differential: None
Six tackles and an 82 percent pass-completion rate, per WhoScored.com, signals a good statistical day for Fernandinho. The film matches the numbers, too, with the Brazilian standing out in reasonably disappointing Manchester derby.
His snappy, aggressive style rarely fails to impress, but he's also controlling play and passing the ball well, sparking attacks.
The 30-year-old remains Manuel Pellegrini's most consistent player this season and stands as the only man to have started every single Premier League game.
4. Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City
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Last Week: 3
Differential: -1
A bit of a mixed bag for Riyad Mahrez this week, as he grabbed the assist for the only goal in Leicester City's win over Crystal Palace, but struggled in patches to assert himself.
In previous weeks, he's come off the bench and starred in a central role, but starting there this week he didn't see much of the ball.
After beginning to filter wide he improved, but he was eventually withdrawn with 10 minutes to play.
3. Anthony Martial, Manchester United
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Last Week: 4
Differential: +1
As the tide turns against Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial finds himself swimming with the current. Another strong display this weekend has many questioning why he isn't leading the line.
"If the 170th Manchester derby taught us anything—apart from the fact that these tussles can occasionally turn out to be incredibly dull—it was that the young Frenchman represents Manchester United’s biggest attacking threat just now," Alan Smith wrote in his Guardian column.
After yet another performance packed with pace, power, directness and creativity, the 19-year-old is firmly on the up in our rankings.
2. Dimitri Payet, West Ham
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Last Week: 2
Differential: None
Dimitri Payet was a consistent thorn in Chelsea's side on Saturday, despite not contributing a goal or an assist—for once—during the famous victory.
His jinking runs, good passes and dazzling step-overs caused the opposition no end of issues, with his ridiculous flick into the path of Manuel Lanzini for a missed one-on-one being, arguably, the most eye-catching moment of the game.
Payet filtered over to the left a lot, flummoxed Kurt Zouma regularly and slipped Willian in coverage several times.
1. Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
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Last Week: 1
Differential: None
Jamie Vardy retains his place atop our Premier League player rankings after yet another match-winning performance.
Taking advantage of a mistake by Crystal Palace's Brede Hangeland, Vardy seized the ball, chipped it over the onrushing goalkeeper and slammed home to make sure from a yard.
The new England international has scored in each of his last six appearances for Leicester City and now has 10 goals from 10 games, becoming the first man this season to reach double figures in the top flight.
