Premier League Player Rankings: Dele Alli Up, Sergio Aguero Down, New No. 1
So what if there were only five Premier League games played this weekend? That's still 10 teams to assess and sink our teeth into, and more than half of our top 20 took to the pitch.
Two teams with a heavy presence in the rankings—Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City—both played and won, so that's caused plenty of movement...and there's a new player sat atop the summit.
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 one-week wonders do not find their way in. That said, if, for example, Sergio Aguero returns from injury and excels in four straight games, he will find his way in—if a player plays very well, they can cut the queue.
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.
Honourable Mentions
1 of 21
Cheikhou Kouyate, West Ham United
Giannelli Imbula, Stoke City
Andrew Surman, AFC Bournemouth
Emre Can, Liverpool
Charlie Daniels, AFC Bournemouth
Steve Cook, AFC Bournemouth
20. Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
2 of 21
Last Week: 18th (-2)
Saturday represented a very frustrating day for Sergio Aguero at Carrow Road. No matter what he tried, it just wouldn't happen for him in front of goal.
He made lots of good runs, found space to play, attacked defenders one-on-one and took up some superb positions, but the finish was lacking, and he often dallied too long on the ball in the box.
He was by no means poor—in fact, compared to the awful Wilfried Bony, he was downright brilliant—but that qualitative edge in the final third was missing...and it cost Manchester City dearly.
19. Michail Antonio, West Ham
3 of 21
Last Week: 19th
Michail Antonio did not participate in Premier League play last weekend. His West Ham side earned an FA Cup replay with Manchester United thanks to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
18. Wes Morgan, Leicester City
4 of 21
Last Week: 20th (+2)
Another week, another clean sheet for Wes Morgan. It's become quite the regular occurrence, hasn't it?
Morgan didn't need to be outstanding against Newcastle United on Monday—Robert Huth took care of Aleksandar Mitrovic and the Magpies didn't exactly throw numbers forward—but he played his part and helped drag his team over the line, reinstating the five-point gap between themselves and Tottenham Hotspur.
17. Dimitri Payet, West Ham
5 of 21
Last Week: 16th (-1)
Dimitri Payet did not participate in Premier League play last weekend. His West Ham side earned an FA Cup replay with Manchester United thanks to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. He scored the Hammers' goal.
16. Ross Barkley, Everton
6 of 21
Last Week: 15th (-1)
Ross Barkley did not participate in Premier League play last weekend. His Everton side beat Chelsea 2-0 to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals.
15. Diego Costa, Chelsea
7 of 21
Last Week: 14th (-1)
Diego Costa did not participate in Premier League play last weekend. His Chelsea side lost to Everton in the FA Cup, and he was sent off.
14. Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
8 of 21
Last Week: 17th (+3)
Harry Kane was in fantastic form on Sunday, putting Aston Villa's defensive line to the sword with two well-taken goals.
Brad Guzan had a good game in goal for the hosts, totalling six saves and four aerial claims, per WhoScored.com, and it took Kane's best, most instinctive efforts to beat him.
The two-goal haul moves him level with Jamie Vardy at the top of the scoring charts with 19.
13. Romelu Lukaku, Everton
9 of 21
Last Week: 11th (-2)
Romelu Lukaku did not participate in Premier League play last weekend. His Everton side beat Chelsea 2-0 to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals, and the Belgian scored both against his former club.
12. Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea
10 of 21
Last Week: 10th (-2)
Cesc Fabregas did not participate in Premier League play last weekend. His Chelsea side lost to Everton in the FA Cup.
11. Christian Eriksen, Tottenham Hotspur
11 of 21
Last Week: 9th (-2)
Christian Eriksen slides down two because he wasn't outstanding and one of his midfield team-mates (who we will come to soon) was. He's a victim of the shuffle.
The Dane played well enough in an easy game, with Aston Villa giving him too much room to play and flit about in midfield. He did tire visibly in the second half, though, and Mauricio Pochettino could have done with withdrawing him sooner.
That said, when Tom Carroll replaced him, Spurs lost an awful lot of control in the middle.
10. Virgil van Dijk, Southampton
12 of 21
Last Week: 13th (+3)
Virgil van Dijk is an incredibly frustrating player to judge. He can play superbly for 89 minutes, then make one error that undermines his whole performance or leads to a goal conceded.
Against Stoke City he was brilliant; typically dominant in the air (eight aerials won, per WhoScored.com) and strong against the threat of Mame Diouf and Peter Crouch.
But he did allow Marko Arnautovic to steal across him and score to make it 2-1, sparking hopes that the hosts could turn things around. A similar thing happened two weeks ago, where a monstrous performance was cancelled out by losing Branislav Ivanovic at a corner.
Fortunately, he didn't cost his team this week.
9. Willian, Chelsea
13 of 21
Last Week: 8th (-1)
Willian did not participate in Premier League play last weekend. His Chelsea side lost to Everton in the FA Cup.
8. Roberto Firmino, Liverpool
14 of 21
Last Week: 7th (-1)
Roberto Firmino did not participate in Premier League play last weekend. His Liverpool side's fixture with Chelsea was postponed due to the latter's involvement in the FA Cup.
7. Dele Alli, Tottenham Hotspur
15 of 21
Last Week: 12th (+5)
Dele Alli had been dropping in our rankings and looked on the cusp of falling out the bottom, but a brilliant performance at Villa Park on Sunday has vaulted him back into the top 10.
Earlier in the season, he often played as one of the two deeper midfielders for Mauricio Pochettino, but since Mousa Dembele's return to form, he's been pushed into the attacking midfield three. It's clear this area suits him, as it unlocks his clever final-third passing and quick-thinking moves.
He assisted both of Harry Kane's goals this weekend and got through his usual ton of mileage.
6. Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
16 of 21
Last Week: 4th (-2)
Mesut Ozil did not participate in Premier League play last weekend. His Arsenal side were knocked out of the FA Cup by Watford.
5. Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham Hotspur
17 of 21
Last Week: 5th
Defenders never relish the thought of going up against Rudy Gestede, but Toby Alderweireld kept the hulking target man pretty quiet over the course of 90 minutes.
Keeping a clean sheet will have been a welcome boon for the defensive line after shipping three in midweek against Borussia Dortmund. They returned to their usual dominant selves.
4. Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City
18 of 21
Last Week: 3rd (-1)
Riyad Mahrez had very little tangible effect on Leicester City's performance vs. Newcastle United. It's not often that's the case.
He did win the free-kick that eventually led to Shinji Okazaki's goal, drawing a silly foul from Jack Colback on the flank, but much of his fancy footwork came in non-threatening areas.
The Foxes managed just a single shot on target, per WhoScored.com—hardly a surprise given Mahrez wasn't his usual threat.
3. N'Golo Kante, Leicester City
19 of 21
Last Week: 6th (+3)
N'Golo Kante moves back into the top five after a typically energetic, rumbustious performance against Newcasle United.
There wasn't too much in terms of goal-mouth action to speak of as proceedings took place between the boxes, and that's Kante's domain. He outran his markers, closed off counters, swept up in front of the defence and kept it simple with his passing, too.
Given that Danny Drinkwater had a bit of an off game—despite rather quizzically being awarded Sky Sports' Man of the Match—it was vitally important the Frenchman kept it together.
2. Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
20 of 21
Last Week: 1st (-1)
Jamie Vardy's overall contribution to Leicester City's win over Newcastle United was a little lacking. With the Magpies defending deep for most of the game, he couldn't trouble the back line with his darts in behind.
But he did come up with one crucial moment of quality, heading a ball back across goal in the aftermath of a free-kick that allowed Shinji Okazaki to execute a brilliant overhead kick into the corner. He hasn't scored for four games now, but he still conjures moments that help his side win games on a weekly basis.
Sadly, it's not enough to keep him at No. 1.
1. Mousa Dembele, Tottenham Hotspur
21 of 21
Last Week: 2 (+1)
Mousa Dembele moves to the top of the Premier League player rankings after spending what felt like an eternity in second place.
His performance against Aston Villa was typically excellent; he dominated the centre of the park—albeit under very little pressure—and assisted in consistently robbing the hosts of possession and beginning counter-attacks.
With Jamie Vardy putting in a quiet performance (despite the assist), it's enough to lift Dembele up to the summit.
