Premier League Player Rankings: Kante, Hazard and Costa Continue to Dominate
There's just no getting away from it: Another Chelsea victory brought another deluge of praise for the Blues' three exceptional players of the season—N'Golo Kante, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa. They're still our top three and they're fully deserving.
But what about the rest? Alexis Sanchez being dropped has stirred the pot, Sadio Mane's on the move, Yaya Toure's skipped up entire brackets in a record-setting upswing and Zlatan Ibrahimovic...well, if you're a fan of his and you're wondering why he's been low down, it hasn't gotten any better this week.
Also, this week we've selected our top 10 wingers for the season so far based on these rankings and the scores they've racked up this term. To be eligible as a winger, you have to have made at least 10 starts from a wide position, so those who have largely played centrally or up top don't feature.
You'll notice the wingers as you flick through the list as they will be starred* to point them out.
Ranking Criteria
- It's a season-long ranking based on performances over the entire campaign—no longer does it take into account a four-to-six-week period of form (like previous editions did). Therefore, whoever is No. 1 would effectively be our choice for Player of the Season if the campaign finished this week.
- Only Premier League form is considered—no Champions League, no domestic cups and no international football.
- We pore over hours of film to accurately grade the players on a weekly basis. All teams are covered properly, and experts are sought out for advice as and when required.
- Performing well on a consistent basis is key. Players such as Dele Alli and Zlatan, who have endured poor patches spanning months this season, have a lot of work to do in order to set the record straight.
- A player must have meaningfully participated (started or played in excess of 20 minutes) in more than 50 per cent of his team's games to be eligible for the ranking. You wouldn't christen anyone Player of the Season having played fewer than half the games.
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40. Nordin Amrabat, Watford (-9)*
Anyone seen him? Anyone? Amrabat is on the cusp of dropping out of the rankings now having not played in quite some time.
39. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United (-1)
A bad day for Zlatan saw him miss a penalty and elbow an AFC Bournemouth player. He was later charged by the FA and will now serve a suspension. Perhaps more pertinently, though, his touch, technique and finishing all deserted him—and it's not the first time that's happened this season.
Readers often question why Zlatan is so low in the rankings, and it's because consistency reigns supreme in this scenario. We update this weekly based on how players performed, and those who hit rough patches inevitably suffer and tumble down.
In Zlatan's case, he endured a horrid October spell in which his score plummeted. By our calculations, he's actually had six really bad games (Bournemouth included) in the Premier League this season, and that's the reason he's so low.
38. Michael Keane, Burnley (-2)
Burnley's away woes continued this weekend, losing 3-2 to Swansea City in a game where Keane and Co. had real trouble with the aerial prowess of Fernando Llorente.
37. Georginio Wijnaldum, Liverpool (New!)
The most pleasant surprise of Liverpool's season has been the success of of Wijnaldum. He cost a lot, and people doubted the move, but he's more a big-game player than most now.
36. Henrik Mkhitaryan, Manchester United (-3)*
Still injured following the strain he picked up against Saint-Etienne. He moves down five only due to several below him performing well at the weekend and leapfrogging him.
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35. Juan Mata, Manchester United (+4)*
He looked sharp and focused as United attempted to wade through Bournemouth's defensive lines and produced some wonderful pieces of creativity and movement.
34. Idrissa Gueye, Everton (-6)
He wasn't as bad as Morgan Schneiderlin, but Gueye was a big disappointment in Everton's flimsy midfield at White Hart Lane on Sunday. We expected a lot more.
33. Marcos Alonso, Chelsea (+1)
For the most part, he did a good job of wrapping up West Ham's wingers on Monday and made one brilliant run forward that completely flummoxed Jose Fonte.
32. Oriol Romeu, Southampton (+1)
Romeu was very good this weekend against Watford, with his quick forward passing to release counter-runners key to Southampton's swift approach in attack.
31. Fernandinho, Manchester City (-2)
Like with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Fernandinho has moved down in the natural sway of the rankings. He was good against Sunderland but not one of the more obviously fantastic performers.
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30. Jonny Evans West Brom (-10)
Very few expected West Brom to fall to Crystal Palace at home, and the entire defensive line must shoulder parts of the blame.
29. Harry Kane, Tottenham (+8)
Harry Kane was one moment of hesitation (when through on goal) away from back-to-back Premier League hat-tricks. He's picked up and is in dominant form, surging upward in these rankings fast.
28. David Luiz, Chelsea (Stay)
Luiz did a very commendable job on Monday dealing with Andy Carroll, crosses and West Ham's general approach to football. His long-range passing was good too.
27. Adam Lallana, Liverpool (+3)
Arguably Liverpool's man of the match against Arsenal, totalling the most touches, pressing like a madman to disrupt the Gunners' rhythm and producing some sublime moments of quality in possession.
26. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City (-4)
De Bruyne started from the bench for Man City's win over Sunderland, presumably to preserve his fitness, and came on late to miss a nice chance from 18 yards.
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25. Joe Allen, Stoke City (-2)
Stoke saw off Middlesbrough with relative ease, but it was all about Marko Arnautovic and Ramadan Sobhi. In line with the current trends, Allen wasn't that much of a factor.
24. Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea City (+2)*
The Icelander orchestrated a lovely move for Martin Olsson's equalising goal, and he led the team in key passes as per usual. He's Swansea's crown jewel and creative force.
23. Yaya Toure, Manchester City (+26)
This is the biggest move on record up or down in the history of the player rankings. His small sample size (13 starts) means that very strong performances impact his average score highly, and Toure's brilliance at the Stadium of Light on Sunday paved the way for him to enter the top 25.
22. Roberto Firmino, Liverpool (+2)
Firmino's been on the slide for a little while, but this weekend he came good. The Brazilian scored early to establish a grounding confidence, and his assist for Sadio Mane's goal was brilliant.
21. Joel Matip, Liverpool (Stay)
For once, Liverpool were actually really well organised defensively at the weekend. Joel Matip was of course key to that, winning the aerial battle with Olivier Giroud and passing well from the back.
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20. Victor Moses, Chelsea (+5)
The surprises just keep on coming from Moses. We never thought we'd see him beat Andy Carroll in the air when defending the back post, but that's what he managed on Monday.
19. Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea (Stay)
Azpilicueta is one of the most reliable and sturdy players in world football, and against West Ham he was simply his usual self: calm, collected, aggressive when needed and positionally excellent.
18. Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham (Stay)
The Belgian played a near-perfect game against the fearsome Romelu Lukaku...but then slipped over late on to allow him to steal in for a goal. It was so unfortunate, because up until that point he was on Harry Kane's stupendous level.
17. Virgil van Dijk, Southampton (-1)
Van Dijk is still injured, and Southampton are conceding quite a lot of goals (six in their last two games in all competitions) without him.
16. Victor Wanyama, Tottenham (+1)
Absolutely and completely dominant in midfield against Everton, Wanyama made some weaving runs forward to start attacks and even hit the post with a rare shot.
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15. Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool (Stay)*
Coutinho tested Petr Cech with some stinging drives during Liverpool's win over Arsenal, but he's still not at the heights of earlier in the season. He is edging there, though.
14. Raheem Sterling, Manchester City (Stay)*
While overshadowed by the rapidly improving Leroy Sane, Sterling was still a threat against Sunderland due to his speed and great timing of his runs in behind.
13. Kyle Walker, Tottenham (Stay)
Another energetic, relentless display from Walker, who seemed to relish his one-on-one duel with Leighton Baines.
12. Pedro, Chelsea (Stay)*
The Spaniard provided a very slick assist for Eden Hazard's opener against West Ham and, as ever, supplied a busy performance from the flank.
11. Antonio Valencia, Manchester United (Stay)
Valencia grabbed the assist for Marcos Rojo's goal after slamming a ball into the box. It was a bit messy, but it got the job done.
10. Mousa Dembele, Tottenham
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Last Week: 10th
Movement: -1
We often reference the physical edge Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama bring to Tottenham's play, and approaching this weekend of football, it became clear all of their might would be needed as they encountered the formidable duo of Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Schneiderlin.
But the truth is the battle was one-sided; Gueye was sub-par, and Schneiderlin completely wilted under the pressure and harassment Spurs exerted. That physical, dominant edge to his side Mauricio Pochettino has built laid the foundations for yet another win.
9. Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham
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Last Week: 7th
Movement: -2
Toby Alderweireld's unlucky to move down a few spots this week. It's not that he played badly, it's that a few players previously ranked just below him enjoyed brilliant weekends of football.
The Belgian put together a decent enough 90 minutes against Everton, doubling up with a colleague on the formidable Romelu Lukaku to largely nullify him. The one time he did get through was due to a Jan Vertonghen slip.
But at the same time, it's arguable he was the least impressive of Spurs' back three—something that rarely ever happens. Eric Dier produced a stunning tackle on Tom Davies and passed well from advanced areas; Vertonghen attacked superbly and, one slip aside, was brutally effective in dealing with Lukaku; while Alderweireld stood between the two and held his ground for most of the game.
8. Sadio Mane, Liverpool*
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Last Week: 10th
Movement: +2
Sadio Mane was at his brutal, brilliant best against Arsenal. For those wondering how much damage he can do to a perceived top full-back, check in on Nacho Monreal; he's probably still dizzy.
Football coach Sebastian Chapuis tweeted that Mane "can do everything," labelling him "one of the best in the world at the moment" during the match. With a goal and an assist to his name, it was certainly another dominant performance to add to the rest.
The problem is, when you watch Mane take teams such as Tottenham and Arsenal apart, you wonder why he doesn't do it against Leicester City. Consistency was his biggest enemy at Southampton, and while he's certainly improving with regard to that, there's still work to be done.
7. Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal
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Last Week: 6th
Movement: -1
Like Toby Alderweireld, Alexis Sanchez can consider himself unfortunate to be moving down one spot, but they've both had to make way for a player who is in absolutely blistering form.
The Chilean found himself benched for Arsenal's tussle wth Liverpool at Anfield due to what The Telegraph's Matt Law and Jeremy Wilson reported was a bust-up in training with teammates. But at half-time, 2-0 down, he was sent on and immediately made a difference, threading a great pass in for Danny Welbeck to slot home.
What might have happened had he started the game? Surely, the Gunners were doomed from the beginning without him in the line-up.
6. David Silva, Manchester City
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Last Week: 8th
Movement: +2
David Silva has essentially been outstanding in five straight games now, recapturing the early-season form that saw him shoot toward the upper echelons of these player rankings in the first few weeks.
Pep Guardiola hasn't exactly minced his words in praise of him recently either, asserting on Sunday after the Sunderland victory, per Goal.com:
"David is one of the best players I ever trained in my life so I am a lucky guy to be with him. One of the reasons why I decided to come here is because I was pleased to be with him. I was in Spain when he was with Valencia. I was in Barcelona and I thought, 'Wow! That guy is special.'"
His assist for Leroy Sane's goal to kill the game was a beauty, and his general brilliance between the lines never gets old. He's a wizard.
5. Danny Rose, Tottenham
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Last Week: 5th
Movement: None
Danny Rose is still sidelined due to a knee injury picked up against Sunderland earlier this year. It seems as though he's close to a return, telling Soccer AM this weekend he "dodged a bullet" with regard to any serious problems.
4. Ander Herrera, Manchester United
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Last Week: 4th
Movement: None
Ander Herrera watched from the bench as Manchester United failed to beat yet another weaker side at Old Trafford. It's likely he's just being rested; he fully exerted himself during last weekend's EFL Cup final and has been almost ever-present in the side since the start of the season.
3. Eden Hazard, Chelsea*
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Last Week: 3rd
Movement: None
Eden Hazard's eyes will have lit up when the West Ham teamsheet was released, as it confirmed what many in the home terraces were fearing: the brilliant Belgian vs. Cheikhou Kouyate, out of position at right-back.
Needless to say, the battle was extremely one-sided. Hazard's magical goal to open the scoring may have been a product of Mark Noble's horrendous pass and general play, but Kouyate possesses neither the speed nor the agility to nip such a counter-attack in the bud.
Later, in the second half, Hazard made a pass with his back, which landed straight at N'Golo Kante's feet for a give-and-go. This man is as confident as he's ever been.
2. N'Golo Kante, Chelsea
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Last Week: 2nd
Movement: None
Eden Hazard spoke warm words of N'Golo Kante to Chelsea TV (h/t Mail Online) after his side's victory over West Ham on Monday:
"He's everywhere. I think sometimes when I'm on the pitch I see him twice. One on the left, one on the right. I think I'm playing with twins!"
The immense ground he covers is no longer a surprise to anyone, but what did raise eyebrows on Monday was the speed at which he chased a seemingly lost ball to the touchline, kept it in, then calmly restarted play to keep the attacking pressure up. Brilliant.
1. Diego Costa, Chelsea
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Last Week: 1st
Movement: None
Diego Costa scored his 17th Premier League goal of the season on Monday to help Chelsea collect three points against West Ham, but that overall tally doesn't do justice to the consistency of his output.
So let's put it another way: Costa has made 25 Premier League appearances this season and has scored in 16 of them. That means he's only scored one brace (against Swansea City) and has spent the rest of the term spreading his goals across games. He's making the difference consistently, not scoring goals in massive gluts.
When running the rule over reasons why Chelsea won the 2016-17 league title in three months time, don't forget this factor.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
