Premier League Player Rankings: Hazard, David Silva and Coutinho All Rise
After N'Golo Kante stole Diego Costa's perch at the top of the Premier League player rankings last week, we expected a rumbustious performance from the Frenchman in an effort to make the place his own.
Instead, he had an unimpactful 90 minutes against Crystal Palace; is it enough to see him fall down immediately?
Please note: This ranking takes into account only the weekend's games, not the midweek slate.
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.
- Players are given a score after every performance, and those scores are averaged out over the course of the season to produce a grade.
- 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.
40-36
1 of 16
40. Romelu Lukaku, Everton (-2)
An incredibly quiet performance from Lukaku against Liverpool left plenty confused and disappointed, but if you've been following these player rankings all season, you won't have been.
This is not the first time the Belgian has entirely disappeared from a game this season. As talented and as decisive as he can be, he remains a distinctly inconsistent player who has more than a few bad games in a campaign.
In a ranking that's updated weekly and where players are scored on every game played, it's these sorts of performances that have held Lukaku out of the top 20 all season long.
39. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United (Stay)
Much of what applies to Lukaku applies to Ibrahimovic. The Swede went through a genuinely horrible patch in the first half of the season, lowering his score for the season, and he's still playing catch-up. His red card against AFC Bournemouth hasn't helped one bit as he's been unable to take to the field to set the record straight.
38. Georginio Wijnaldum, Liverpool (-2)
By no means poor in the Merseyside derby, but oddly uninvolved for long periods. He's one of Liverpool's big-game players, so to see him complete the first 45 minutes without impacting at all was quite the surprise.
37. Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea City (-6)
Unlucky to fall quite so far, but his drop in form over the last few weeks cannot be glossed over. He appears exhausted, and while that's due to his staunch commitment to Paul Clement's tactical, pressing cause, it has meant his effectiveness on the ball has diminished severely.
36. Idrissa Gueye, Everton (-4)
Gueye's form has been so strong this season even when his team-mates have struggled, but in the Merseyside derby, even he succumbed to the genius of Philippe Coutinho. Rings were run around him.
35-31
2 of 16
35. Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace (+3)
Zaha's scintillating showing at Stamford Bridge on Saturday awoke the wider world to his fine season of work. He scored, assisted and plunged the league's second-best defensive line into disarray.
34. Dele Alli, Tottenham (+3)
Missed a couple of gilt-edged chances at Turf Moor on Saturday, but created more and grabbed a lovely assist for Son Heung-Min's goal to seal the win.
33. Christian Eriksen, Tottenham (+7)
Eriksen is in a fine vein of form and is rising up these rankings quickly. His creativity flummoxed Burnley on a consistent basis, and his passing was superb.
32. Fernandinho, Manchester City (-1)
Played pretty well during Manchester City's draw with Arsenal. The flow of the game was strange so most midfielders peaked and troughed (on both sides), but Fernandinho stayed at a very steady 6/10 pace throughout.
31. Oriol Romeu, Southampton (+1)
Romeu puts in the same performance every week, thundering into challenges and elegantly starting attacks after retrieving possession. He's been a rock.
30-26
3 of 16
30. Joe Allen, Stoke City (-2)
Stoke City were tactically awful in their loss to Leicester City, and Mark Hughes took some stick from the fans as a result. Spare a thought for poor Allen, left to cover an entire midfield by himself. It didn't go well.
29. Harry Kane, Tottenham (Stay)
Missed the Burnley win due to injury but has started light training and could return quite soon, per Sky Sports.
28. Marcos Alonso, Chelsea (+6)
Provided one of the finest moments of the footballing weekend by flip-flop nutmegging a defender to begin a weaving dribble. Didn't have too much trouble with Andros Townsend and supported the attack well.
27. Adam Lallana, Liverpool (Stay)
Returned from England duty with a thigh injury that could keep him out for up to a month.
26. David Luiz, Chelsea (-1)
Struggled as much as any of Chelsea's back three in defending against the muscular Christian Benteke and rapid Zaha. Spent much of the afternoon being pulled into areas he didn't want to go into.
25-21
4 of 16
25. Yaya Toure, Manchester City (-1)
Entered the fray against Arsenal at half-time and had an up-and-down game. Added some physicality but not necessarily the control that Pep Guardiola will have been looking for.
24. Jonny Evans, West Bromwich Albion (+2)
Evans put in another sublime performance for West Brom as they ground out a 0-0 draw against Manchester United. Defensively he was sound, and he was arguably the Baggies' best player in possession.
23. Roberto Firmino, Liverpool (-2)
Didn't play badly and simply moves down because the two now just above him were brilliant at the weekend.
22. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City (+1)
Playing almost as a No. 6 against Arsenal, De Bruyne passed the ball well, setting up Leroy Sane's goal with a stunner, and smacked both posts.
21. Joel Matip, Liverpool (+1)
A mountainous presence in the Merseyside derby, assisting Dejan Lovren with Romelu Lukaku on occasion, easily getting the better of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and passing well between the lines.
20-16
5 of 16
20. Victor Moses, Chelsea (Stay)
Missed Chelsea's loss to Crystal Palace, with Pedro struggling in his place at right wing-back.
19. Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea (-2)
Had it rough against Zaha, to put it lightly.
18. Virgil van Dijk, Southampton (Stay)
Southampton have confirmed Van Dijk is unlikely to play again this season. He's had surgery on a ligament in his foot and won't be rushed back.
17. Pedro, Chelsea (-2)
Was tasked with playing right wing-back against Crystal Palace due to the injury Moses picked up, and the nicest thing you can say is that he did his best. Zaha is tough to stop for even a natural full-back or wing-back right now.
16. Raheem Sterling, Manchester City (-3)
Started really well against Arsenal but quickly faded, and by the 25th minute was not a factor. Pep Guardiola removed him at half-time.
15-11
6 of 16
15. Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool (+4)
At last, the magic of Coutinho rose to the fore once again! He tormented Everton, making a mockery of Gueye and Matthew Pennington in particular, as Liverpool coasted to victory in the Merseyside derby.
14. Kyle Walker, Tottenham (Stay)
Looked comfortable on the bench as Tottenham beat Burnley on Saturday. He played 180 minutes for England during the international break, so it didn't surprise to see Mauricio Pochettino give Kieran Trippier a go in his stead.
13. Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham (+3)
Barely put a foot wrong and was still somehow the least impressive of the three Spurs centre-backs on the day.
12. Mousa Dembele, Tottenham (Stay)
Came on for the injured Victor Wanyama in the 44th minute against Burnley and swanned about the pitch in his usual, magisterial manner.
11. Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham (Stay)
Another masterclass in defending delivered by the Belgian, who dealt with the Clarets' every attempted threat with ease.
10. Antonio Valencia, Manchester United
7 of 16
Last Week: 10th
Movement: None
Antonio Valencia's performance against West Bromwich Albion was one we've seen 10 times already this season: solid and dependable in defence but unable to help break down a stout defensive formation at the other end.
He darted into space ahead of the ball well and stretched the Baggies defence a little, causing Allan Nyom some problems, but delivered few dangerous crosses or balls into the box.
This doesn't hurt his standing in the rankings, as the Ecuadorian's prime concern is a clean sheet. Valencia is the last person Jose Mourinho will be speaking to with regard to breaking down defensive teams at home.
9. Victor Wanyama, Tottenham
8 of 16
Last Week: 9th
Movement: None
The sight of Victor Wanyama limping off at Turf Moor clutching his back will be of serious concern to every Spurs fan. Some rate him as their player of the season, and he's been a near-ever-present in midfield in another superb campaign.
On the day, Pochettino coped with it, reverting to last season's Mousa Dembele-Eric Dier combination, but with Harry Winks also picking up an injury in that game, depth might become an issue if Wanyama can't return quickly.
8. Danny Rose, Tottenham
9 of 16
Last Week: 6th
Movement: -2
Danny Rose is in a "good way," Pochettino told reporters after Tottenham's win at Burnley (h/t Football.london). The Argentine intimated he expects the full-back to play again before the season ends.
7. Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal
10 of 16
Last Week: 7th
Movement: None
Alexis Sanchez endured a strange game against Manchester City, particularly in the first half.
His most crucial moments were in the left corner of his own half, helping Nacho Monreal dispossess and lead counter-attacks with direct dribbling. He dragged his side up the pitch quite frequently, then laid the ball off centrally for someone else.
While this was, without doubt, an important function in the side, it meant Alexis never really got close to Willy Caballero's goal and only managed one shot (off the target).
6. Sadio Mane, Liverpool
11 of 16
Last Week: 8th
Movement: +2
Liverpool's 3-1 victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby was a cause for mass celebration from those in red. Beating your rivals is one of the most thrilling feats in football, and doing so in convincing fashion only heightens the party atmosphere.
But it wasn't the perfect day. Sadio Mane's injury, sustained in the second half after getting his leg caught underneath him in a challenge with Leighton Baines, is a cause for real consternation.
He'd opened the scoring with a wicked run and finish, wowing spectators, and had, generally speaking, been a huge threat throughout the game. While Divock Origi replaced him ably off the bench, there's no escaping the fact that if Mane misses a chunk of the run-in, they'll be fighting for Champions League football without their best player this season.
5. Ander Herrera, Manchester United
12 of 16
Last Week: 4th
Movement: -1
Ander Herrera served the final match of his ban against West Bromwich Albion and will take up the United cause again Tuesday against Everton.
4. David Silva, Manchester City
13 of 16
Last Week: 5th
Movement: +1
Last week, B/R's Alex Dunn wrote a piece about David Silva's "quiet genius," and the Spaniard wasted no time in proving exactly what Dunn meant in his performance against Arsenal.
Understated yet viciously creative, Silva's impact on the game was probably overshadowed on social media by De Bruyne's assist for Sane and hitting of the woodwork.
But what Silva did in the build to Sergio Aguero's goal—sliding the Argentine in for a chance after freezing the defender with slight hesitation before the pass—was ridiculously good, and few players in the league are capable of it.
In the second half, Silva was the man moving the ball from back to front for City, dropping into pockets of space, turning and pushing it into the front three. Guardiola went vertical against Arsenal, and this Spaniard was the man operating the conveyor belt of balls forward.
3. Diego Costa, Chelsea
14 of 16
Last Week: 2nd
Movement: -1
Chelsea's loss to Crystal Palace was frustrating in a multitude of ways for fans, but perhaps the biggest issue was Diego Costa.
Strangely, he didn't bust a gut to get himself into the right positions often enough and was almost never in the so-called "right place at the right time" to convert loose balls—it was Mamadou Sakho there instead.
He had one good chance spectacularly blocked by Wayne Hennessey early on but then more or less disappeared. Odd.
2. Eden Hazard, Chelsea
15 of 16
Last Week: 3rd
Movement: +1
Eden Hazard was Chelsea's anomaly against Crystal Palace. While the rest of the team toiled, the Belgian sparkled.
His assist for Cesc Fabregas' early goal was, in a nutshell, the sort of thing he can do to full-backs, and Joel Ward stood no chance of stopping him finding the Spaniard for an easy finish.
He built on that and spent the whole game running rings around defenders and creating chances, but none were put away. The Blues may have lacked imagination in the final third on the whole, but leave Hazard out of it when criticising. He was stupendous.
1. N'Golo Kante, Chelsea
16 of 16
Last Week: 1st
Movement: None
It was hardly the finest first defence of a crown ever seen, but Kante has just enough in the tank to remain No. 1 in our rankings despite not impacting against Crystal Palace.
In truth, Sam Allardyce's gameplan to completely bypass him and hit the wings early was clever and worked very well, leaving Kante without a man to tackle so often he became something of a passenger.
In a game where Chelsea dominated possession without resistance, the Frenchman wasn't of much use.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
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