Premier League Player Rankings: Alli & Eriksen Rise, Sanchez Falls Again
The finish line is in sight for Chelsea. No matter how hard Tottenham Hotspur push, and no matter how many wins they rack up in a row, the Blues refuse to falter enough to make this a title race; they are cantering toward the Premier League title.
Chelsea and Spurs players playing well sets the theme for this week's player rankings—as it has done in many previous weeks. Manchester City players (largely) had a rough time of it, while we also welcome back a few players from injury, too, including the magisterial Adam Lallana.
As a bonus feature, we've created an ultimate Premier League 20-man squad for the 2016-17 season using only one player per club. It's based off these rankings, so the highest player for each club slots in, excluding all of his teammates.
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 Ibrahimovic, who have endured poor patches spanning months this season, have had to play catchup 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 (Stay)
Lukaku showed glimpses of life against Chelsea but was unable to trouble Thibaut Courtois too much. When he doesn't score, he adds nothing positive to Everton's game, and that was certainly the case here.
39. Fernandinho, Manchester City (Stay)
A game of two halves for Fernandinho, who was overrun in the first against Middlesbrough but found some control in the second, saving himself from a drop out of the top 40.
38. Oriol Romeu, Southampton (-3)
Southampton vs. Hull City was a true eyesore of a game. Romeu did well to emerge with any credit at all, as no other in a Saints shirt did.
37. Georginio Wijnaldum, Liverpool (-3)
Not for the first time in the last few months, Wijnaldum didn't have much of a say in a game. He's starting to drop off, and that's probably because he's played almost every game due to injuries everywhere else.
36. Eric Bailly, Manchester United (-4)
Bailly halted his great streak of form by putting in an atrocious performance against Swansea City. He hacked at the ball over and over, sending passes astray, and was withdrawn injured late on.
35-31
2 of 16
35. Idrissa Gueye, Everton (+2)
Deployed in something close to a man-marking role on Eden Hazard, and he did his best to stymie the Belgian's creative tendencies. He was half-successful, which is better than most would manage.
34. Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace (+4)
Zaha played well in Crystal Palace's loss to Burnley. He should have won a penalty late on and was wrongly flagged offside after tearing through one-on-one and being wiped out by Tom Heaton.
33. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United (-1)
With a successful surgery on a torn ACL under his belt, towering Swede Ibrahimovic will now rehabilitate his knee on the road to recovery.
32. Yaya Toure, Manchester City (-1)
Toure was not in the squad for Manchester City's draw with Middlesbrough. Given how Fernandinho was overrun early on, it became clear the Ivorian could have been quite useful on the day.
31. Sergio Aguero, Manchester City (+5)
Aguero continues to haul himself up these player rankings. Six goals and one assist in his last seven Premier League games represents great form.
30-26
3 of 16
30. Virgil van Dijk, Southampton (-2)
According to The Sun's Neil Ashton, Van Dijk looks likely to join Chelsea this summer, with Andreas Christensen going the other way. The Dutchman might be injured, but the rumours won't stop coming.
29. Joel Matip, Liverpool (+1)
Matip recovered from a poor game against Crystal Palace last week to look altogether more solid against Watford. He cleaned up plenty in the box and threaded a few great passes to start attacks.
28. Leroy Sane, Manchester City (+1)
Sane changed the game for City when stepping off the bench, but he drew the ire of many fans due to his eagerness to go down in the box to win a penalty.
27. Adam Lallana, Liverpool (+1)
Lallana returned to the first-team fray in style, stepping off the bench early against Watford and impressing. He struck the woodwork, created chances and dictated play centrally.
26. Marcos Alonso, Chelsea (Stay)
Alonso handled Everton's right side with relative ease on the way to a welcome clean sheet.
25-21
4 of 16
25. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City (-3)
Another game in which it didn't go to plan for De Bruyne. They've been a touch too frequent; he'll never breach the top 20 again if he can't see the season out in formidable fashion.
24. Victor Moses, Chelsea (Stay)
Moses did well defending against Leighton Baines at Goodison Park, and at the same time, he impacted offensively. It's imperative for the Nigeria international that Chelsea start well, else Antonio Conte changes shape and invariably substitutes Moses.
23. David Luiz, Chelsea (+2)
Luiz battled against Lukaku on Sunday and battled well; it takes a commanding, strong presence to stifle the Belgian, and Luiz was just that.
22. Roberto Firmino, Liverpool (-2)
When he plays wide, Firmino doesn't impact the game and doesn't get involved anywhere near enough.
21. Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea (Stay)
A typically strong, rounded showing from Azpilicueta, who didn't have much trouble with anything Everton threw at him, and he passed well to keep attacks going.
20-16
5 of 16
20. Dele Alli, Tottenham (+3)
Welcome to the top 20, Dele Alli. His knack of popping up and scoring important goals is hugely beneficial to Tottenham's faint title tilt, and he managed just that as he broke the ice in the north London derby on Sunday.
19. Raheem Sterling, Manchester City (-1)
Sterling improved City's play immeasurably off the bench against Middlesbrough but couldn't do enough to force a win. Perhaps this is the message he needed to send in order to grab more minutes from the start.
18. Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool (-2)
Coutinho exited Liverpool's tussle with Watford after just 11 minutes with a dead leg—a product of him being kicked consistently from the first whistle.
17. Pedro, Chelsea (+2)
Pedro's remarkable season continued on Sunday, as his wonder-strike broke the deadlock at Goodison Park. The feat took him to a combined 16 goals and assists from just 24 Premier League starts.
16. Diego Costa, Chelsea (-1)
Costa missed a glaring chance to put Chelsea ahead against Everton early on, but he recovered to link well with his midfielders and contribute to victory.
15-11
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15. Christian Eriksen, Tottenham (+2)
Eriksen was not at his absolute best against Arsenal—his striking of the crossbar with the goal gaping is a testament to that—but his driving run forced the chance for Alli's opener.
14. Kyle Walker, Tottenham (-1)
Rumours are swirling that Walker wants to leave Tottenham—The Independent's Jack Pitt-Brooke suggested he and Mauricio Pochettino have fallen out—and the fact he took a seat on the bench for the north London Derby says a lot.
13. Harry Kane, Tottenham (+1)
The penalty Kane swept home against Arsenal was mind-bogglingly good. His overall game was OK—solid, not spectacular—as he held off centre-halves and linked play reasonably well.
12. Mousa Dembele, Tottenham (Stay)
Dembele started the north London derby from the bench—a move that surprised many—but he wasn't terribly missed. That probably speaks for the development and improvement of Victor Wanyama more than anything, though.
11. Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal (-2)
After five straight months in our top 10, Alexis drops out after another iffy performance. He was marked closely against Tottenham, and he received little of the ball and wasted what he did get.
10. Danny Rose, Tottenham
7 of 16
Last Week: 10th
Movement: None
Suggestions that Danny Rose could return for the north London derby were wide of the mark. At this point, with Ben Davies in good form and with four games left, there's an argument for shutting him down for the season.
9. Victor Wanyama, Tottenham
8 of 16
Last Week: 11th
Movement: +2
Victor Wanyama's disappointing performance against Crystal Palace midweek may have planted a seed of doubt in Pochettino's mind ahead of the north London derby. What if the Kenyan, just back from an injury-enforced absence, was tired and would be overrun against Arsenal?
But Pochettino kept faith in him, dropping Dembele to the bench instead, and Wanyama produced a standout performance in midfield. Arguably man of the match, he overpowered the Gunners with ease and used the ball well, beginning attacks from deep.
8. Antonio Valencia, Manchester United
9 of 16
Last Week: 6th
Movement: -2
It's clear Antonio Valencia is being preserved for the Europa League, but he was forced into the fray against Swansea City extremely early due to an injury to Luke Shaw.
The Ecuadorian was typically boisterous and defended solidly—United were on course for a clean sheet until Gylfi Sigurdsson's wand of a boot struck—but struggled to impact offensively, with much of his attacking work bearing no fruit.
7. Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham
10 of 16
Last Week: 7th
Movement: None
Unflappable, indomitable, imperturbable. Just another day at the office for Toby Alderweireld, who was instrumental in yet another Tottenham clean sheet and victory.
He gave Olivier Giroud nothing on Sunday and also did a great job with Kieran Trippier doubling up on Alexis on the flank. The fact Arsenal's clearest chances came from shots from 18 yards tells you how well their attackers were marshalled.
6. Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham
11 of 16
Last Week: 8th
Movement: +2
Wanyama's rival for man of the match in the north London derby, Jan Vertonghen was imperious at both ends of the pitch.
He went close to scoring twice, one strike forcing good work out of Petr Cech, and was his usual, positive, alert self in defence. Recently, the Belgian has been excellent at nipping danger in the bud high up before it has a chance to develop, and we saw that regularly against Arsenal.
5. Sadio Mane, Liverpool
12 of 16
Last Week: 5th
Movement: None
We're still not even sure on the extent of Sadio Mane's knee injury. Liverpool have kept the details under wraps.
4. Ander Herrera, Manchester United
13 of 16
Last Week: 3rd
Movement: -1
Ander Herrera has endured a minor fall from grace following his masterclass man-marking job on Eden Hazard in April. It's enough to drop from third to fourth.
In the Manchester derby, he wasn't his usual, dominant self, and against Swansea City on Sunday, he struggled to find his rhythm. Usually such an energetic, excitable presence, it's quite the task to stop him impacting, but Swans boss Paul Clement's midfield diamond took him out of the game.
3. David Silva, Manchester City
14 of 16
Last Week: 4th
Movement: +1
David Silva didn't play against Middlesbrough due to injury, but he moves above Herrera due to the Manchester United man's subpar showing on Sunday.
2. N'Golo Kante, Chelsea
15 of 16
Last Week: 2nd
Movement: None
For once, N'Golo Kante took a backseat this weekend. Chelsea cruised to victory at Goodison Park not because their midfield monster made the difference, but because other, more unlikely performers did the damage.
It's rare you say it, but Nemanja Matic probably outperformed Kante on Sunday. Possibly spurred on by that FA Cup semi-final goal, perhaps due a good performance after an entire season of mediocrity, it was the Serb who played the box-to-box role that helped define the game.
Kante, meanwhile, sat off and balanced the side neatly, not allowing anything through and closing off the middle.
1. Eden Hazard, Chelsea
16 of 16
Last Week: 1st
Movement: None
Eden Hazard once again had to deal with some pretty close attention this weekend. Gueye was devoted to stopping him impacting, and for about one half of football, it looked like he might succeed.
But in the end, the Belgian wriggled free just enough to impact, and as the game wore on, he became more of a threat. He won the free-kick that Gary Cahill bundled home to make it 2-0.
The extent to which Hazard leads our player rankings now is remarkable. He'd probably have to score own goals galore in Chelsea's remaining games for anyone to catch him.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
