EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 1
Welcome back, Premier League. Oh, how we missed you.
Manchester United's close-fought win over Leicester City kicked off a brilliant weekend of football which ended in an imperious Manchester City display against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
To help you chew all of the action over and assess how every team and player got on, B/R returns with another season of the EPL 100, ranking the best players in the Premier League by position.
Only performances in the 2018-19 Premier League season affect the ranking; reputations, cup performances and European showings matter not. To be eligible, a player must have played at least 20 minutes of the opening fixture.
Goalkeepers
1 of 7
When Cardiff City were last in the Premier League (2013-14), David Marshall excelled between the posts and ensured that if they were to be relegated, they wouldn't just roll over.
It appears they have a similarly skilled and determined goalkeeper this time around in Neil Etheridge. His penalty save against Bournemouth was just one part of a brilliant performance.
He ranks third with Alex McCarthy, who was excellent for Southampton, just above him in second, leaving first place clear for Wayne Hennessey. The performance he supplied against Fulham on Saturday might well have been his best in a Crystal Palace shirt.
Lukasz Fabianski may have conceded four against Liverpool, but if it wasn't for his lightning reactions, West Ham United might well have shipped eight.
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Wayne Hennessey | Crystal Palace |
| 2 | Alex McCarthy | Southampton |
| 3 | Neil Etheridge | Cardiff City |
| 4 | Joe Hart | Burnley |
| 5 | Ben Foster | Watford |
| 6 | David De Gea | Manchester United |
| 7 | Asmir Begovic | Bournemouth |
| 8 | Ederson Moraes | Manchester City |
| 9 | Lukasz Fabianski | West Ham United |
| 10 | Martin Dubravka | Newcastle United |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
2 of 7
Who had Aaron Wan-Bissaka down to be the best right-back of the opening Premier League weekend?
The 20-year-old put in a stout defensive showing to keep Fulham off the scoresheet and then surged forward to send Wilfried Zaha through for a late clincher in a 2-0 win.
No one else came close to his level in the opening week, though Seamus Coleman, Kyle Walker, Daryl Janmaat and Adam Smith did impress. Simon Francis makes the cut despite playing just 23 minutes as he was solid and provided an assist.
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Crystal Palace |
| 2 | Kyle Walker | Manchester City |
| 3 | Daryl Janmaat | Watford |
| 4 | Matthew Lowton | Burnley |
| 5 | Adam Smith | Bournemouth |
| 6 | Seamus Coleman | Everton |
| 7 | DeAndre Yedlin | Newcastle United |
| 8 | Trent Alexander-Arnold | Liverpool |
| 9 | Cesar Azpilicueta | Chelsea |
| 10 | Simon Francis | Bournemouth |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
3 of 7
You would need a heart of stone not to be happy for Luke Shaw.
He's in the running for the most unfortunate player of the last half-decade award, things have simply not gone to plan for him at Manchester United. On Friday night, though, something wonderful happened: He capped a rare start under Jose Mourinho with a goal—his first in senior football.
Incredibly, that's not enough to secure top spot in the left-back section, as two others outperformed him. Jose Holebas assisted both goals as Watford beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 and contributed to a defensive performance that held the visitors to zero shots on target.
Benjamin Mendy did exactly the same, only against a superior opponent in the shape of Arsenal, so he takes the top spot.
Centre-Backs
4 of 7
It looks like Eric Bailly has decided to start the 2018-19 season in the same way he did 2017-18: brilliantly. He was a mountain against Leicester, providing crucial blocks, clearances and last-man tackles.
The only centre-back to best his performance at the weekend was Jan Vertonghen, whose display against Newcastle United included a goal, a faultless defensive showing and a clear influence in hauling Tottenham Hotspur over the line in a tough game.
Elsewhere, the way Aymeric Laporte and John Stones melded as a partnership should have Nicolas Otamendi worried.
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Jan Vertonghen | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2 | Eric Bailly | Manchester United |
| 3 | Aymeric Laporte | Manchester City |
| 4 | John Stones | Manchester City |
| 5 | James Tarkowski | Burnley |
| 6 | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool |
| 7 | Antonio Rudiger | Chelsea |
| 8 | Jannik Vestergaard | Southampton |
| 9 | Harry Maguire | Leicester City |
| 10 | Victor Lindelof | Manchester United |
| 11 | Joe Gomez | Liverpool |
| 12 | Steve Cook | Bournemouth |
| 13 | Ben Mee | Burnley |
| 14 | David Luiz | Chelsea |
| 15 | Davinson Sanchez | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 16 | Wesley Hoedt | Southampton |
| 17 | Christian Kabasele | Watford |
| 18 | Nathan Ake | Bournemouth |
| 19 | Craig Cathcart | Watford |
| 20 | Jack Stephens | Southampton |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
5 of 7
Chelsea's first goal of the 2018-19 Premier League campaign was scored by N'Golo Kante—just as we all predicted. Seriously though, we didn't think the guy could get any better, but if Maurizio Sarri gets him scoring goals too, we're in for a real treat.
His French compatriot, Paul Pogba, was also pretty impressive in his first appearance of the season, taking command in midfield for Manchester United and notching a cool penalty to give his side the lead.
Ruben Neves marked his Premier League debut with a wondrous performance, scoring, assisting and generally bossing from midfield for Wolves.
Liverpool's central midfield started off brightly, with Naby Keita impressing on his debut and James Milner reminding everyone how influential and effective he can be.
If Bernardo Silva's appearance in the centre at the Emirates is anything to go by, he might have a big role to play in a slightly new position for champions Manchester City.
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Ruben Neves | Wolves |
| 2 | James Milner | Liverpool |
| 3 | N'Golo Kante | Chelsea |
| 4 | Naby Keita | Liverpool |
| 5 | Bernardo Silva | Manchester City |
| 6 | Etienne Capoue | Watford |
| 7 | Paul Pogba | Manchester United |
| 8 | Jorginho | Chelsea |
| 9 | Jean Michael Seri | Fulham |
| 10 | Georginio Wijnaldum | Liverpool |
| 11 | Ashley Westwood | Burnley |
| 12 | Abdoulaye Doucoure | Watford |
| 13 | Wilfred Ndidi | Leicester City |
| 14 | Fernandinho | Manchester City |
| 15 | Adrien Silva | Leicester City |
| 16 | Andreas Pereira | Manchester United |
| 17 | Eric Dier | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 18 | Luka Milivojevic | Crystal Palace |
| 19 | Idrissa Gueye | Everton |
| 20 | Philip Billing | Huddersfield Town |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
6 of 7
We missed this version of Richarlison; the one that scores for fun and terrorises defences. For Everton's sake, we hope this version sticks around a lot longer in royal blue than it did in yellow last term.
Speaking of Watford, Roberto Pereyra stepped up quite brilliantly on Saturday, netting two goals against Brighton to gift his side three points. If he can stay fit, it will make head coach Javi Gracia's job a lot easier.
Raheem Sterling has picked up where he left off before the FIFA World Cup, scoring Manchester City's first goal of the season in what is probably a sign of things to come.
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Richarlison | Everton |
| 2 | Roberto Pereyra | Watford |
| 3 | Sadio Mane | Liverpool |
| 4 | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City |
| 5 | Ryan Fraser | Bournemouth |
| 6 | Dele Alli | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 7 | Willian | Chelsea |
| 8 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool |
| 9 | Jeffrey Schlupp | Crystal Palace |
| 10 | Pedro | Chelsea |
| 11 | James Maddison | Leicester City |
| 12 | Demarai Gray | Leicester City |
| 13 | Ricardo Pereira | Leicester City |
| 14 | Juan Mata | Manchester United |
| 15 | Will Hughes | Watford |
| 16 | Tom Cairney | Fulham |
| 17 | Matt Ritchie | Newcastle United |
| 18 | JB Gudmundsson | Burnley |
| 19 | Diogo Jota | Wolves |
| 20 | Nathan Redmond | Southampton |
Strikers
7 of 7
Outstanding striking performances were fairly hard to come by on the opening weekend, with as few as three genuinely standing out.
Callum Wilson missed a penalty but did score and assist as Bournemouth beat Cardiff. His gaffe from 12 yards came before his eventual goal; fortunately, it didn't end up costing his side any points.
Joselu and Wilfried Zaha both capped good performances of their own with goals, Roberto Firmino didn't find the net but was predictably instrumental for Liverpool, and Jamie Vardy looked extremely bright stepping off the bench for Leicester at Old Trafford.
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Callum Wilson | Bournemouth |
| 2 | Roberto Firmino | Liverpool |
| 3 | Joselu | Newcastle United |
| 4 | Wilfried Zaha | Crystal Palace |
| 5 | Raul Jimenez | Wolves |
| 6 | Cenk Tosun | Everton |
| 7 | Jamie Vardy | Leicester City |
| 8 | Bobby Reid | Cardiff City |
| 9 | Christian Benteke | Crystal Palace |
| 10 | Andre Gray | Watford |
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
