EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 2
Week two of the 2018-19 Premier League season was a relentless goal-fest; 35 were scored over 10 games, with five games accounting for four or more.
It made for a fun weekend of viewing and also a fun edition of the EPL100. The movements and shifts are pretty violent, with a lot changing inside such a small sample size.
To help you chew over all the action 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.
To complicate matters, we're at times comparing players who have played one game against those who have played two. Keep in mind that you need to have played at least 80 Premier League minutes to feature here, ruling out players such as Mousa Dembele, who have only been used from the bench.
Goalkeepers
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A second penalty save in two games—this one being vitally important as it saved a crucial point for Cardiff City—sees Neil Etheridge rise to the top of the goalkeeper rankings.
Alisson Becker was actually put to work this week, unlike against West Ham United where he was practically a bystander. He made some good saves and produced a clinic in distribution from the back against Crystal Palace.
Ederson Moraes ended Sunday's match against Huddersfield Town with more assists (one) than saves (zero).
Biggest rise: Alisson Becker (In)
Biggest fall: Joe Hart (Out)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Neil Etheridge (+2) | Cardiff City |
| 2 | Alex McCarthy (Stay) | Southampton |
| 3 | Wayne Hennessey (-2) | Crystal Palace |
| 4 | Alisson Becker (New!) | Liverpool |
| 5 | Ben Foster (Stay) | Watford |
| 6 | Ederson Moraes (+2) | Manchester City |
| 7 | Asmir Begovic (Stay) | Bournemouth |
| 8 | Hugo Lloris (New!) | Tottenham |
| 9 | Petr Cech (New!) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Lukasz Fabianski (-1) | West Ham |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
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Something we didn't expect was Daryl Janmaat being the best right-back through two weeks of this Premier League season, but Watford's imperious start and strong full-back play can't be ignored.
It was between the Dutchman and Cesar Azpilicueta for top spot, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka's red card against Liverpool on Monday sending him tumbling. That was a big shame, as he was playing well up until that point.
Biggest rise: Cesar Azpilicueta (+8)
Biggest fall: Matthew Lowton (Out)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Daryl Janmaat (+2) | Watford |
| 2 | Cesar Azpilicueta (+8) | Chelsea |
| 3 | Kyle Walker (-1) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Adam Smith (+1) | Bournemouth |
| 5 | Kieran Trippier (New!) | Tottenham |
| 6 | Aaron Wan-Bissaka (-5) | Crystal Palace |
| 7 | Trent Alexander-Arnold (+1) | Liverpool |
| 8 | Seamus Coleman (-2) | Everton |
| 9 | Martin Montoya (New!) | Brighton |
| 10 | DeAndre Yedlin (-3) | Newcastle United |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
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The left-back category has been so strong through two weeks, with the top six all ranging from very good to superb.
Benjamin Mendy had a direct hand in three goals against Huddersfield Town, rinsing the left flank for all its worth, so he keeps top spot. But there's a glut of brilliant performers all nipping at his heels.
Marcos Alonso's effectiveness hasn't dipped despite him moving to left-back, while Ben Chilwell and Andrew Robertson have been both defensively strong and offensively potent.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+3)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-3)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Benjamin Mendy (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Jose Holebas (Stay) | Watford |
| 3 | Marcos Alonso (+3) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Ben Chilwell (+3) | Leicester City |
| 5 | Andrew Robertson (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 6 | Luke Shaw (-3) | Manchester United |
| 7 | Patrick van Aanholt (-3) | Crystal Palace |
| 8 | Charlie Daniels (Stay) | Bournemouth |
| 9 | Leighton Baines (New!) | Everton |
| 10 | Stephen Ward (-1) | Burnley |
Centre-Backs
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The movements in this section are wild. It's to be expected given things change so much from one performance to the next, but this feels like something else.
Virgil van Dijk's colossal display against Crystal Palace earns him top spot, then Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Steve Cook, Craig Cathcart and Christian Kabasele—who have all been excellent in both games—follow him.
James Tarkowski moves down four despite scoring, as he and Ben Mee had real trouble with Watford's speed and strength on Sunday, when Burnley conceded three goals.
Eric Bailly drops 16 spots. He hit top levels against Leicester City in Week 1 but then plummeted to the bottom against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Biggest rise: Craig Cathcart (+14)
Biggest fall: Eric Bailly (-16)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Virgil van Dijk (+5) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Aymeric Laporte (+1) | Manchester City |
| 3 | John Stones (+1) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Steve Cook (+8) | Bournemouth |
| 5 | Craig Cathcart (+14) | Watford |
| 6 | Christian Kabasele (+11) | Watford |
| 7 | Jan Vertonghen (-6) | Tottenham |
| 8 | Michael Keane (New!) | Everton |
| 9 | James Tarkowski (-4) | Burnley |
| 10 | Maxime Le Marchand (New!) | Fulham |
| 11 | Joe Gomez (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 12 | Jannik Vestergaard (-4) | Southampton |
| 13 | Vincent Kompany (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 14 | Antonio Rudiger (-7) | Chelsea |
| 15 | Jamaal Lascelles (New!) | Newcastle |
| 16 | Nathan Ake (+2) | Bournemouth |
| 17 | Eric Bailly (-16) | Manchester United |
| 18 | Davinson Sanchez (-3) | Tottenham |
| 19 | Harry Maguire (-10) | Leicester City |
| 20 | Shane Duffy (New!) | Brighton |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
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Despite a wondrous performance from Naby Keita and a goalscoring showing from James Milner, Ruben Neves holds them both off and keeps the No. 1 spot for now. His own performance against Leicester City may have fallen on the losing side, but it was still excellent.
We have five new faces, the most impressive of which is Davy Propper, while Tom Cairney has dropped from the attacking midfield to the central midfield section—and shifted down one spot.
Fernandinho was part of a stunning team performance for Manchester City this weekend and moves up nine places, while Paul Pogba's late penalty strike doesn't save him from dropping eight.
Biggest rise: Fernandinho (+9)
Biggest fall: Paul Pogba (-8)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Ruben Neves (Stay) | Wolves |
| 2 | James Milner (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Naby Keita (+1) | Liverpool |
| 4 | N'Golo Kante (-1) | Chelsea |
| 5 | Fernandinho (+9) | Manchester City |
| 6 | Etienne Capoue (Stay) | Watford |
| 7 | Jorginho (+1) | Chelsea |
| 8 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (+4) | Watford |
| 9 | Georginio Wijnaldum (+1) | Liverpool |
| 10 | Jean Michael Seri (-1) | Fulham |
| 11 | Davy Propper (New!) | Brighton |
| 12 | Wilfred Ndidi (+1) | Leicester City |
| 13 | Eric Dier (+4) | Tottenham |
| 14 | Ilkay Gundogan (New!) | Manchester City |
| 15 | Paul Pogba (-8) | Manchester United |
| 16 | Ashley Westwood (-5) | Burnley |
| 17 | Tom Cairney (-1) | Fulham |
| 18 | Jonjo Shelvey (New!) | Newcastle |
| 19 | Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (New!) | Fulham |
| 20 | Matteo Guendouzi (New!) | Arsenal |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
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Bernardo Silva played as a wide attacker on Sunday, so he now shifts from central midfield to this section—and moves up two, as he was quality.
Sadio Mane's late goal against Crystal Palace is enough to move him up one but not quite enough to usurp Richarlison, who took his tally for the season to three against Southampton and holds on to top spot.
James Maddison, Will Hughes and David Brooks are all players with little Premier League experience to point to, but they are smashing it anyway.
Biggest rise: Will Hughes (+5)
Biggest fall: Jeffrey Schlupp (-10)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Richarlison (Stay) | Everton |
| 2 | Sadio Mane (+1) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Bernardo Silva (+2) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Roberto Pereyra (-2) | Watford |
| 5 | Dele Alli (+1) | Tottenham |
| 6 | Pedro (+4) | Chelsea |
| 7 | Mohamed Salah (+1) | Liverpool |
| 8 | Ryan Fraser (-3) | Bournemouth |
| 9 | James Maddison (+2) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Will Hughes (+5) | Watford |
| 11 | Raheem Sterling (-7) | Manchester City |
| 12 | Theo Walcott (New!) | Everton |
| 13 | Ricardo Pereira (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 14 | Willian (-7) | Chelsea |
| 15 | Gylfi Sigurdsson (New!) | Everton |
| 16 | JB Gudmundsson (+2) | Burnley |
| 17 | David Brooks (New!) | Bournemouth |
| 18 | Demarai Gray (-6) | Leicester City |
| 19 | Jeffrey Schlupp (-10) | Crystal Palace |
| 20 | Christian Eriksen (New!) | Tottenham |
Strikers
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Last week's No. 1 Callum Wilson played well again, scoring an incredible solo goal against West Ham in which he strode past four players before finishing, but there's no way anyone's holding off the hurricane that is Sergio Aguero.
The Argentinian bagged his first hat-trick of the season as Manchester City crushed Huddersfield, added an assist for good measure and even struck the post as the hunt went on for more.
Troy Deeney and Andre Gray were great against Burnley, Danny Ings has been impressive for Southampton and Alvaro Morata might just be creeping back to form in Chelsea blue.
Biggest rise: Sergio Aguero (In)
Biggest fall: Joselu (Out)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Sergio Aguero (New!) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Callum Wilson (-1) | Bournemouth |
| 3 | Andre Gray (+7) | Watford |
| 4 | Troy Deeney (New!) | Watford |
| 5 | Alvaro Morata (New!) | Chelsea |
| 6 | Wilfried Zaha (-2) | Crystal Palace |
| 7 | Danny Ings (New!) | Southampton |
| 8 | Gabriel Jesus (New!) | Manchester City |
| 9 | Aleksandar Mitrovic (New!) | Fulham |
| 10 | Raul Jimenez (-5) | Wolves |
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
