Top 10 Premier League performances: Salah the pick of impressive bunch
The 2020/21 Premier League campaign is underway, with Arsenal and Leicester leading the table on goal difference after comprehensive 3-0 victories over newly promoted Fulham and West Brom, repsectively.
Chelsea, Newcastle and Wolves also secured good wins, while defending champions Liverpool were made to work hard for three points against Leeds in a seven-goal thriller. Meanwhile, doom and gloom is already starting to set in at Tottenham after their abject showing in a 1-0 home defeat to Everton.
While it's clear some clubs got off to a better start than others, what about the top performing players? Who kicked off the campaign in style? Here we will run through the top 10 best WhoScored performing players from Gameweek 1.
Before we get started, however, we must first point you in the direction of Footstock - where fantasy football meets player trading. If you're not in the loop then you really should be. They are offering a massive £100k free-to-play tournament that can be entered at any time!
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Now, let's dive into the top 10!
10) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) - 8.01 rating / £14.98 Footstock price
Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened his account for the season in stunning fashion in Saturday's clash with Fulham, scoring more-or-less the same goal from their Community Shield triumph over Liverpool at the end of August.
9) Raul Jimenez (Wolves) - 8.14 rating / £14.17 Footstock price
It only took Raul Jimenez three minutes to score his first goal of the season, putting Wolves ahead away to Sheffield United on Monday night. The Mexico international had five attempts on goal in total and won four fouls.
8) Vicente Guaita (Palace) - 8.19 rating / £1.70 Footstock price
Following Crystal Palace and Southampton's end-of-season form last term, a routine win for the latter seemed most likely when the two met this past weekend but that was not the case, as the Eagles edged things 1-0. Guaita was in particularly inspired form in the Palace goal, showing great reflexes from close range to rack up five saves and a clean sheet.
7) Willian (Arsenal) - 8.35 rating / £14.91 Footstock price
Willian certainly made his presence felt on his Arsenal debut following a free signing switch from London rivals Chelsea in the summer. The veteran winger was involved in all three of Arsenal's goals against Fulham, managing two Opta-registered assists in the process. Willian impressively also completed 96.2% of his attempted passes.
6) Timothy Castagne (Leicester) - 8.37 rating / £10.00 Footstock price
As Leicester's only signing of the summer, Timothy Castagne showed no signs of feeling the pressure as the former Atalanta full-back popped up with a debut goal in a routine 3-0 win over West Brom. Castagne won five aerial duels and as many tackles and interceptions combined (5).
5) Jeff Hendrick (Newcastle) - 8.61 rating / £3.19 Footstock price
Certainly not the most glamorous of signings this summer but Jeff Hendrick proved one of the most effective performers on the opening weekend. The Newcastle midfielder scored and assisted in a Premier League game for the first time in his career, as the Magpies claimed a 2-0 win away to West Ham. The 28-year-old managed three successful dribbles and claimed the WhoScored Man of the Match award on debut.
4) Reece James (Chelsea) - 8.88 rating / £12.48 Footstock price
England are certainly blessed at right-back with Reece James quickly emerging as an alternative to the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold. James scored and assisted in Chelsea's 3-1 win away to Brighton on Monday night, opening his account for the campaign with a stunning long range hit.
3) Romain Saiss (Wolves) - 9.12 rating / £1.34 Footstock price
Raul Jimenez opened the scoring for Wolves against Sheffield United but Romain Saiss rubber-stamped all three points for Nuno's side just minutes later. Saiss had three attempts in total, won six aerial duels and made seven clearances to help Wolves keep the Blades out.
2) Richarlison (Everton) - 9.18 rating / £25.99 Footstock price
Everton started the season with a thoroughly impressive 1-0 win at Tottenham as Carlo Ancelotti's new signings made a dream start but it was Richarlison that stole the show. He was guilty of missing a clear goalscoring chance but ran Tottenham ragged all game, remarkably completing 11 dribbles. The 23-year-old had seven attempts and even completed five tackles.
1) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - 9.88 rating / £37.48 Footstock price
Mohamed Salah is already ahead in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot after netting a hat-trick in Liverpool's 4-3 win over newly promoted Leeds. Two of Salah's goals were from the penalty spot, explaining why the Egyptian missed out on a perfect WhoScored 10 rating. Salah had nine shots in total, registered four key passes and completed seven dribbles in a blockbuster display.