Premier League round-up: The best and worst performers from gameweek one

 

After an exciting opening weekend’s action in the Premier League, with last season’s top five all getting off to a winning start, there were a number of eye catching performances worthy of recognition.

We reveal the very first WhoScored.com team of the week of the new season and focus on the top three performers from gameweek one, as well as the players who will be keen to move on from a disappointing start.

While there were no great shocks in the Premier League, Crystal Palace’s win at Fulham was probably the one result that went against the odds given the excitement around Craven Cottage following a busy summer in the transfer market. Slavisa Jokanovic handed debuts to six players and while it wasn’t a poor performance from the newly-promoted side, their visitors familiarity perhaps told.

 

Premier League round-up: The best and worst performers from gameweek one

 

There wasn’t a single debutant in the Eagles XI after all, though the two most surprising inclusions in Wayne Hennessey and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were arguably Roy Hodgson’s strongest performers. The latter impressed in a spell in the side late last season and proved that he is up for the fight to make the right-back berth his own, registering the assist for Palace’s all important second goal, completing two dribbles and contributing defensively with four tackles and interceptions apiece. A rating of 8.63 was enough to earn the 20-year-old the WhoScored man of the match award and third highest score of the weekend.

Just ahead of the youngster in second, while Sadio Mane is perhaps the least heralded of Liverpool’s devastating front three he stepped to the fore against West Ham, and not for the first time made his mark at the earliest opportunity. Scoring in the opening game of the season in both of his campaigns since signing for the Reds before the weekend, the Senegalese forward went one better on Sunday, bagging a brace from four shots and creating a further two chances for a rating of 9.06.

 

 

Out in front, however, is the only other player to find the net more than once in gameweek one, with Roberto Pereyra proving to be the match winner as Watford dispatched of Brighton at Vicarage Road. The Argentine has impressed in fits and starts since moving to England but was certainly at his best at the weekend, notching arguably the goal of the weekend with a stunning volley for his first before bending a second past Mat Ryan shortly after the break to put the game beyond doubt. The midfielder had four shots in total, completed three dribbles and two interceptions to earn a week-high rating of 9.26.

At the opposite end of the spectrum it’s perhaps no surprise to see the weekend’s biggest losers feature heavily among the lowest rated performers, with Mark Noble (5.62) and Ryan Fredericks (5.50) worst among them, but it was Phil Jagielka that secured the wooden spoon in gameweek one. The veteran defender’s loose touch allowed Diogo Jota the chance to steal in on goal but the Everton man’s desperate lunge caught the Wolves star on the ankle and he was duly dismissed late in the first half, leading to a rating of 5.39. To make matters worse, Ruben Neves expertly converted the resulting free-kick to equalise for Nuno’s side.

 

Premier League round-up: The best and worst performers from gameweek one

 

Premier League round-up: The best and worst performers from gameweek one