Premier League player power rankings: Matchday 4

James Sharman, Jim Brennan and Craig Forrest recap Manchester United's performance against Burnley plus Watford's magical start to the Premier League campaign.

After each matchday in the English Premier League, Sportsnet will rank the top 20 players for the 2018-19 season. Regardless of reputation, everyone starts from scratch at Matchday 1, and will steadily move up, down, or out of the rankings as the games progress.

1. Eden Hazard, Chelsea. (Previous matchday: 9)
Wrote last week that he would have deserved to be here on a per-minute basis, and now, with two starts in the bag, it’s hard to argue he belongs anywhere else. He is the league’s unstoppable force and for the second match in a row, opponents simply resorted to showing him as many bodies as possible.

Didn’t matter, though, as he found the back of the net for Chelsea’s second goal after setting up his teammates quite nicely all game.

2. Marcos Alonso, Chelsea. (Previous matchday: 1)
For some perspective on his offensive exploits, he’s taken more shots than Sadio Mané who just happens to be tied for the league lead in goals, and has hit the post twice including a right-footed drive this weekend against Bournemouth. On the defensive end, he only trails N’golo Kante, Cesar Azpiliqueta and Mateo Kovacic for the team lead in tackles.

His combination play when involved with Hazard is getting better and better with each game.

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3. Sadio Mané, Liverpool. (Previous matchday: 2)
Hasn’t done much wrong to fall a spot for the second straight week, but his goal did require a fortuitous bounce off Harry Maguire and Liverpool didn’t seem to threaten as much in the second half. Firmino put in his best performance of the season so that may have asked less of the Senegalese star, too.

4. Sergio Aguero, Manchester City (Previous matchday: 3)
Wasn’t as effective as the previous three fixtures, but a largely ineffective Riyad Mahrez and a Gabriel Jesus who seemed to force the issue all game were clear factors in disrupting Aguero from being at his very best.

Still, he was a key component in City’s setup play in the final third, and teed up Kyle Walker’s thunderous strike.

5. Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool. (Previous matchday: 5)
Would have racked up another clean sheet but for Alisson’s mind-boggling error. Joe Gomez certainly did him a favour when sliding in and blocking James Maddison’s shot just in time after the Dutch defender was beat, but a largely spotless performance overall.

Had a couple of key clearances towards the end of the match when Leicester City pressed for an equalizer and seems to thrive on being looked upon as the man to put out the fires.

6. Roberto Pereyra, Watford. (Previous matchday: 7)
Roberto Pereyra’s ball skills make him a nightmare for any defender, and though he may not have contributed to goals this week as he has been doing for Watford of late, his creativity is the perfect ingredient to complement the aerial route between José Holebas and Troy Deeney.

7. José Holebas, Watford. (Previous matchday: 18)
A pair of assists to give Watford its unlikeliest victory yet. The first was an inch perfect free kick to meet the head of captain Deeney and the second courtesy of another well taken corner.

8. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool. (Previous matchday: 10)
Salah has been impeccable at Anfield, but hasn’t quite lived up to that standard away from home. He is second in the league in shots taken and has only been dispossessed fewer times than three other plays, but what cannot be denied is that he is always in the action.

A constant threat even if his execution hasn’t been of the standard of last season thus far, he continues to play a pivotal role in Liverpool’s attack.

9. Benjamin Mendy, Manchester City. (Previous matchday: 4)
Not a clue who or what he was trying to mark for the Magpies’ equalizer which ended up happening because Gabriel Jesus was forced to track down right-back DeAndre Yedlin making a brilliant run all the way into the City box to slot home, and that has to count against him this week.

Newcastle United did well to stymie his forward runs but the Frenchman will be hoping the international break does nothing to slow down his momentum to start the season.

10. James Milner, Liverpool. (Previous matchday: N/A)
Currently sixth in the league in passes completed but also has as many tackles as England international Harry Maguire and Mendy. Milner continues to run, run, and run some more, providing the perfect platform for his more attack-minded teammates to shine.

Firmino’s goal came courtesy a corner from James Milner, giving the Liverpool captain his 80th assist and tying him with David Beckham.

11. Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham. (Previous matchday: N/A)

What a run he’s on. He closed last season in The Championship winning back-to-back Player of the Month awards and is now the joint-leading scorer in the Premier League. Mitrovic has really made a home in Craven Cottage, and what may be even more impressive than his goal-scoring run is the improved temperament after struggling to control his emotions at Newcastle.

12. Aymeric Laporte, Manchester City. (Previous matchday: 14)
Second in the league in passes completed behind Jorginho and the motivation of not being picked in what was eventually France’s World Cup-winning squad is shining through.

Having not made his senior international debut and still not picked for this international window, he may even be trying to impress a Spain squad that will be desperate to replace the recently retired Gerard Piqué.

13. Ryan Fraser, Bournemouth. (Previous matchday: 8)
Bournemouth were up against it against a strong Chelsea side, and so Fraser drops five spots from a week ago. He struggled to make an impact throughout the match, but credit to Maurizio Sarri’s tactics for ensuring Fraser was constantly accounted for.

14. Jorginho, Chelsea. (Previous matchday: N/A)
He is the leader in passes completed and if there is a stat indicative of the change in approach and level of dynamism to Chelsea now, it is that. Five of the top 10 in the category play for the London club but it is the Italian’s composure in transitioning The Blues into attacks that has made a world of difference in their play in the opposition half.

15. Troy Deeney, Watford. (Previous matchday: N/A)
If you went into the Watford-Tottenham match not knowing who the English captain that won the Golden Boot at the World Cup was, you would have come away thinking it was Deeney and no one could have blamed you.

The 30-year-old was an inspiration to his team and used his power and strength to great effect against the Tottenham back-line to both chase down long balls and hold up play till his teammates could join him further up the pitch.

16. Pedro, Chelsea. (Previous matchday: N/A)
Is looking more and more like the Pedro of Barcelona. Even with a substitute appearance this time around, his uncanny knack for goals was necessary after all the patience and graft Chelsea displayed prior to his opener.

17. John Stones, Manchester City. (Previous matchday: 17)
Wasn’t as steady a presence as he’s been in past matches as he looked to venture forward and spur on City attacks even more, but some of that may have had to do with looking to add further impetus to his team’s attack after coming away with a draw a weekend ago.

18. Lucas Moura, Tottenham. (Previous matchday: 16)
Was one of the few bright spots in what was otherwise a drab performance from Tottenham. There’s no one else in the side that provides quite the threat he does with his pace and dribbling ability, but Son Heung-min will be back from the Asian Games to give him a run for his money.

19. Naby Keita, Liverpool. (Previous matchday: 6)
Substitute appearances hurt when it comes to maintaining a spot in these rankings, and despite the fact he came on to help Liverpool shut up shop and the team coming away with three points, Leicester piled plenty of pressure towards the end.

Certainly, that’s not all on him, but he did little to stem the tide.

20. Luke Shaw, Manchester United. (Previous matchday: N/A)
His performances this season have deservedly earned him a recall to the England squad, and José Mourinho must certainly be hoping he can sprinkle whatever he did to help find the pacy left-back’s game onto his central defenders.

Honourable mention:
Glenn Murray (Brighton & Hove Albion). Joao Moutinho (Wolverhampton Wanderers). Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Ederson (Manchester City). Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea). Joseph Gomez, Alisson Becker (Liverpool). James Maddison, Ricardo Pereira (Leicester City). Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal).

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