James Maddison sparkles AGAIN and Rodri smashes a stunning winner but Brighton’s stars slide after West Ham loss… so who takes top spot in this week’s Premier League POWER RANKINGS?
- Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United claimed dramatic wins
- Arsenal dropped two points but Tottenham’s encouraging start continues
- Chelsea eased to victory over Luton while Aston Villa and Wolves also won
Another dramatic Premier League weekend witnessed 10-man Liverpool earn a smash and grab victory away to Newcastle to maintain their unbeaten start.
Manchester City also left it late to overcome Sheffield United, while Manchester United fought back from a shambolic start against Nottingham Forest to win 3-2.
Arsenal were held to a thrilling draw by 10-man Fulham, while Tottenham continued their encouraging start and West Ham were 3-1 winners at Brighton.
Chelsea romped to victory over Luton, while Aston Villa and Wolves also came away with all three points from their matches, with Brentford and Crystal Palace drawing.
So who features in Mail Sport’s latest Power Rankings after the third weekend of the season?
Manchester City celebrates Rodri’s late winner as they ground out victory at Sheffield United
LAST WEEK’S TOP 10 RANKINGS
10. Pape Matar Sarr
9. Phil Foden
8. Pervis Estupinan
7. James Ward-Prowse
6. Luis Diaz
5. Rodri
4. Kaoru Mitoma
3. Bryan Mbeumo
2. James Maddison
1. Solly March
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10. Matty Cash (new entry)
A truly memorable 100th appearance for Aston Villa for the Poland international as his two early goals set them on course for a 3-1 victory at Burnley.
Cash applied the back-post finish for Villa’s opener after Ollie Watkins teed him up and his second was struck on the volley after Moussa Diaby cut the ball back.
Unai Emery’s side were thrashed at Newcastle on the opening weekend but have since responded strongly with wins over Everton and Burnley in the league, plus Hibernian in Europe, and look a force to be reckoned with again.
Matty Cash celebrates with Moussa Diaby after powering home his second goal at Burnley
9. Jarrod Bowen (new entry)
Not many people backed West Ham to get a positive result at Brighton but, whisper it quietly, they might well be made of sterner stuff in the Premier League this season.
Jarrod Bowen was the heartbeat of their 3-1 win as he so often is, scoring the second of the Hammers’ three goals in a counter-attacking masterclass with just 21 per cent possession.
Bowen netted in the opening day draw at Bournemouth and he also supplied the assist for Michail Antonio’s goal at the Amex on Saturday night as his impressive start to the season continued.
Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse celebrate after the former scored West Ham’s second
8. Luis Diaz (down two)
So it really wasn’t Luis Diaz’s afternoon despite Liverpool’s 2-1 win at Newcastle. The Colombian was the unlucky one sacrificed for an extra defender after Virgil van Dijk was sent off in the first-half.
Though Diaz slides a couple of places, he maintained his spot in the top 10 because of his otherwise strong start to the campaign.
He netted in Liverpool’s games against Chelsea and Bournemouth before watching on from the sidelines as two late goals by Darwin Nunez snatched an unlikely three points.
Luis Diaz reacts during the 33 minutes he played at Newcastle before being taken off in the wake of Virgil van Dijk’s red card
7. Kaoru Mitoma (down three)
As mentioned, it really wasn’t Brighton’s day but some of their players remain in the Power Rankings top 10 by virtue of the back-to-back 4-1 wins they recorded prior to that.
One is their Japanese winger Mitoma, who was outstanding when they thrashed Wolves at Molineux the previous weekend, claiming a goal and an assist for Pervis Estupinan.
Mitoma couldn’t quite make the same impact in the defeat to West Ham despite plenty of possession and chances for his team.
Kaoru Mitoma wasn’t able to make quite the same impact as in previous weeks for Brighton
6. Raheem Sterling (new entry)
Sterling’s beaming smile as he celebrated his two goals in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Luton on Friday night told of a footballer enjoying his football again.
He struggled during his debut season at Stamford Bridge but has made a blistering start to this campaign after rediscovering his fitness and focus.
Sterling opened the scoring after beating three Luton players and picking out the bottom corner, before making it 2-0 from Malo Gusto’s cross in a cathartic performance.
Raheem Sterling was all smiles as he scored twice in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Luton on Friday
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5. Bryan Mbeumo (down two)
Brentford were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace in torrential rain in west London and Mbeumo, who’d enjoyed a super start to the season, wasn’t on target this time.
With three goals in Brentford’s opening two games, Mbeumo showed his intention to compensate for the goals lost due to Ivan Toney’s betting ban.
He netted against Tottenham on the opening weekend and then grabbed two in the 3-0 derby win over Fulham.
Bryan Mbeumo wasn’t able to get on the scoresheet as Brentford were held by Crystal Palace
4. Solly March (down three)
March topped last week’s Power Rankings after netting three goals in Brighton’s opening two matches of the season against Luton and Wolves.
But with the Seagulls downed by West Ham, March naturally has to slip back a little.
He played 72 minutes of the 3-1 home defeat by West Ham but wasn’t able to affect the outcome on a disappointing evening at the Amex.
It wasn’t Solly March’s (left) or Brighton’s afternoon as they were beaten by West Ham
3. James Ward-Prowse (up four)
It’s been a cracking start to life at West Ham for Ward-Prowse, who followed up his two assists in last weekend’s win over Chelsea with a goal at Brighton.
His trademark golf swing celebration was out in force at the Amex as he tapped in from close range, setting his team on course for victory.
Ward-Prowse was excellent all-round, recording six interceptions as West Ham soaked up a lot of pressure before hurting Brighton on the break.
James Ward-Prowse tees off in celebration after opening West Ham’s scoring at Brighton
2. Rodri (up three)
The Manchester City midfielder has featured in our countdown every week so far this season and after his dramatic late winner at Sheffield United, he now moves up to second.
The Treble winners made heavy weather of it at Bramall Lane but the Spaniard lashed home in the 88th-minute to ensure they’re the only side with a perfect record from three games.
Of course, Rodri’s contribution to Pep Guardiola’s side in midfield is incredibly reliable and so it proved again on Sunday.
Rodri celebrates in front of the Man City fans after crashing in their late winner in Sheffield
1. James Maddison (up one)
Second behind March in last week’s list, how could we possibility not have James Maddison No 1 this time around?
He’s loving life at Tottenham and after doing very well in their win over Manchester United he opened his scoring account for his new club in the 2-0 win at Bournemouth.
With the confidence flowing, Maddison was even able to indulge in a bit of back-and-forth with the Vitality Stadium crowd as Ange Postecoglou chalked up another success.
Tottenham’s James Maddison, right, is an early candidate for signing of the summer
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