Ranking the 5 best players of this Premier League Gameweek 5
The Premier League never stops to amaze. It gives plenty of surprises and packs exciting footballing action every week. We had some highly entertaining matches this weekend and some surprising results as well.
We finally got out first goalless stalemate of the 2023-24 Premier League season as both Chelsea and Bournemouth failed to score as the two sides met at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday. It was the 47th match of the new campaign and that is a fair reflection of how entertaining the Premier League is on a regular basis.
Several top stars delivered the goods this weekend and we had a few others as well who were able to make a mark in rather surprising fashion. Without further ado, let's take a look at the five best players of this Premier League gameweek.
#5 Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)
Aston Villa pulled off a stunning comeback win over Crystal Palace on Saturday (September 16). They were 1-0 down until the 87th minute but ended up winning the game 3-1 thanks to goals from Jhon Duran, Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey.
Luiz was the pick of the players for Unai Emery's side. He was relentless in midfield and stopped Palace in their tracks a number of times by making timely interceptions.
The Brazilian midfielder got his name on the scoresheet by dispatching a penalty coolly in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage-time to put his side in the lead. It was an all-around impressive and dogged performance from the 25-year-old.
#4 Jeremy Doku (Manchester City)
Against the run of play and much to the surprise of fans at the London Stadium this past Saturday, Manchester City went into half-time needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit. They did manage to turn it around and eventually win the game 1-3.
City's attackers Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku were on the top of their game and kept things happening for their side in the final third. Although Erling Haaland did get on the scoresheet, he was also guilty of missing a couple of absolute sitters.
Doku was City's best player though and he truly announced his arrival in the Premier League with his performance. He scored the equalizer for City and terrorized the West Ham defenders with his blistering pace, dribbling skills, agility and decisiveness inside the attacking third.
#3 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Liverpool squared off against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux on Saturday. Wolves were surprisingly all over Liverpool once the gates swung open and it looked like Liverpool were going to get pummeled in the first half.
If Wolves had put away their chances clinically, they'd have gone into half-time with a lead much stronger than 1-0. Liverpool though turned the tide in the second half and much of the credit has to go to Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian icon wasn't at his imperious best but when his end product is of the quality that it is, he doesn't need to be at his most dominant to win games for his team. Salah first assisted Cody Gakpo's goal with a lovely cross and then set up Andy Robertson for Liverpool's second of the game.
#2 Pascal Groß (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Brighton & Hove Albion love playing against Manchester United. They just picked up their fourth successive win over the Red Devils in the Premier League this past Saturday. It came at the end of a thoroughly dominant performance from the Seagulls.
Pascal Groß ran the show for Brighton at Old Trafford. He made sure that the leggy Manchester United midfielders did not find much joy in trying to win the ball in midfield. He dictated the tempo of proceedings with his passing and movement and helped the Seagulls get back on track after a bit of a shaky start.
Groß also scored a well-deserved goal after sending Lisandro Martinez for a sandwich with a neat little shimmy at the edge of the box. Old Trafford has been a happy hunting ground for the Germany international who has now scored four Premier League goals there.
#1 Richarlison (Tottenham Hotspur)
If there's a Premier League player right now who is desperately seeking redemption, it has to be Richarlison. Tottenham Hotspur picked up a dramatic 2-1 win over Sheffield United this past Saturday as they found an unlikely hero in Richarlison in the dying embers of the game.
Spurs headed into second-half stoppage time trailing 1-0 and the Blades looked set to pick up three important points. But Richarlison turned things around for Ange Postecoglou's side after coming off the bench in the 8th minute.
The Brazilian forward headed home an Ivan Perisic cross to restore parity in the game before setting up Dejan Kulusevski for Spurs' winner.