Was this the weekend Liverpool officially fell out of the title race that so many expected them to dominate after a historic summer transfer spend?
A 3–2 defeat for the Reds at Brentford was their fourth on the bounce in the Premier League, and they’re now seven points adrift of an Arsenal team that are barely surrendering shots on target, let alone conceding goals.
The Gunners were the big winners of Gameweek 9, with other potential contenders faltering, but Sunderland may well be primed for a 2015–16 Leicester City-like run after they moved into the top four following a dramatic late win at Chelsea.
It was a topsy-turvy weekend across the division, and here are FotMob’s 10 highest-rated players from it.
6. Matheus Cunha, Dominik Szoboszlai & Quilindschy Hartman: 8.4
Liverpool were wretched at the Gtech on Saturday night, succumbing to a Brentford side that remain pesky opponents despite the departure of Thomas Frank and high-profile attackers in recent years.
Dominik Szoboszlai was one of very few shining lights, carrying a Reds engine room that faltered in the face of the hosts’ physicality. His efforts in west London went unrewarded, though.
Szoboszlai’s 8.4 FotMob rating matched Matheus Cunha, who scored his first Manchester United goal in some style in their 4–2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. Cunha wasn’t the star of United’s success, but the Brazilian got the ball rolling and has looked at ease in Ruben Amorim’s front three since returning from injury.
On Sunday, Burnley snatched a last-gasp victory at the winless Wolverhampton Wanderers courtesy of Lyle Foster’s cute finish, but their early success in the contest came via the combination of left back Quilindschy Hartman and striker Zian Flemming.
Hartman looks like one of the more underrated signings of the summer, and his impressive start to the season continued with a pair of assists at Molineux.
5. Casemiro, Đorđe Petrović & Guglielmo Vicario: 8.6
There’s another three-way tie for fifth spot, with two goalkeepers earning 8.6 ratings for their performances on Sunday.
Bournemouth’s Đorđe Petrović recorded four saves and prevented 0.81 goals in the Cherries’ comfortable 2–0 victory over Nottingham Forest. The former Chelsea shot-stopper expertly denied Morgan Gibbs-White from range and was reliable when he needed to claim the high ball.
Guglielmo Vicario’s saves were perhaps more spectacular, as he followed up his outstanding Champions League display against Monaco with a first Premier League clean sheet since September 13 at Everton. The Italian’s reflexes came to the fore to prevent a deflected Iliman Ndiaye strike and an acrobatic Beto effort from getting the Toffees back into the game.
Casemiro’s midfield display against Brighton, which featured a heavily deflected strike from range to double United’s lead in the first half, also garnered an 8.6 rating. The Brazilian is proving himself to be an indispensable figure alongside Bruno Fernandes in Amorim’s double pivot.
The midfielder’s influence with the ball was limited, but he ended the game with 12 defensive contributions, including five recoveries.
4. Bruno Guimarães: 8.8
Bruno Guimarães inflicted a fourth successive Premier League defeat upon Fulham at the weekend, as his 90th-minute winner ensured Newcastle United earned three points on home soil.
The Brazilian atoned for his woeful miss on the hour mark by accurately rebounding home William Osula’s saved effort for his third league goal of the season.
The late strike doubtless boosted his rating, but Guimarães’s midfield display was full of grit, ball-progression and guile. He grabbed the contest by the scruff of its neck.
3. Micky van de Ven: 9.1
Set-pieces are so in vogue, and although Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur have done anything but set the world alight this season, they’re built to thrive in the Premier League’s current climate.
Micky van de Ven was the beneficiary of their dead-ball brilliance on Sunday, as Everton were beaten for the first time at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Spurs were 2–0 up at half-time thanks to a Van de Ven brace, with the stand-in captain heading home from two different corner routines. He’d have done well to miss either chance, given how close he was to Jordan Pickford’s goal when he met Rodrigo Bentancur’s inviting nod across the box and then Pedro Porro’s wicked inswinger.
He became the first Tottenham defender in 12 years to score twice in a Premier League game, and a clean sheet capped off an excellent afternoon.
2. Zian Flemming: 9.2
Zian Flemming scored 12 times in the Championship last season, and the Clarets converted his loan into a permanent buy in the summer.
However, the Dutchman had been on the periphery through the first two months of his first Premier League campaign, failing to record a single goal contribution in his opening five appearances of the league season.
Suddenly, Flemming burst into life in Gameweek 9. He scored Burnley‘s first two goals in their 3–2 win at Wolves on Sunday, and his opener was a delightful first-time finish from a pinpoint Hartman pass in behind.
Flemming then outmuscled Santiago Bueno to poke home his second before the hosts rallied before the interval. Foster’s late striker, though, meant his first-half brace came in a winning cause.
1. Bryan Mbeumo: 9.3
FotMob’s standout Premier League performer of Gameweek 9 was Bryan Mbeumo, whose brace against Brighton catapulted him to a lofty 9.3 rating.
Man Utd were mightily successful off turnovers against the Seagulls, and Mbeumo channelled his inner Brentford brilliance at Old Trafford on Sunday.
After scoring inside 70 seconds at Anfield the previous weekend, Mbeumo’s upsurge continued with a pair of superbly taken goals in transition. He first beat Bart Verbruggen at his near post to score United’s third, then, after Brighton had given themselves a lifeline at the start of stoppage time, the inside forward eased any fears of a collapse by clinically beating Brighton’s Dutch goalkeeper with an emphatic finish after latching on to what looked like a misplaced Ayden Heaven pass.
United’s new boys are starting to click, with Mbeumo’s early-season persistence and off-ball running beginning to pay off with frequent goal contributions.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Top 10 Players From Premier League Gameweek 9.