Premier League Top Five, Round 13: Krul cruel on Everton
Everton's terrible start to the season continued as they were defeated 2-0 at home by Norwich, who relied on a solid performance from Krul to earn their clean sheet. The Dutchman made seven saves in total to frustrate the Toffees, whose profligacy was evident on the day. His best two stops came via strikes from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Cenk Tosun, even if none of the seven were particularly majestic, but more ones you would expect him to make. His command of the area was impressive as he won two duels, two aerial duels, and made 14 interceptions on crosses into the box.
In Jose Mourinho's first game in charge of Spurs, they overcame West Ham 3-2 at the London Stadium, with the Hammers grabbing two consolation goals after going 3-0 down by 50 minutes in. Son was once again Tottenham's brightest player, scoring the opening goal with a lashed finish into the bottom right corner before picking out a perfect, low cross to the back post for Lucas Moura to slide home. As usual, he worked his socks off, winning the majority of his duels as well as making 10 ball recoveries.
Kovacic may have been on the losing side for Chelsea in their away loss to Manchester City, but he still impressed in midfield with his control over possession. He had 111 touches during the game which is more than anyone else in this round of Premier League fixtures, as well as completing 88 out of 93 attempted passes for a completion rate of 95%. He also assisted the opening goal of the game for N'Golo Kante with a gorgeous, lofted pass in behind the City defence. Defensively, he won 12 out of 16 duels and made five ball recoveries.
In the last Premier League fixture of the weekend, Hourihane was man of the match as Aston Villa defeated Newcastle 2-0. Just after the half-hour mark, he opened the scoring after a lovely set-piece routine involving a Jack Grealish lay-off, to send a cracking left-footed curler into the bottom left corner. He would then assist the second and final goal of the game with a perfect cross into the centre of the box for Anwar El Ghazi to prod home from close range. This was one of 10 successful crosses he sent into the area.
Grealish may have earned that assist for the opening goal for Hourihane from the free-kick, but his best work arguably came elsewhere. He sent 41 passes into the final third for Villa, which was more than anyone else this Premier League weekend, as well as sending eight deliveries into the Newcastle box. He won the majority of his duels, too, and made seven ball recoveries to stop the visitors from gaining any momentum.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
This season, Ben Chilwell (8.3) has emerged as one of the best full-backs in the league, providing width down the left for Leicester with his effortless running while also providing himself dependable at the back. No assists for him this week, but he probably should have had at least one, as he completed seven crosses into the box and sent 17 passes into the final third. Further back, he won 4 out of 5 duels and 100% of his tackles, whilst ensuring it was difficult for Brighton to build momentum by making 10 ball recoveries.
ROUND TO FORGET
If not for a late fightback from Manchester United, Sheffield United goalkeeper Simon Moore (4.7) might not have made it in here, but conceding three goals within seven minutes isn't great. They were from just five shots on target from the Red Devils, too.