The second international break of the season has arrived and for some teams in the Premier League it’s a welcome distraction, for others it’s come at the wrong time.
Arsenal are in phenomenal form and could have done without putting their momentum on pause but despite Manchester United’s miraculous fightback against Newcastle, the break has probably come at the right time for Jose Mourinho.
So, outside of the those sides who has performed better than others this past Gameweek?
Keeping tabs on all 20 Premier League teams is the Sport360 Stock Exchange (360SE), our season-long measurement for top flight sides as we track each club throughout the campaign and take into account their results to assign positions.
We initially used reputation and squad worth to determine the starting price but from Gameweek 2 onward, we’ve examine their output to create a new value.
The total points gained for the season are used as a tiebreaker but sides which have produced big wins against strong opposition get a big boost and vice versa.
Without further ado, here’s the rankings after GW8.
1. Manchester City: 540 / 540 / +4
Total for 2018/19: +44
It was an interesting performance from City at Anfield. Pep Guardiola was far less offensively orientated than in the corresponding fixture last season as they opted for control rather than chaos. They did well in shutting off the passing lanes for Liverpool, their full-backs far less attack-minded while Bernardo Silva and Fernandinho sat in front of the back four. It would have been a perfect away performance when Riyad Mahrez was handed the opportunity to score from the penalty spot. His spooned strike grazed the top of the away end, however.
2. Liverpool: 525 / 527 / +2
Total for 2018/19: +52
It was a case of shape and organisation rather than frenzied forward play from Liverpool as they welcomed title rivals Manchester City to Anfield. It was much more assured display than the 4-3 win of last term, although they were incredibly fortunate at the end as Mahrez ballooned said spot-kick over the bar after Virgil van Dijk gave away the penalty. Jurgen Klopp, though, will be alarmed by the blunt nature of his forward three so far this term, even if Mohamed Salah looked a little more vibrant than he has done in recent fixtures.
3. Chelsea: 462 / 467 / +5
Total for 2018/19: +37
Chelsea are playing football of the highest quality at the moment and they absolutely dominated Southampton en-route to a comfortable 3-0 win. They sit on 20 points alongside Liverpool and Manchester City and have made clear their title credentials under Maurizio Sarri. The third goal was a marker of their Sarri-ball trait, a 31-pass move which was finished delightfully by Alvaro Morata. Crisp and sharp football has hallmarked Chelsea so far this term. Eden Hazard was in fine form again and scored while Ross Barkley was instrumental against Saints in scoring his first goal for the club. Their stock receives yet another boost and their initial value was evidently lower than it should have been.
4. Arsenal: 443 / 453 / +10
Total for 2018/19: +23
Fulham have been woeful from a defensive standpoint all season so it was really not all surprising Arsenal hammered them. Still, the manner of their victory was deeply impressive. Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang head up Unai Emery’s new entertaining era with the two developing an electric partnership on the pitch. The Frenchman scored twice, the second an excellent finish while Aubameyang climbed off the bench to plunder a double of his own and grab an assist. A real taster of what Emery teams can produce in attack arrived in the form of Aaron Ramsey’s goal, though, as the Welshman finished off a super slick team move. They are serious contenders for the top four this season that’s for sure and have consolidated that spot in our Stock Exchange.
Alexandre Lacazette and the Arsenal players celebrate
5. Tottenham Hotspur: 438 / 440 / +2
Total for 2018/19: +20
Eric Dier pounced on poor Cardiff defending from a short corner to grab his first Spurs goal in 546 days, yet despite scoring in the eighth minute against the league’s bottom side, the home side failed to extend their advantage. The high press which has become a Mauricio Pochettino signature wasn’t scripted into the game with Spurs looking a little lethargic and leggy. Three points and a clean sheet means they come away with a slight points increase.
6. Manchester United: 435 / 440 / +5
Total for 2018/19: -30
Jose Mourinho entered the weekend a dead man walking then appeared buried when Newcastle raced into a 2-0 half-time lead at Old Trafford. Yet, the Portuguese was able to summon spirit of old and inspire an astonishing 3-2 win. Eric Bailly produced one of the worst defensive displays in recent memory before being hauled off inside 20 minutes with his replacement Juan Mata leading the fightback with a delightful free-kick. A well-worked Anthony Martial finish and an Alexis Sanchez header rescued United as Mourinho and the Red Devils rose from the dead. Still, within the context of our Stock Exchange, it’s a slight increase even if in reality the emotional currency is worth plenty more.
7. Everton: 363 / 365 / +2
Total for 2018/19: -5
Two pieces of saucy attacking play inspired Everton’s win at Leicester. The first was winger Bernard’s delicious footwork to out-fox the Foxes defenders before clipping the ball in for Richarlison to head home the opener. The second will be in contention for goal of the season come May. Gylfi Sigurdsson’s devastating dipping long-range strike was stunning in its own right, add in his turn to open up the space for his strike and you’ve got yourself a tremendous winner. Back-to-back wins for Everton and fans are now beginning to invest in the philosophy of boss Marco Silva.
8. Leicester City: 353 / 353 / 0
Total for 2018/19: +3
Claude Puel will be encouraged by the second-half performance up until Wes Morgan was sent-off for a second yellow. The Leicester defender was walking a tightrope and inevitably slipped after being tormented by Bernard and Richarlison. It’s twice in three games he has been sent off for persistent fouling, a sign the 34-year-old is floundering in the Premier League. Full-back Ricardo Pereira’s first goal since signing from Porto in the summer was a bright spot even if ultimately counted for nothing.
9. West Ham: 355 / 350 / -5
Total for 2018/19: -10
Frustration will be the emotion emitted from West Ham after they missed several clear-cut chances to deserve more than a 1-0 defeat to Brighton. The home side rode their luck on their way to victory and Manuel Pellegrini will rue the profligacy in front of goal after ending a great run of form in poor fashion. There is plenty of quality and promise in the side, they just need to match that with a stronger mental fortitude.
10. Wolves: 336 / 340 / +4
Total for 2018/19: +40
It’s been a good weekend for goalscoring full-backs with Matt Doherty furthering his reputation as one of the league’s most talented right-sided defenders with Wolves’ winner at Crystal Palace. Bizarrely, Doherty isn’t in Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neil’s immediate plans because he’s apparently not enterprising enough. The 26-year-old beat out distinguished contenders like Eden Hazard to be crowned September’s PFA Player of the Month so perhaps the Ireland boss will have a rethink. The three points moved Wolves into ninth spot and things couldn’t be going better for Nuno Espirito Santo who became the first manager to name the same starting XI for the first eight games of the season.
11. Bournemouth: 307 / 322 / +15
Total for 2018/19: +52
Both Bournemouth and Watford had made their best ever English top-flight starts ahead of the meeting at Vicarage Road. Only one emerged with the confidence to extend that good run, though. The Cherries are fast earning a reputation as one of the best counter-attacking outfits in the Premier League. They are ruthlessly rapid in the transition, breaking forward in numbers and opening gaps through players so adept in one v one situations. A 4-0 win away from home was the most eye-catching result of the weekend and warrants their massive stock boost. Interestingly, they’ve won six penalties in eight games so far this season, an indication of their quality in the box.
Eddie Howe
12. Crystal Palace: 294 / 294 / 0
Total for 2018/19: +4
Palace were apparently working on opening up more opportunities for forward Jordan Ayew to try and take some of the pressure away from Wilfried Zaha. That plan was to no avail against Wolves, though. They are yet to score at home this season, a frightening statistic, and despite dominating the early phases, their opening period of pressure amounted to nothing. There is a clear lack of goal threat and with Zaha smothered up by Wolves, their problems in attack will likely remain the narrative for Palace throughout the season.
13. Burnley: 285 / 287 / +2
Total for 2018/19: -3
Sean Dyche has celebrated his defensive talent yet this season Burnley have been wide open on too many occasions. Huddersfield arguably should have had all three points at Turf Moor and were it not for James Tarkowski’s desperate interventions in key areas, that would have been the case. They can take solace in a seventh point from their last nine available, though after Sam Vokes’ fourth headed goal from his last five had saw them take the lead.
14. Watford: 294 / 286 / -8
Total for 2018/19: +36
There is the mitigating circumstance of Christian Kabasele’s foolish first-half sending off for two clear yellow card offences, but boss Javi Gracia will be alarmed at how easily his side was pulled apart by Bournemouth. Granted, they were only 1-0 down before the defender’s dismissal and looked on top before conceding that opening goal. However, Kabasele giving away the penalty and being red carded in the process killed off any hope of a revival. It’s an unfortunate blow for one of this season’s smash hits.
15. Newcastle United: 285 / 285 / 0
Total for 2018/19: -5
The 2-0 first-half lead at Old Trafford was largely unpredictable, however, their collapse in the second-half was entirely predictable. Newcastle should have come away from United with at least a point following a brilliant first-half display as they really went for the jugular. But they then proceeded to slash their own opportunity after the break, retreating into their shell and allowing United’s swell of momentum to take over. A touch more quality and Rafa Benitez’s struggling side would have had their first win on the board.
16. Brighton: 270 / 280 / +10
Total for 2018/19: +30
Glenn Murray is one of the most limited strikers the Premier League has to offer, but five goals so far this season means the 35-year-old joins Harry Kane as the joint highest-scoring Englishman so far this season. A close-range finish from the veteran forward secured Brighton a vital three points at home to resurgent West Ham. Chris Hughton’s men have only managed two wins this season but both have come against opposition they were widely expected to be beaten by – Manchester United and now West Ham, helping to give them a huge stock boost on their season’s total.
Glenn Murray
17. Fulham: 289 / 280 / -9
Total for 2018/19: -10
Fulham were swept up by Arsenal’s twin tornado as Lacazette and Aubameyang scored two apiece in their 5-1 loss. They have some talent from an attacking sense with Andre Schurrle clipping in a delightful equaliser but defensively they are all over the place. Slavisa Jokanovic’s men are the only team this season to be without a clean sheet and he has vast problems to solve, particularly in the full-back areas where they were punished repeatedly for alarming naivety in venturing forward without getting back. Time is fast running out for the manager and they cannot continue in this fashion.
18. Southampton: 270 / 265 / -5
Total for 2018/19: -5
Against sides in the top six, Southampton have to show a bit of bravery and they just lacked invention and tenacity when it mattered most. It could have been a more productive afternoon had Danny Ings not missed a horrible sitter when the scoreline was at 0-0. They only won four games at home last season and that simply has to improve this term if they’re going to stave off relegation.
19. Huddersfield Town: 214 / 218 / +4
Total for 2018/19: -2
A first goal from open play this season but still no win. Huddersfield worked hard for their precious point at Burnley and David Wagner remains steadfast in his belief victories will arrive. They showed much more attacking endeavour and performances akin to that will see them justify Wagner’s confidence. Still, the draw means it’s just one win in their last 18 Premier League games with just seven goals now scored. They are still unmoved in the Stock Exchange and will likely retain 19th spot for the weeks to come.
20. Cardiff City: 198 / 198 / 0
Total for 2018/19: -2
Cardiff shot from the kick-off to indicate their struggles in front of goal this season and that kind of summed up their afternoon at Tottenham. Neil Warnock talked of concentration being the key to their survival and eight minutes in, slack defending saw Dier prosper. The Cardiff boss took umbrage with Joe Ralls’ straight red card after he deliberately chopped down Lucas Moura with a cynical and rash challenge. They were still in the game at that stage and perhaps could have grabbed what would have ultimately been an undeserved point had they kept onto their full quote of players.
