- 40 Comments

Both Troy Deeney’s team of the week and the Premier League are back.


Rayan Ait-Nouri (Manchester City): Ait-Nouri did a fantastic job of handling the game against his former club. He was strong on the defensive end and offered a lot more. They have been able to find the left-back solution, which they have been trying to do for a while.
William Saliba (Arsenal): Saliba put together a strong display for Manchester United. Saliba, the star of that defense, won with a 1-0 victory despite it being obvious United was the better team. He showed his class once more without a single glib. If Arsenal want to keep him, they must win something this season.

Anderson, Elliot Anderson, (Nottingham Forest), and Ampadu are next. He joins the team because of that alone. He has gotten a second chance since joining the World Cup squad for England. We speculated that Forest’s performance last year might have been a little off, but he was the driving force behind Brentford. Chris Wood played the pass, but he perfectly balanced it, and many players would have rushed and tried to kick the ball away.

Semenyo (Bournemouth): Semenyo set the ideal example for a young player or any player in general when something bad or difficult happens to you. He explained what had happened to the referee, but as time went on, he grew taller, which was a real indication of the man. He was a winner for how he handled it, despite not being on the winning team.

Players of the week at Opta
Richarlison
Richarlison struggled with injury last season, missing out on a lot of games. Although his off-the-field time was particularly impressive on his debut against Burnley, when he scored a superb bicycle kick, one of two goals he scored on Saturday, was what made him so successful in 2025-26.
The Brazilian scored two Premier League goals against former club Everton in February 2024, and it marked his first since Harry Kane, who scored 18 Premier League goals in the same season. Spurs supporters would be very happy to hear Richarlison in 2025-26. With only eight more doubles left…
Tijjani Reijnders
Tijjani Reijnders made an incredibly impressive debut for Manchester City, becoming the first player to score and assist in a Premier League game since Sergio Aguero in August 2011. It’s surprising that he only managed to do that twice in 179 top-flight appearances during his career.
Only Nico Gonzalez completed more successful final third passes than the Dutchman, while only Erling Haaland recorded more shots and touches than Reijnders (3 shots, 5 touches in box). No City player has ever scored or assisted in either of their first two games before, making a standout debut.
Virgil van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk, the reigning champion, was the standout player for Liverpool when they started the season with a win over Bournemouth, who scored four goals in the process.
Van Dijk posted his best totals for both clearances (17) and headed clearances (16), and his best aerial duels won (12). In his 235th Premier League appearance for the club, Van Dijk recorded his best totals. Since Jan Vertonghen in December 2016, he was the first Liverpool player to record all those totals in a single Premier League game.
related subjects
- Premier League
- Football
Source: BBC
Leave a Reply