Manchester City and Liverpool have 23 points after nine games of the 2018-19 Premier League season, while Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham trail them by just two points following another incident-filled weekend in England’s top flight. Let’s take a look at which players made our Best XI from the last three days…
GK: Jordan Pickford, Everton – seven points
Jordan Pickford has recovered from a slow start to the season to pick up 14 points in two of his last three games. He earned another seven in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace – a match in which he also saved a penalty.
But in the first month of the season, five players have been on fire in a surprising manner, hitting the net more than expected. Let’s see who they are!
Franck Kessie (Atalanta) – 4 goals
Serie A fans were pretty excited about the arrival of Franck Kessie in the Italian top flight. After just four games, the 19-year-old Ivory Coast midfielder has already proven his (super) talent. Kessie scored two goals in his Serie A debut for Atalanta and has already hit the net four times this season (and once in the Coppa Italia). Perfect start, definitely for a new kid on the block who mainly plays as a defensive midfielder.
Joel Pohjanpalo (Bayer Leverkusen) – 4 goals
It’s been a crazy season for 22-year-old Joel Pohjanpalo. The Finland international rejoined Leverkusen this summer after a loan spell at Dusseldorf. He’s received just 30 minutes in two Bundesliga appearances, but scored four goals in games against Borussia Monchengladbach and Hamburg. Pohjanpalo hit a hattrick for Leverkusen against Hamburg, including two goals in extra time to secure a 3-1 win.
Etienne Capoue (Watford) – 4 goals
In 2013 Etienne Capoue joined Tottenham from Toulouse for €11 million. However, the central midfielder was unable to live up to the high expectations at White Heart Lane. Last season, the 28-year-old scored zero goals in 33 appearances for Watford but during the new campaign Capoue has already hit the net four times. Among those are goals against Chelsea and Manchester United.
Fabinho (Monaco) – 3 goals
Monaco have launched a serious challenge at Paris Saint-Germain this Ligue 1 season. They have assembled a talented team, among them Fabinho, for who Monaco paid just €6 million to Rio Ave in 2015. The defensive midfielder has scored three goals in four league games this season, including two against Lille and PSG. The Brazilian 22-year-old also hit the net twice in the Champions League qualifiers against Villarreal.
Leroy Fer (Swansea) – 3 goals
Swansea needed just 11 appearances from Leroy Fer last season in order to decide to make his loan spell for QPR permanent last summer. The Dutch midfielder has a history for scoring a couple of goals every season, but nobody expected the 26-year-old to score three goals in his first five appearances this season. Including one on the road against Leicester and one at home in an encounter with Chelsea.
