Chelsea’s rough start to the Premier League season continued with a disappointing 3-1 loss to Liverpool. The defending champions have looked like a shadow of the team that dominated England’s top flight a year ago. Instead, it has been Manchester City and Arsenal that have come on strong as legitimate title contenders this year with both teams coming off lopsided wins. Here is a look at the top individual fantasy performances from this past weekend in the Premier League.
GK: Petr Cech, Arsenal
Southampton’s Maarten Stekelenburg and Watford’s Heurelho Gomes both delivered quality performances in clean sheet victories but it was Cech that produced the best fantasy stat line for Premier League goalkeepers with three saves in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Swansea City. Cech has settled in following a rocky start for the Gunners and they will need him to continue to shine in order to contend for a Premier League title this season. Honorable Mention: Maarten Stekelenburg, Southampton; Heurelho Gomes, Watford
D: Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal
Koscielny delivered an outstanding performance for the Gunners as he scored a goal and did an excellent job for Arsenal on the back end in the 3-0 win over Swansea City. Koscielny can’t be relied on for offensive numbers but he has been solid at the defensive end and showed on Saturday his ability to deliver when he gets the chance at the offensive end of the pitch as well. Honorable Mention: Alberto Moreno, Liverpool; Seamus Coleman, Everton
M: Arouna Kone, Everton
Everton produced the most lopsided win of the weekend in a 6-2 victory over Sunderland and it was Kone who played a starring role in their midfield. He scored three goals and added an assist for a four-point game, which was quite the impressive outburst. Kone actually doubled his production from so far this season as he now has eight points in 11 games. Everton has to be hoping to see more of the same from him over this next stretch.
M: Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City
Mahrez led the charge for Leicester in their comeback win over West Brom as he scored twice to erase a 1-0 deficit with four total shots in the victory. Mahrez is up to seven goals and five assists in 10 games this season and his 32 shots are a reminder of his attacking mentality as a key figure in the Leicester midfield.
M: Yaya Toure, Manchester City
Toure was all over the pitch for City in its 2-1 win over Norwich City as he fired five shots and then scored on the deciding penalty kick in the 89th minute. That helped Manchester City secure the 2-1 win. There isn’t a lot that has gone according to plan for Manchester City this season but they continue to find ways to win games and Toure was excellent this past weekend. Honorable Mention: Mesut Ozil, Arsenal; Gerard Deulofeu, Everton
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F: Odion Ighalo, Watford
Ighalo produced the top fantasy stat line for Premier League forwards this past weekend as he scored twice with four shots on target in Watford’s 2-0 win over West Ham United. Ighalo is up to seven goals in 11 games for Watford this season and his ability to do a little bit of everything including most importantly finding the back of the net has played an integral role in Watford’s success this season.
F: Phillippe Coutinho, Liverpool
Coutinho added to the growing list of troubles that Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side have had to deal with as he scored twice including the game-winning goal in Liverpool’s 3-1 win. Another loss brought about more rumors of change for Chelsea. As for Coutinho, he has been a bright spot as an attacking player for the Reds early on and they need him to continue to find of the back of the net in order to be a successful club this season. Honorable Mention: Romelu Lukaku, Everton; Jamie Vardy, Leicester; Graziano Pelle, Southampton
