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Ranking All 20 Premier League Teams’ Performances on Matchday 8

There were more obviously poor performances than overriding positives from a stormy weekend of action.
Grey Whitebloom|
There was a real contrast of emotions across the Premier League weekend.
There was a real contrast of emotions across the Premier League weekend. | Dan Istitene/Getty Images (Dalot), Liverpool FC/Getty Images (Isak), Julian Finney/Getty Images (Gabriel)

The Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano used to say: “A game without a goal is like a day without sunshine.” There was no sun spotted on English shores as Storm Boelo washed across the nation, coating every match in a wall of rain powered by an unrelenting wind. But, fortunately for those of a Di Stéfano persuasion, there was only one 0–0 draw.

Some managed to tiptoe between the raindrops while others were caught in the deluge on a Premier League weekend which could have lasting ramifications.

The illusions of a pre-appeal title race took a twist on Saturday before Manchester United sunk to a new nadir 24 hours later. Liverpool’s signings actually started clicking and Tottenham Hotspur even managed to win a game at Stamford Bridge.

Ranking Criteria

  • Performance: This is the crux of the exercise: How well did each team play when considering the flow of a game divorced from the final score. If it was simply a judgement of scoreboard statistics you may as well go straight to the table.
  • Expectations: Not all results are equal. Teams that upset the odds with their display are rewarded more favorably.
  • Venue: As the behind-closed-doors season of 2020–21 proved, playing in front of your home fans is a huge advantage, so any away results are given a little extra bonus.

20. Man Utd (3–0 Loss vs. Bournemouth)

Mason Mount looking sad.
It didn’t go Mason Mount’s way. | James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

While Michael Carrick’s precarious future could understandably distract from the machinations on the pitch, it should not be overlooked how dreadful Manchester United were, once again.

Any whisper of threat which the hosts were able to muster came long after the result had been decided, with United—shorn of their divisive creative lynchpin Bruno Fernandes—resolutely devoid of any attacking spark. Bournemouth, by contrast, could afford to miss half of the Opta-defined “big chances” they created and still romp to a comfortable 3–0 win.

19. Chelsea (1–0 Loss vs. Tottenham)

Xabi Alonso gestures on the touchline.
Xabi Alonso oversaw Chelsea’s first home defeat to Tottenham since 2018. | Glyn KIRK/AFP/Getty Images

This was not a high spec contest of quality action. At times, it was reminiscent of two bald men fighting over a comb. Neither team had much use for the ball, which scarcely looked like finding the back of the net until Chelsea’s stand-in goalkeeper Mike Penders handed Tottenham the lead. Cole Palmer capped off a night of infamy with two entirely needless yellow cards.

A steely eyed Xabi Alonso made it abundantly clear what he thought of the performance by repeating the insistence that Chelsea “can do better” three times in a matter of seconds.

18. Coventry (1–0 Loss vs. Fulham)

Frank Lampard complaining.
Coventry are desperately short of goals. | Mike Egerton/PA Images/Getty Images

Fulham hardly tore Coventry apart but Frank Lampard’s hosts were typically toothless once again. The Premier League’s lowest scorers scarcely looked like adding to their meager tally with just two shots on target. The most trouble Coventry caused Fulham’s Bernd Leno was when Ephron Mason-Clark inadvertently kicked the goalkeeper in the groin.

17. Crystal Palace (2–0 Loss vs. Newcastle)

Eddie Nketiah looking shocked.
Promising results and performances are hard to come by for Crystal Palace. | Sebastian Frej/Getty Images

Crystal Palace had denied Newcastle a single shot on target across the opening 45 minutes. Yet, they were trailing within 120 seconds of the restart.

Pierre Sage’s team talk had a disastrous effect and the second half crumpling inspired boos from a restless Selhurst Park. Whether the beaten French boss will be around to deliver another address to his players is very much up in the air.

16. Everton (2–0 Loss vs. Arsenal)

Thierno Barry looking sheepish.
Thierno Barry had a thankless task at the Emirates. | Julian Finney/Getty Images

The only people who took more of a battering at the Emirates on Saturday than Everton’s players were the luckless Arsenal fans exposed to the torrential downpour in the front row.

The Toffees scarcely had a sniff, with their efforts punctured by an early concession. After tumbling 1–0 down, Everton bizarrely opted to press Arsenal—perhaps Bruno Fernandes had been on the phone—which only played into the hands of their hosts.

15. Ipswich (1–1 Draw vs. Nottingham Forest)

Ipswich spent the bulk of the contest shunted firmly onto the back foot. Nottingham Forest leaped upon the hosts’ sloppy buildup play in the first half and calmly dealt with the direct game Ipswich reverted to in the second 45 minutes.

Neither approach worked yet the Tractor Boys still emerged with an even share of the spoils. As Forest’s Oliver Glasner shrugged: “It is football.”

14. Brentford (1–1 Draw vs. Hull)

Brentford and Hull battling.
Brentford had a battle on their hands on Sunday. | Mike Egerton/PA Images/Getty Images

For a Brentford side whose only defeat of the season came against Liverpool after being reduced to 10 men, Sunday’s stalemate away to newly promoted opposition inspired an understandably frustrating reaction.

“We have to be better,” manager Keith Andrews and wingback Michael Kayode both stressed, with some justification.

13. Leeds (0–0 Draw vs. Sunderland)

Daniel Farke getting blown about.
The wind caused havoc at the Stadium of Light. | Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

The conditions got the better of both teams at the Stadium of Light. The storm sweeping across the U.K. undoubtedly played a major factor in the technical flaws on display, with each side combining to complete just 73% of their passes (the Premier League average is above 82%).

As Leeds goalkeeper James Trafford so eloquently put it: “The wind was obviously extremely windy.”

12. Sunderland (0–0 vs. Leeds)

A bit of mess.
It was all a bit messy in Sunderland. | ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP/Getty Images

Sunderland’s Premier League winless streak may have extended to six games on Sunday, but Régis Le Bris was enthused by the performance behind a goalless draw. As he pointed out after watching a contest defined by more grit than grace, “We were Sunderland today.”

11. Man City (2–1 Loss vs. Aston Villa)

Enzo Maresca had been able to rely upon two certainties during his record-breaking start to the Premier League season: Erling Haaland’s goals and Gianluigi Donnarumma’s saves. His striker continued to deliver but the Italian goalkeeper let Nicolas Jackson’s daisy-cutter scuttle under his huge frame.

City were caught cold by Villa’s tactical setup and deservedly trailed 1–0 after six minutes. The visitors grew into the contest, taking advantage of that questionably funded wealth of playing talent, but the ball would not fall their way for once. “It was a good game, good performance,” Maresca insisted, “but unfortunately we lost.”

10. Hull (1–1 Draw vs. Brentford)

In a bitty game which will test the creativity of highlights package editors everywhere, Hull gave as good as they got. Both sides amassed 1.8 xG and two big chances, with one spurned apiece. The Tigers boss Sergej Jakirović was not alone in hailing a draw as “a fair result.”

9. Brighton (2–0 Loss vs. Liverpool)

Fabian Hürzeler not looking impressed.
Fabian Hürzeler was not impressed. | Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Fabian Hürzeler drilled to the heart of Sunday’s clash at Anfield. “The difference was just that they scored and we didn’t.”

Brighton went close to breaking the deadlock through Yasin Ayari before Pascal Groß inadvertently picked out the back of his own net while trying to block Florian Wirtz’s shot. Alexander Isak’s second two minutes later whisked the contest away from Brighton, who would still out-shoot and out-run their illustrious hosts on a day of frustration.

“It was a missed opportunity for us,” Hürzeler huffed.

8. Fulham (1–0 Win vs. Coventry)

It felt somewhat incongruous that a game of such little quality should be decided by a moment of genuine brilliance. Fulham were fortunate that their winger Oscar Bobb delivered the solitary moment of magic, tiptoeing into the penalty area before curling the game’s only goal off the inside of the post. No wonder Álvaro Arbeloa described himself repeatedly as “so happy.”

7. Nottingham Forest (1–1 Draw vs. Ipswich)

It’s becoming a painfully familiar story for Nottingham Forest. Missed chances, VAR controversy and dropped points.

Oliver Glasner has not yet been beaten down by the fickle finishing fates. “You have these periods in sport and life,” the Forest boss mused. “When I see the way we play, the spirit and the chances, the only way now is to stay patient and not make the problem bigger.”

6. Newcastle (2–0 Win vs. Crystal Palace)

After a lopsided first half, Newcastle swung the momentum of a contest threatening to get away from them with two goals in 11 minutes.

In a battle between two sides gripped by underwhelming runs of form, the first blow was always likely to be decisive. “If we are all together,” Matthias Jaissle surmised, “this journey can be successful.” If Newcastle can continue to face teams as sapped of confidence as Crystal Palace, that will also help their success.

5. Aston Villa (2–1 Win vs. Man City)

Everything came together for Unai Emery at a half-built Villa Park. Nicolas Jackson’s tireless sprinting was rewarded with two crisp goals, Matty Cash managed to muzzle the jinking of Jérémy Doku and, perhaps most impressively of all, Zion Suzuki was imperious between the posts.

Putting Erling Haaland’s obligatory goal to one side, Villa’s goalkeeper could not be beaten, racking up an impressive six saves while also making 12 line-breaking passes—more than any other Villa player on the pitch.

4. Liverpool (2–0 Win vs. Brighton)

Brighton had seemed impregnable heading to Anfield. Riding high on a run of four successive Premier League wins by a combined score of 15–0, the division’s form team were considered favorites against Liverpool in the eyes of some.

However, Andoni Iraola had spotted the thermal exhaust port in the Death Star and aimed his quickest players straight at the ventilation shaft. As Bradley Barcola repeatedly proved, Liverpool’s frontline had the beating of Brighton’s pedestrian rearguard for pace. Once an early lead was established, Iraola was content to let his team cede possession and pick the visitors off in transition.

Unsurprisingly, Liverpool’s beaming head coach smiled: “I am liking a lot of things I am seeing on the pitch.”

3. Tottenham (2–0 Win vs. Chelsea)

This will be a victory Tottenham fans can justifiably cherish. After one win at Stamford Bridge since 1990, any triumph at the home of their fierce rivals, however it may come, should be lauded.

As is so often the case with Roberto De Zerbi’s teams, Tottenham were mightily impressive in the first two-thirds of the pitch. Yet, while they have been let down by their finishing in other games, Spurs could count upon Mike Penders punching the ball into Chelsea’s goal on Saturday.

Mathys Tel’s slaloming strike put the seal on a night which ended with Spurs fans belting out “olé!”

2. Bournemouth (3–0 Win vs. Man Utd)

For many, Bournemouth’s performance will get sucked into the Manchester United vortex along with Michael Carrick. In truth, Marco Rose’s side didn’t even need to be that impressive to claim a third 3–0 win at Old Trafford in less than three years, gratefully gobbling up the glut of errors their obliging hosts were all too eager to give up.

1. Arsenal (2–0 Win vs. Everton)

This was a win for Ezri Konsa, who scored his first goal for the club; set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, who could celebrate the team’s maiden goal from a corner of the season; and Andrea Berta, who built a roster which allowed Mikel Arteta to rotate after the midweek excursion to Bayern Munich while still naming a lineup that completely dominated Everton.

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Grey Whitebloom
GREY WHITEBLOOM

Grey Whitebloom is an Associate Editor for SI FC. He has more than half a decade of experience in sports media across all its various guises, from the fast-paced demands of news articles and match reports to in-depth research required for features. Whitebloom graduated with a First Class Honours from University College London and found himself named on the Dean’s List—which, despite his initial fears, was a form of praise rather than a punishment. He specialises in the Premier League and Champions League, while also boasting an extensive track record of La Liga coverage.

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