Tottenham are powerless to stop Fulham’s Brazilian star, Vincent Kompany gets rewarded for goalkeeper U-turn and Michail Antonio shines for the Hammers… but who sits top in this week’s POWER RANKINGS?
The Premier League action last weekend played second fiddle to the enthralling drama in the FA Cup but that didn’t stop a fair amount of incident all the same.
Luton and Nottingham Forest shared the spoils in their relegation six-pointer at Kenilworth Road on Saturday, while Burnley grabbed an impressive victory over a struggling Brentford side.
The big shock of the weekend, though, came at Craven Cottage where Ange Postecoglou‘s men put in a dismal performance and were turned over by Fulham 3-0.
A week after blitzing Aston Villa, Spurs looked a shadow of themselves in a result that threatened to do serious damage to their top four hopes. Luckily for them, Villa could only draw against West Ham. And that came after the Hammers saw three goals disallowed.
So, which players stood out? Who rises to the top of the POWER RANKINGS and who drops out?
Tottenham’s top-four hopes were dealt a massive blow after the stunning 3-0 loss to Fulham
Luke Berry rescued a point for Luton late on in a relegation six-pointer against Nottingham Forest
10. Arijanet Muric (new entry)
Vincent Kompany finally dropped summer signing James Trafford and reinstated Arijanet Muric to the position he held last term. Unfortunately for Trafford, Muric put in a stellar display.
The 25-year-old made five saves as Burnley claimed a 2-1 victory against the Bees at Turf Moor, including a one-on-one to deny Yoane Wissa. He also spared the blushes of Dara O’Shea with a terrific goalline clearance. It was the side’s first win since December and moved them to within eight points of Forest in 17th.
Surviving the drop still looks a long shot but the weekend result made it two games without a defeat – something Burnley had not managed to do all season.
Kompany tried to downplay the magnitude of the call to drop Trafford to the bench and maintained that he has the luxury of two good players in the position. However, after that performance it would be a stunning decision to drop Muric again.
Arijanet Muric made five saves in his first appearance of the season, which came against Brentford at the weekend
9. Moussa Diaby (new entry)
The former Bayer Leverkusen winger has been overshadowed by another ex-attacker of the German club at Villa Park this season. But on Sunday he showed the quality he still brings to the team.
Trailing 1-0 at the break after a poor first-half, Unai Emery turned to the Frenchman and was rewarded with an assist that earned a much-needed point.
Diaby was successful with only one of two dribbles at the London Stadium and created only one big chance but his contribution was telling.
Add his 24 touches and 90 per cent passing accuracy and you have a textbook substitutes performance that, despite its potency, was somehow outdone by two of his teammates.
Moussa Diaby has lost his place in the starting XI this season but he has made an impact off the bench in recent weeks
8. Matty Cash (new entry)
Like Diaby, Cash was brought on at the start of the second-half of Villa’s 1-1 draw with West Ham. The defender had lost his place in the starting XI after a poor showing in the 4-0 thumping by Spurs a week prior.
Cash’s form has been patchy in recent weeks, as Villa have found it hard to find consistency since the turn of the year.
However, he made an instant impact when taking the field against the Hammers and had a quite stunning block to deny James Ward-Prowse late on.
The Poland international also won two of his three ground duels, a further duel in the air and was successful with two of his three dribbles.
Matty Cash’s (left) arrival in the second half was crucial in Aston Villa’s improvement after the break
7. Morgan Gibbs-White (new entry)
The former Wolves youngster has been a rare ray of light in an otherwise disappointing campaign, which could yet end in relegation for Nottingham Forest.
Like several of his fellow England Under 21 internationals, the 24-year-old took the success of last summer into this season and has been the most important player for the east Midlands outfit.
On Saturday, against Luton, Gibbs-White provided the assist for Chris Wood’s opener that really should have seen Nuno Espirito-Santo’s side double the gap between themselves and the Hatters.
Forest will need the creative midfielder to be at his absolute best in their final nine Premier League outings to avoid the drop.
Morgan Gibbs-White laid on a inch-perfect cross for Chris Woods’ opening goal at Kenilworth Road
6. Bernd Leno (new entry)
Leno has been a consistent performer for Marco Silva’s side this season as they have impressively avoided any relegation fears, while recording eye-catching victories against a few of the big sides.
The Cottagers can now add Spurs to their list of big-six scalps, following wins over Arsenal and Manchester United earlier in the campaign. That is in large part down to the contribution of the German.
Leno made five saves against Postecoglou’s men and ended the afternoon with an xG prevented of 0.86.
He was a commanding presence for the home side and took his tally for clean sheets in the league this term to eight – a figure only bettered by Gunners stopper David Raya with nine.
Only Arsenal stopper David Raya has more clean sheets in the Premier League this season than Bernd Leno
5. Nicolo Zaniolo (new entry)
It’s fair to say that Zaniolo hasn’t pulled up any trees since his loan signing from Turkish side Galatasaray last summer.
But if Villa do manage to qualify for the Champions League next season they’ll look back on his sporadic yet vital involvement. The Italian scored just his second Premier League goal in the draw against the Hammers.
His first came in the 95th minute of a clash against Sheffield United which rescued a point against the Blades in December. Like that effort, this late finish salvaged a point for Emery’s side in a match they were comfortably second best.
The 24-year-old popped up all over the final third when he came on for the last half-an-hour and showed his ability with an accomplished finish past Alphonse Areola.
Both of Nicolo Zaniolo’s Premier League goals have ben late equalisers for Aston Villa
4. David Datro Fofana (new entry)
Forget the miss from about four yards. Fofana’s uptick in form has coincided with Burnley’s pair of encouraging results. Last week, it was a stunning long range drive. This, he executed a deft little chip past Mark Flekken.
The Ivorian also had one key pass and created a big chance during the crucial win at Turf Moor.
It may not be a lot but it was mightily important to Burnley and he could be just that for the side who look destined to make an immediate return to the Championship.
Goals in back-to-back Premier League games or the first time, his record in the division is now four in eight. That makes pretty good reading for a striker playing for the 19th best team in the league.
David Datro Fofana missed an absolute sitter during the first half of Burnley’s win against Brentford
The 22-year-old bounced back in the second period and finished off a great move for the home side
3. Timothy Castagne (new entry)
Castagne and the other members of Fulham’s solid defence should take some of the plaudits for Bernd Leno’s clean sheet tally this season.
The former Leicester City defender has featured in every Premier League game for the Cottagers this season and he was in fine form against Spurs on Saturday.
Castagne shut down Brennan Johnson on Tottenham’s left flank and even managed to register an assist for Sasa Lukic’s clever finish.
The Belgian won six of eight duels, had three interceptions and a 100 per cent dribble success rate (2).
Timothy Castagne won six of his eight duels against Tottenham and had three interceptions
2. Michail Antonio (new entry)
Just when it seems as though West Ham have outgrown Michail Antonio, he pops up with a devastating performance. His intelligence off the ball, speed and power make him a constant pest for defenders.
His athleticism was on full display against Villa as he pulled off an unorthodox diving header from all of a yard above the ground.
On another day the Jamaica international would have walked away with a brace but his second goal was ruled out after the ball brushed his arm on the way in.
Since he returned from a knee injury in February, David Moyes’s men have two wins and two draws from five games.
West Ham have two wins and two draws in the league since Michail Antonio returned from injury
Brazilian striker Rodrigo Muniz took his tally to seven goals in seven Premier League games against Spurs
The 22-year-old failed to score in his first 10 league games but has been a revelation since the turn of the year
1. Rodrigo Muniz (new entry)
From no goals in 10 to seven in his last seven, Muniz is becoming the revelation of the second-half of the Premier League campaign.
The 22-year-old Brazilian turned in his latest starring performance against Spurs. His first goal came after a brilliant control and the second was an example of textbook centre forward opportunism.
Arguably the most impressive part of his display was its efficiency. Two shots on target, 18 touches and an xG of 1.41.
Fulham may finally have found their Aleksandar Mitrovic replacement.
