Arsenal avoided injury during their early match at Villa Park by keeping up with Manchester City, who defeated Ipswich Town despite being forced into action. On the south coast, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur triumphed, but Manchester United lost.
But which players were more important to the success of their respective teams? The top 90-minute players from Gameweek 2 of the 2024–25 Premier League are listed here.
8. Morgan Rogers
It was probably Morgan Rogers’ bad luck to be losing when Arsenal defeated Aston Villa.
Ollie Watkins misfired up front, so the home team couldn’t afford to take any chances, but Rogers’s raiding runs meant they were constantly challenging the visitors backline.
The 22-year-old should still be heartened by his performance, which was full of confidence and excitement, even though they were unable to make a breakthrough.
7. Danny Welbeck
Manchester United has always found Brighton to be a formidable opponent, and on Saturday at midday, a former Red Devil delivered his old team a crushing blow.
By meeting Kaoru Mitoma’s low cross, Danny Welbeck established himself on the south coast and scored his 100th goal for the senior team.
Welbeck started things off at the AMEX Stadium with his restless running and poacher tendencies, but the Seagulls took the lead late in the game thanks to Joao Pedro.
6. Erling Haaland
The comparisons with Thanos are obvious at this point. For Erling Haaland, scoring hat-tricks for Manchester City against newly promoted opposition is inevitable.
The Norwegian proved far too much for the Tractor Boys to handle, becoming truly riled and awakened after Kieran McKenna’s outfit had taken the lead.
Haaland rattled in a penalty and grabbed two more goals, with his third a low drive from outside the area.
5. Son Heung-min
Tottenham ripped apart a wounded Everton in north London, with two goals from Son Heung-min leading from the front.
The South Korean was rewarded for his persistent pressure when he tapped in after robbing Jordan Pickford. Later, he was the one who benefited when Micky van de Ven pressed the pedal and scored his second goal at the near post.
Spurs’ victory against Leicester City ended in a 4-0 victory thanks to goals from Cristian Romero and Yves Bissouma, who were far more clinical than in their first game.
4. William Saliba
Arsenal’s defenders are the stuff of nightmares for opposition forwards these days, but some of the Gunners might have had fears heading into Saturday’s crunch clash at Aston Villa.
Unai Emery’s side did the double over Arsenal last season but imposing centre-back William Saliba made sure there would be no three-peat, making some crucial interventions and last-ditch blocks.
Mikel Arteta’s troops are yet to concede a goal this season and it might be a while before they do on the strength of Saliba’s performance alongside Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber.
3. Luis Diaz
It was a momentous day at Anfield as Arne Slot took charge of his first home game for Liverpool. Having been made to work for their first win at Ipswich Town, the Reds had much more control of Sunday’s clash with Brentford.
Ryan Gravenberch was excellent in central midfield but it was the contributions of left winger Luis Diaz that ultimately proved crucial to picking up a second win from two matches.
The Colombian raced on to Diogo Jota’s through-ball and finished to hand Liverpool a 13th-minute lead before turning supplier for Mohamed Salah in the second half.
2. Cole Palmer
In the crushing of Wolves, Cole Palmer turned in his first absurd performance of the year, appearing to be a class above everyone who ventured close to him.
The England international frequently found himself in vast amounts of space as he made quick twists to evade defenders. Following his stunning lob to put Chelsea ahead twice, he picked up three more assists with oddly similar deliveries that Wolves were unable to decipher.
If the opposition is as disorganized as Gary O’Neil’s team, the Blues should be entertaining to watch, especially with Palmer expected to keep getting better under Enzo Maresca.
1. Noni Madueke
Noni Madueke should slag off the town Chelsea visit wherever they go for away days, given how he subsequently performed in the 6-2 drubbing of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He was booed at Molineux for posting “Everything about this place is s***” on Instagram before the match but didn’t let it affect his performance, constantly getting in behind on the right wing and finishing from Palmer’s assists.
The former Tottenham Hotspur youth product bagged a hat-trick in 14 minutes of second-half action, helping the Blues completely blow away the hosts after a frantic opening 45 minutes had ended 2-2.
