Standout performers from the Premier League this season 2.0
Using PFF FC grades and metrics, Grading Lead Luke McCabe highlights five standout performers from the Premier League so far this season, this time it’s Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham and Ipswich. To read more about how we grade players, click here.
Chelsea - Cole Palmer
Shooting Grade: 99.4
Passing Grade: 85.6
Dribbling Grade: 90.4
Cross Grade: 72.7
Set Piece Shooting: 82.1
33 Chances Created
11 Defensive line-breaking passes
Palmer’s development has been incredibly fast, from making promising cameos at Manchester City to becoming one of England’s best players in just over a year since his move to Chelsea. The £42.5 million transfer fee now looks like a bargain and is far and away the best bit of business they’ve done since the Boehly era began at Stamford Bridge. His performances this season can be a little overshadowed by the four-goal game he had against Brighton, considering to this point in the season he’s only scored 8 goals, but he’s also put in standout contributions in several games, including against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle.
Palmer's grading profile is one of the best in the league. He is the only Premier League player with two elite 90+ grades. His 99.4 shooting grade is the best among all players and he also has the best shooting performance in a game this season for that masterpiece against Brighton, graded at 95.7. He also leads the league with the best dribbling grade and holds the fourth-best passing grade for an attacking midfielder. He’s created the 2nd most chances in the league and has the 4th most completed defensive line-breaking passes.
Crystal Palace - Maxence Lacroix
Clearance Grade: 84.6
Aerial Duels Grade: 77.9
50/50 Grade: 81.6
Tackling Grade: 78.3
Defending Dribbles: 73.3
It’s been a disappointing season for Crystal Palace so far, currently sitting 16th with only 2 wins in 14 games. Not everything looks as bad as it first seems though. Of the teams in the bottom half of the table, only Newcastle United have conceded less goals than them. The issue has been at the other end where they’ve only scored 12 times, Southampton and Everton being the two teams they have more goals than. That being said, it’s probably best to pick out a defender and hope if they can improve up front, their defence will stay stable.
Maxence Lacroix is probably the pick of their defenders, just ahead of Marc Guehi. Lacroix grades solidly across the board for a centre-back, his grades most valuable for a defender are all classed as above average (70.0 being the ‘above average’ threshold). Lacroix has also impressed physically, measuring above the 90th percentile in sprints, max speed and sprinting distance.
Everton - Dwight McNeil
Crossing Grade: 89.3
Crossing Grade under pressure: 87.5
Dribbling Grade: 76.0
Passing Grade: 74.1
29 Chances created
14 defensive line-breaking passes
Everton have improved slightly after their terrible start to the season but one constant has been Dwight McNeil. For a while, the left-winger was their one bright spot as they opened the season with four straight defeats.
McNeil is the third-highest-graded crosser in the Premier League with a 89.3 grade and the third-highest-graded crosser under pressure, with an 87.5. He’s completed the second most defensive line-breaks this season, trailing only Bruno Fernandes’ 16, and has created the joint 3rd most chances of any winger. He has a 76.0 dribbling grade and a 64% dribble win percentage.
Fulham - Kenny Tete
Defending Dribbles Grade: 86.2
50/50 Grade: 81.5
Tackle Resistance Grade: 76.6
Clearance Grade: 77.6
Tackling Grade: 78.3
Tete has been a solid part of Marco Silva’s strong Fulham side looking to improve on last season’s 13th place finish. He’s been ever-present in the side so far this season with all his games coming at right-back, besides the game they played five in defence against Manchester City where he slotted inside as the right centre-back. Antonee Robinson and Alex Iwobi have also had positive starts but Tete’s grades stand out slightly more than them.
His defending grades well across the board, with two excellent 80+ grades for defending dribbles and his success in 50/50 duels. In defending dribbles he ranks as the 3rd best full-back and in 50/50 duels ranks as the 8th best player overall, 2nd in full-backs only behind Josko Gvardiol. He has an above-average grade in tackle resistance making him the 6th best full-back in that skill, with an above-average dribbling grade of 72.0
Ipswich Town - Arijanet Muric
Shot Stopping Grade: 90.0
4th best Shot-Stopping performance of the season v Brighton
It’s not been the easiest start to life in the Premier League for the Tractor Boys. They certainly haven’t disgraced themselves, putting in performances with a lot of positives, however it looks like it’s taken some time to adjust to the challenge of playing the best teams in the country week in and week out. There are a couple of players who’ve adjusted quicker than others. Leif Davis has an 86.3 crossing grade and is joint 5th in chances created with 31, accounting for almost a third of Ipswich’s chances. But the player that most stands out is their goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.
Muric has the highest shot-stopping grade this season, currently sitting ahead of Andre Onana and Aaron Ramsdale. He’s also joint first for the most positive grades received on saves with 18. His 89.2 shot-stopping grade is the 4th highest graded performance of the season for his clean sheet in the 0-0 draw away at Brighton, receiving 3 positive grades from the six shots he saved and no downgrades. This included an incredible double save, denying Georgino Rutter before throwing himself across the goal to stop Mitoma from following up on the rebound. In fact, in 8 of the 12 games he’s played this year he has an above-average shot-stopping grade.
