Saturday’s Premier League man of the match rundown - Neves and Vertonghen star


After the first Saturday of Premier League matches took place, we assess the individual man of the match performances from the day’s action, highlighting why each star man picked up the award from WhoScored.com.

Newcastle 1-2 Tottenham: Jan Vertonghen - 8.32

Having not scored a single league goal for five full seasons for Tottenham, last finding the net in England’s top-flight back in , Vertonghen took just eight minutes to open his account for the 2018/19 campaign. The Belgian had to stand tall defensively to keep the hosts at bay too, wit team highs of four aerial duels won and clearances, along with three tackles and three interceptions.

 

 

Watford 2-0 Brighton: Roberto Pereyra - 9.55

There’s little debate as to the star man as Watford ensured Brighton’s problems away from home didn’t make an immediate improvement this season, with Pereyra bagging a brace to earn the Hornets all three points. The Argentine has been hit and miss since arriving from Juventus but was at his best on Saturday, thundering home his first goal of the season on the volley before adding a second after the break.

Bournemouth 2-0 Cardiff: Callum Wilson - 8.23

It was an eventful afternoon for the Cherries striker, who pulled back for Ryan Fraser to open the scoring against their newly-promoted visitors before seeing a penalty saved before the break. Wilson did get his goal late on, however, and was a constant menace to the Cardiff defence, firing off six shots and completing four dribbles.

Fulham 0-2 Crystal Palace: Wayne Hennessey - 8.57

While many felt that new signing Vicente Guaita would stroll straight into the number one spot at Palace, Roy Hodgson stood by Hennessey and his faith was repaid and then some at Craven Cottage. Despite the result, the hosts played well after all, but weren’t as clinical as their visitors, with that owing to the Welsh keeper’s heroics between the post. The 31-year-old produced six saves to keep his first clean sheet of the season,

Huddersfield 0-3 Chelsea: Pedro - 8.24

While he may have only been starting due to Eden Hazard’s late return to training following the World Cup, Pedro did his chances of retaining a spot in Maurizio Sarri’s XI no harm at the John Smith’s Stadium. The Spaniard completed the scoring with a neat finish late on and completed four dribbles in a dominant display for the Blues.

Wolves 2-2 Everton: Ruben Neves - 8.32

While he faced stiff competition from Everton’s debut hero Richardson, who bagged a brace to earn a point for the ten-man Toffees, Neves proved just why there were no fears as to his ability to make the step up to the Premier League. He scored a trademark free-kick just before the break to bring the hosts back on terms before delivering a sumptuous cross for Raul Jimenez to get off the mark in the Black Country, and had at least 23 more touches (111) than any other player on the pitch.

Saturday’s Premier League man of the match rundown - Neves and Vertonghen star