Football Features

Premier League TOTW Gameweek 10: Southampton players rewarded for first win of season

By Harry Edwards

Published: 10:17, 5 November 2024

Dominic Solanke is right at home at Tottenham Hotspur.

The English striker has a hard task to follow in replacing Harry Kane at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Ange Postecoglou not going with a recognised striker last season. It was a slow start in terms of goals, but Solanke had another brace this weekend.

Solanke scored twice for Tottenham in their 4-1 win over Aston Villa, taking his Premier League tally for the season to four. He leads Tottenham for goals, shots on target and big chances scored, while only Brennan Johnson has taken more shots. And Solanke spearheads the attack of Squawka’s Premier League Team of the Week for gameweek 10, joined by teammate Son Heung-min. But Southampton are the real winners with three players in the XI.

We’ve used our Squawka Score to determine the 11 picks, based on the statistical leaders for metrics relevant to their positions. And we’ve thrown an honourable mention XI for good measure.

GK: Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton)

  • Player rating: 82%

Southampton secured their first win of the 2024-25 Premier League season at the weekend, beating Everton 1-0. And Aaron Ramsdale definitely played his part. The shot-stopper lived up to the name with five saves in total, two of which came from shots inside the box. He prevented 0.85 goals too, the third-most among goalkeepers this weekend. But the difference maker was the clean sheet, Southampton’s first of the season.

Honourable mention: Mark Travers (72%)

RB: Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton)

  • Player rating: 76%

Our second Southampton defensive representative, Kyle Walker-Peters played on the right of their back five. And it was a very good defensive display. The Englishman won two tackles, blocked one cross and made one interception retaining possession alongside helping Southampton keep a clean sheet. But he did also do his bit going forward. Walker-Peters created one big chance, had four touches in the opposition box, eight final third entries and completed 66.67% of his open play crosses.

Honourable mention: Trent Alexander-Arnold (71%)

CB: Welsey Fofana (Chelsea)

  • Player rating: 72%

Chelsea‘s poor record at Old Trafford continued with a draw against Manchester United, but Wesley Fofana generally performed well. The Frenchman was tough to beat in a duel, winning five of his aerial battles with a 83.33% success rate. On the floor, Fofana won 66.67% of his ground duels, while also winning three tackles and making two interceptions retaining possession, one of which came inside the box. Fofana also made six clearances, helping to protect Robert Sanchez.

Honourable mention: Fabian Schar (67%)

CB: Jan Bednarek (Southampton)

  • Player rating: 70%

Southampton had to be solid defensively, facing 16 shots from Everton, though only five were on target. At the heart of Southampton’s defence was Jan Bednarek, who made seven clearances and three interceptions retaining possession. Winning the ball back was a big part of Bednarek’s game, with seven possessions won in the defensive third, the most in the Premier League this weekend. He also had nine ball recoveries, the most among centre-backs. Bednarek could keep hold of the ball too, with a recovery rate of 93.75%.

Honourable mention: Marcos Senesi (69%)

LB: Alex Moreno (Nottingham Forest)

  • Player rating: 78%

Nottingham Forest were one of three Premier League teams to keep a clean sheet this weekend, shutting out West Ham United. Defensively, Alex Moreno blocked two crosses, made three clearances and one interception retaining possession to help keep the clean sheet. But he also made his mark going forward. The Spaniard created one big chance and had one intentional assist. He also completed two take-ons and had three touches in the opposition box, a consistent threat to West Ham.

Honourable mention: Leif Davis (73%)

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CM: Sander Berge (Fulham)

  • Player rating: 75%

Fulham left it extremely late to come from behind to beat Brentford. Harry Wilson will receive the plaudits for coming off the bench to win the game, but Sander Berge looked strong in midfield throughout. Getting the ball back was the name of his game, with Berge making two interceptions retaining possession, winning three tackles, and 11 ball recoveries. He also won possession seven times in the middle third and four times in the defensive third. But Berge was just as good with the ball at his feet, with 11 passes into the final third completed, a retention rate of 91.46% and 91.78% open play passing accuracy, with 12 final third entries.

Honourable mention: Nicolas Dominguez (69%)

CM: Sam Morsy (Ipswich)

  • Player rating: 73%

Ipswich Town suffered late heartbreak in their draw with Leicester City, having looked so close to claiming their first Premier League win of the season. But that shouldn’t take away from Sam Morsy’s performance at the base of their midfield. The Ipswich captain won three tackles and made eight ball recoveries, but he was also involved going forward. Morsy completed eight passes into the final third, had 10 final third entries and a retention rate of 88.71%. And, of course, he had an intentional assist for Leif Davis’ goal.

Honourable mention: Pape Sarr (69%)

RW: Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth)

  • Player rating: 78%

Another scalp was claimed at the Vitality Stadium with Bournemouth beating Manchester City 2-1. Antoine Semenyo scored the opening goal for the Cherries, one of two shots on target he managed. He had a non-penalty xG on Target of 0.72 and also created one big chance, alongside 16 final third passes completed. In terms of his duels, Semenyo completed six take-ons, with no player managing in the Premier League across the weekend. He also won three tackles and made six ball recoveries. It was an all-round excellent display.

Honourable mention: Callum Hudson-Odoi (74%)

No.10: Bruno Fernandes (Man United)

  • Player rating: 73%

Bruno Fernandes finally broke his Premier League duck at the weekend. The Portuguese midfielder scored his first league goal of the season with his 31st shot in the competition. Although it was a penalty, it was a goal Fernandes deserved for his performance. He created four chances and two big chances, the latter the second-most in the Premier League at the weekend. Fernandes also had 11 penalty area entries and won three tackles.

Honourable mention: Cole Palmer (70%)

LW: Son Heung-min (Tottenham)

  • Player rating: 76%

Tottenham had to come from behind to beat Aston Villa on Sunday, but in the end their win was comfortable. Brennan Johnson opened the scoring, set up by Son Heung-min who had a good game on the wing. On top of that intentional assist, Son created two more chances and completed three crosses. He also completed three take-ons, had nine penalty area entries and 22 final third passes.

Honourable mention: Cody Gakpo (76%)

ST: Dominic Solanke (Tottenham)

  • Player rating: 77%

Dominic Solanke was the goalscoring hero for Tottenham with his two goals from three shots on target, the most in the Premier League this weekend. His five shots total was the joint-most and he had the highest non-penalty xG over 1.52. Solanke also won three aerial duels and had seven touches in the opposition box.

Honourable mention: Chris Wood (76%)

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