Liverpool dominate final Premier League player form rankings of 2018
With the Premier League calendar coming to a close it’s only fitting that Liverpool - top of the pile heading into the New Year - dominate the final player form rankings of 2018.
It’s no surprise either, following a thumping win over Arsenal to sign off a fantastic 12 months in style, with two Reds players jumping onto the leaderboard. The top ten countdown is as follows…
10) Matt Doherty (Wolves) - Weighted rating 7.49
Yo-yoing in and out of the top ten over the past month, Doherty sneaks back in following his role in Wolves’ shock win at Wembley. The Irishman has been a constant threat for the club from right wing-back and registered a fourth league assist of the season against Tottenham.
9) Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool) - Weighted rating 7.55
He may have been slowly eased into the first team but Shaqiri has already proven to be an absolute bargain for the league leaders and his importance to the side continues to grow. The Swiss has now started six of the Reds last eight league matches and though he didn’t add to his tally against Arsenal, was impressive once more, climbing five places.
8) Lucas Digne (Everton) - Weighted rating 7.62
A non-mover from the previous round of fixtures, Digne was unable to prevent a narrow defeat at Brighton but was the Toffees top performer once more. The Frenchman produced five tackles, won six aerial duels and created two chances for the away side.
7) Ricardo Pereira (Leicester) - Weighted rating 7.66
Climbing three places this time out despite falling to a shock defeat to Cardiff, like Digne the right-back was the top rated player for his side. As the Foxes fell to a 1-0 defeat, the Portuguese fired off four shots at goal and made three more tackles (7) than any other player on the pitch.
6) Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) - Weighted rating 7.75
Another player to move up three places, Rashford was in sparkling form as United brushed Bournemouth aside at Old Trafford. Relishing playing in his favoured centre forward role, the youngster ran the channels tirelessly, produced two brilliant pieces of skill to set up Paul Pogba’s first goal and capped a fine performance with a goal of his own, taking his respective tallies to three apiece over his last six league outings.
5) Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) - Weighted rating 7.79
There’s no surprise that Roberto Firmino is the highest riser onto this week’s leaderboard, though the Brazilian’s leap from 40th to fifth is huge. He put Arsenal to the sword yet again, with a hat-trick including a fine individual strike for his second in a 5-1 win.
4) Harry Kane (Tottenham) - Weighted rating 7.80
Clinging onto fourth spot despite a performance of spectacular highs and embarrassing lows, Kane scored a sensational strike to take his league tally to 13 for the season. It went downhill from their, however, as did Kane’s rating having been booked for a dive as Spurs succumbed to a 3-1 defeat.
3) Son Heung-Min (Tottenham) - Weighted rating 7.90
Falling from top spot last time out, Son keeps his place on the podium having drawn a blank for the first time in his last five league starts. The South Korea international did register the assist for Kane’s wonder goal but was ineffective thereafter as Wolves came from behind to silence Wembley.
2) Eden Hazard (Chelsea) - Weighted rating 7.96
The Chelsea star holds onto second spot but his gap to the newly restored leader is now substantial following a quiet afternoon’s work at Selhurst Park. It was only the second game in his last seven league outings that the Belgian failed to score or assist a goal, though he did create more chances than any other player (3).
1) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - Weighted rating 8.33
Back on pole position and very much to his best, Salah ends 2018 at the top of the pile having registered a goal and an assist in a game for the third appearance running. His efforts ensured that the Egyptian, ahead of Hazard, became the first player to have had a direct hand in 20 league goals this season (13 goals, 7 assists), and the Liverpool forward will hope to end this campaign with the title along with retaining the Golden Boot.
QUALIFYING RULES
Only ratings taken from each player’s last six league matches are considered, weighted chronologically, with the most recent match highest and so on. To qualify each player must have featured in their side’s last league game and started at least six of the last eight available.
