Gameweek 1 Player Performance: Who Actually Delivered

The scoreboard from Gameweek 1 tells one story. The underlying numbers tell a slightly different one, and it’s worth knowing both before you make a single transfer.

Points tell you what happened. Expected points tell you whether it’s likely to happen again.

The Bench Player Who Outscored Haaland

Rayan Cherki came off Manchester City’s bench against Bournemouth and set up two goals, finishing with 8 points from a cameo while Erling Haaland, playing the full ninety, managed 2. It’s a small sample and a bench role rarely stays a bench role for long at a club that good, but it’s the clearest early sign that City’s new signings are already changing games.

Brighton’s Front Two Weren’t Lucky

A 4-0 win can flatter a performance, but De Cuyper and Hinshelwood didn’t need flattering. De Cuyper’s 13.9 expected points is the highest of any player in the league from the opening round, built while playing an advanced left-sided role rather than a conventional full-back’s afternoon. Hinshelwood’s 12.5 backs it up from midfield. Between them, this looks less like a one-off scoreline and more like a functioning system.

A Losing Defender Still Topped the Charts

Crystal Palace lost 0-2 at Everton, yet Marc Guehi still posted the second-best expected points total of any defender in the league that weekend. It’s a reminder that a scoreline doesn’t always reflect an individual performance, and Palace’s underlying defensive numbers were better than the result suggests, even away at a side that kept a clean sheet.

Palmer Did More Than the Scoreline Showed

Chelsea’s 3-2 win over Fulham was scrappy, but Palmer’s involvement in both goals came from four shots inside the box and a big chance created, the best expected output of any attacker in the league that week. The performance was real even if the final scoreline made the afternoon look messier than it was.

Sangare’s Dream Debut

Brentford’s new midfielder Mamadou Sangare marked his first Premier League appearance with a haul in the 3-0 win over Tottenham, and roughly 200,000 managers have already noticed. Sometimes the eye test and the price tag agree from week one.

One gameweek of underlying numbers is a hint, not a verdict. But it’s a better hint than the final score alone.