Sean Longstaff (Leeds)
A last-gasp Bournemouth equaliser on Saturday may have been painful for the Elland Road faithful but the performance of Sean Longstaff gives Daniel Farke and co much hope for the rest of the season.
In a standout display, the former Newcastle United man both scored and assisted in an English league game for just the second time in his career, after also doing so for Blackpool v Doncaster Rovers in August 2017 in League One, to give the hosts a share of the spoils.
On top of that, Longstaff also created seven goalscoring chances for team-mates, the most by any player in a top-flight game this season and the joint-most by a Leeds player on record (since 2003-04).
Igor Thiago (Brentford)
The post-Thomas Frank era at Brentford was never going to be easy, but under the tutelage of former set-piece coach Keith Andrews the Bees are finding their feet, with Saturday’s 3-1 win over Manchester United the highlight so far.
Igor Thiago was the star of the show at Gtech Community Stadium, becoming just the second player to score twice in the opening 20 minutes of a top-flight game against United, after Alexis Sanchez for Arsenal in October 2015.
The Brazilian, who has big Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo-shaped boots to fill, secured his double from three shots in the game, with the London side’s hitman netting four of Brentford’s nine goals in the Premier League this season.
Robin Roefs (Sunderland)
Sunderland’s superb start to their first Premier League campaign since 2016-17 continued at the weekend, courtesy of a hard-fought 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
The visitors had goalkeeper Robin Roefs to thank with the Dutchman making six saves, a joint-high at the weekend, while he also created two goalscoring chances, with only one goalkeeper on record (Wayne Hennessey with three for Burnley v Manchester United in 2021) registering more in a Premier League game since 2003-04.
Overall, Roefs has now kept three clean sheets in six Premier League appearances this season, a haul only Newcastle United’s Nick Pope can better, with four, while his tally of 20 saves gives him a top-three ranking in the division.
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