Premier League Team of the Season So Far: Three Chelsea Stars In, David Raya Out

Five rounds in and with the first international break under way, the numbers have spoken. Sofascore's ratings-based Premier League team of the season so far features a Chelsea trio, a new Liverpool centre-back already being compared to Virgil van Dijk, a Tottenham summer signing – and no place for Arsenal's David Raya.

How the table looks at the break

The league pauses with Manchester City in the driving seat. Under new manager Enzo Maresca, City have won all five of their opening league games – their best start since 2017 – while defending champions Arsenal were knocked off course by a stunning 3-0 defeat at Brighton just before the break.

Further down, the picture is just as eye-catching. Unbeaten Leeds sit fifth, ahead of a Liverpool side rediscovering its rhythm in sixth. Chelsea have been inconsistent and sit tenth, Manchester United are 12th, and a heavily rebuilt Tottenham are bottom after five games for the first time since 2008/09. Newly promoted Hull have enjoyed their return to the top flight, while Coventry finally claimed their first win in matchweek five.

The XI at a glance

Goalkeeper: Martínez's busy start

Aston Villa let Emiliano Martínez go to Chelsea for a bargain £7.5 million, and the 2026 World Cup finalist went straight into Xabi Alonso's side ahead of Robert Sánchez. He has not yet won over the Stamford Bridge crowd, but the numbers explain his selection.

Chelsea have yet to keep a clean sheet and are conceding 2.4 goals per game, which means Martínez is being kept very busy. He made four saves on his debut in the 4-3 home win over Brighton and eight in the London derby against Arsenal – the most of any keeper that matchday. His 4.5 saves per game and 7.70 average are both the best among Premier League goalkeepers. Raya, behind a far tighter Arsenal defence, averages just 1.8 saves per game – which says as much about the two defences as about the two goalkeepers.

Defence: a new star, a lone Spur and a veteran

The standout name is Jeremy Jacquet. Signed from Rennes for £60 million in July, the 21-year-old has been thrown in alongside captain Virgil van Dijk after Ibrahima Konaté left for Real Madrid and Giovanni Leoni suffered a cruciate ligament injury. He has barely looked out of place: Liverpool have kept three consecutive clean sheets for the first time in two years, Jacquet has won 76% of his duels, and he has already earned a first senior call-up from France boss Zinedine Zidane. Many at Anfield are already seeing him as Van Dijk's long-term successor.

Alongside him is Jan Paul van Hecke, one of the few positives in Tottenham's miserable start. The Dutch centre-back has played all 450 minutes of Spurs' league campaign, scored a consolation goal in the 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa and helped secure two clean sheets despite the club's winless run under Roberto De Zerbi.

The back three is completed by Brighton captain Lewis Dunk. The 34-year-old scored a spectacular long-range goal against Frank Lampard's Coventry – his first from outside the box since a clever free-kick against Liverpool in 2019 – and averages four clearances per game with two clean sheets from four starts. A knee problem kept him out of the Arsenal game, but Brighton still won 3-0 without him to climb to third.

Midfield: Xhaka, Ødegaard and Rogers

Granit Xhaka is the only defensive midfielder in the side. Away from the pitch, the 33-year-old is dealing with fallout from a fake vaccination certificate case that has cost him his Switzerland place, but on it he has been superb for Régis Le Bris's Sunderland. He averages 1.8 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 6.6 ball recoveries per game, has created five big chances and wins 60% of his duels. His delivery also set up Brian Brobbey's hat-trick against Manchester City, even if the assist column still reads zero.

Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard looks back to his best. His winner against Chelsea earned him a 9.2 match rating, alongside four key passes and two big chances created. He is completing 91% of his passes, has scored with both feet and has been named in the team of the week twice.

That same derby was also where Morgan Rogers announced himself at Chelsea, volleying past Raya. The £117 million signing from Aston Villa has three goals and an assist, averages 88 minutes per game and contributes defensively too, with 4.6 ball recoveries per match.

Attack: goals from every angle

Bukayo Saka has been decisive for Mikel Arteta. He scored after 23 minutes of the opening-day 3-0 win over Coventry, grabbed the only goal at Aston Villa and converted a 97th-minute penalty against Sunderland, with an expected goals figure of 3.21.

On the opposite flank is Bournemouth's Marcus Tavernier, who has three goals – against Manchester City, Newcastle and Brentford. Frustratingly for him, Bournemouth have developed a habit of conceding late, with both the Newcastle and Brentford leads cancelled out.

João Pedro scored in the first minute and set up Cole Palmer in the five-goal thriller at Fulham, repeated the goal-and-assist trick against Brighton and did it again against Hull. His absence through injury was felt in Chelsea's 3-0 loss at Brentford.

And then there is Erling Haaland. The 26-year-old leads the scoring charts and finally found the net against Sunderland at the third attempt, making them the 25th different club he has scored against in the Premier League. With Alexander Isak scoring freely at Liverpool, this could be the season Haaland faces a real Golden Boot race.