Man City were stinky but not stinky enough to have a single player in the Premier League worst XI of the weekend, which is dominated by Southampton.
As always, the team is based on WhoScored match ratings.
GK: Alex McCarthy (Southampton) – 5.56
Where do we begin?. Southampton’s customary 9-0 Premier League looked possible as they were demolished by Tottenham on Sunday night but after racing into a 4-0 lead inside 25 minutes, they took pity on their hosts in the second half after James Maddison’s second made it 5-0 deep into first-half injury time.
Conceding five goals in a match should always make you the worst goalkeeper of the weekend and that is the case with McCarthy, who made four saves in total, three of which came from shots inside the box. Aaron Ramsdale’s return should help but he needs to become superhuman to help the Saints avoid finishing bottom of the Premier League.
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RB: Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton) – 5.64
Man City’s Kyle Walker was rubbish again but it is his former Tottenham team-mate and (almost) namesake who earns a spot in the worst XI of the weekend.
He failed to track Heung-min Son and pick up goalscorer Dejan Kulusevski for Spurs’ third and was bullied off the ball by Destiny Udogie in the build-up to Pape Matar Sarr’s goal. It was a miserable afternoon for the Saints right-back.
CB: Jan Bednarek (Southampton) – 5.33
Bednarek has completed 941 passes in the Premier League this season, which is the most for someone to play 12 or fewer matches. He should fall down in the rankings following Russell Martin’s sacking with his replacement likely to change Southampton’s approach from passing themselves to boredom to something a little less naive.
The Polish defender registered his second error leading to a goal of 2024/25 in the 5-0 home defeat to Spurs, assisting Son with a perfect flicked header to the back post for the visitors’ second before eating grass for Kulusevski’s goal and being put in a spin cycle for Sarr’s.
CB: Conor Coady (Leicester) – 4.80
It’s nice to move away from Southampton as we take a look at the worst-rated player of the weekend. Leicester centre-back Coady could not deal with Alexander Isak in Newcastle United’s 4-0 home win, failing to clear the ball and registering an error leading to a goal for the Swede’s close-range finish.
CB: Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton) – 5.55
We are on a roll with another non-Saints player in the worst XI. Our third and final centre-back is another with an error leading to a goal, though Van Hecke’s ‘error’ for Trevoh Chalobah’s opener strikes us as harsh.
Regardless, it was recorded and the algorithm doesn’t take nicely to those capers. He also lost possession 12 times and lost six duels, which did not help.
LB: Andy Robertson (Liverpool) – 5.10
It was a weekend to forget for quite a few left-backs in the Premier League. Robertson – who has been below par in 2024 – showed the strongest sign yet that he is finished at the top level with a calamitous red card against Fulham, which Liverpool head coach admitted was “deserved” but put down to the Scot carrying an injury from a strong Issa Diop challenge in the opening minutes.
Robertson’s woeful first touch allowed Harry Wilson to nip in and dribble in on goal but before he properly recovered the ball, the Welshman was wiped out and denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. Robertson had no complaints and Antonee Robinson’s performance for Fulham will have rubbed salt in the wounds – he is a fantastic player and the best possible replacement.
Elsewhere in Our League, left-backs Rayan Ait-Nouri and Marc Cucurella were sent off after the full-time whistle and Matheus Nunes had a shocker for Man City, conceding a penalty after a terrible pass back to Ederson.
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DM: Oliver Skipp (Leicester) – 5.31
It has been a rough season for Skipp, who cost Leicester £25m in the summer. Eek.
The 24-year-old didn’t complete any take-ons, create any big chances, register an attempted assist or shot on target, make a single tackle or clearance as the Foxes were thumped at St James’ Park.
CM: Flynn Downes (Southampton) – 5.61
Back to managerless Southampton we go.
Like Skipp, ex-West Ham midfielder Downes was sold in the summer and has struggled as a regular starter in the Premier League. Against Spurs, he contributed nothing defensively or offensively.
CM: Mateus Fernandes (Southampton) – 5.68
Fernandes has been one positive for Southampton this season but he, like basically every one of his team-mates, was given the run-around at St Mary’s.
A yellow card did not help as he gets in this team just ahead of Leicester winger Stephy Mavididi.
ST: Adam Armstrong (Southampton) – 6.07
You can sympathise with the Saints attack given the calamity going on behind them but the algorithm doesn’t care. Against Spurs, Armstrong registered two shots, zero take-ons, zero aerial duels won, completed a grand total of four passes and was dribbled past twice.
Having been booked in the Manchester derby, Man United striker Rasmus Hojlund very narrowly misses out. He had a 6.09 match rating.
ST: Kamaldeen Sulemana (Southampton) – 5.81
Sulemana puts Armstrong to shame with his five passes but was even more anonymous, shooting precisely zero times in the 5-0 home defeat to Spurs.
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