Another thrilling weekend of EFL action has come and gone, delivering drama, goals, and no shortage of standout performances across the Championship, League One, and League Two. Here are the players that stood out and earned a place in this week’s team of the week.
GK – Viktor Johansson – Stoke City
Starting things off, we’ve got Stoke’s Swedish goalkeeper Viktor Johansson who produced a sublime display in the net to retain his clean sheet. With Premier League clubs looming around him for a deal, his performance undoubtably convinced any clubs watching that he is worthy of a step up!
Johansson made five key saves throughout the ninety minutes, preventing an xG of 1.15 against Sheffield Wednesday’s attack, including a fine save from a close range Svente Ingelsson shot saved by his legs, immediately saved again from the rebound from a weak Liam Palmer shot. His highlight was saving a close-range overhead kick from Barry Bannan which saved impressively following a short amount time to react.
Fotmob gave Johansson a match rating of 8.8, with SofaScore slightly more conservative with an 8.3.
CB – Kyle McFadzean – Chesterfield
Chesterfield contunied their flying start to the League Two campaign with a win over fellow promotion favourite Bristol Rovers, and McFadzean showed he’s still got it at 38-years-old, bagging a goal in the 84th minute from an Adam Lewis corner to put The Spireites 2-1 up.
McFadzean didn’t also contribute offensively, as he won the most duels of any player on the pitch with 12 successful duels, also chipping in 89% pass accuracy providing stability in Chesterfield’s build up play.
Fotmob rated McFadzean’s performance an 8.4, whereas in contrast SofaScore went a bit higher at 8.9.
CB – Jack Sanders – MK Dons
MK absolutely ran Cheltenham Town ragged, hammering them 5-0, with Jack Sanders playing a large part in preventing Cheltenham from scoring once again, who are still without a goal this League Two season.
Sanders opened the scoring in the 9th minute of the game from a Luke Offord flick on off the back of a corner into the box, but also provided a defensive masterclass, making 19 clearances, winning 100% of his tackles and winning 92% of his duels throughout the 90 minutes.
He was given a 9.0 rating by Fotmob, the highest of any centre-back this weekend, Sofascore going a notch higher with 9.1.
CB – Charlie Goode – Stevenage
Stevenage’s Charlie Goode put on an impeccable performance at the back, one any centre-back would dream of, completing all attempting tackles flawlessly and winning the most duels out of any player on the pitch at 13, in Stevenage’s third successive League One victory, propelling them to top of the league.
Goode kept Northampton’s frontline at bay, who now find themselves in the relegation zone with just one point in their opening three.
He received a solid 8.2 rating from Fotmob, and SofaScore once again going slightly lower with 8.1.
RM – Joe Snowdon – Swindon Town
Swindon’s Joe Snowdon is the first midfielder on this list, mostly thanks to his two goal contributions, one goal and one assist in his third professional appearance since joining from Leeds Academy.
His first professional goal came from a deflected pass in the area, finding Snowdon at the far past who unconvincingly fired home from close range, whereas his assist came from a tidy pass to the penalty spot, finding Tom Nichols wide open in space to double the deficit for Ian Holloway’s side who now find themselves 6th in the table.
Fotmob gave Snowdon an 8.7 rating, in contrast to Sofascore who went slightly lower at 8.3.
CM – Kieran Green – Grimsby Town
Kieran Green was Grimsby’s saviour in their fixture against Newport County, firing home in the 94th minute to pick up three hard earned points from a low Evan Khouri cross, finding the net from incredibly close range. This goal sent David Artell’s side into fourth place, hoping to go one step further from last campaign where they just missed out on the playoffs.
This was Green’s second man of the match performance, picking up the highest rating against Harrogate in which he picked up an assist. He received an 8.6 rating on Fotmob, a step up from his pervious man of the match rating, where he got a measly 8.0!
CM – Isaac Price – West Brom
In West Brom’s high scoring affair with newly promoted Wrexham, Central Midfielder Isaac Price stood out above the rest, bagging two goals to cement The Baggies’ victory in Wales.
Price’s first goal came from an off balanced finish from the middle of the penalty box, from a deflected cut back from Tom Fellows, whereas his second came from a close-range header into the top corner from an ariel Michael Johnston cross, making it back-to-back wins for The Baggies who now sit in third place in the Championship table.
Fotmob gave Price an 8.6 for his efforts, whilst SofaScore gave similar, with an 8.5.
CM – David Turnbull – Cardiff City
David Turnbull was the catalyst in Cardiff City’s route one victory over Rotherham, which fired The Bluebirds into second place into the League One Table, thanks to his two assists, setting up Yousef Salech and Cian Ashford, creating goals from 50% of his chances created.
The Scotsman Turnbull’s first assist came from a corner, finding Yousef Salech at the back post with a pinpoint accuracy cross, who comfortably nodded home, whilst his second was a simple pass to find Cian Ashford outside the box, who stuck it into the top corner, allowing Cardiff to pick up the three points.
He received an 8.8 rating from Fotmob, marking his highest match rating since his move from Celtic.
LM – Sorba Thomas- Stoke City
Sorba Thomas is enjoying an extraordinary start to the 25/26 campaign, picking up a goal and assist against Derby County in the opening fixture, and collecting another two assists against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, marking impressive form since joining The Potters following the expiration of his loan at Nantes.
The first assist came after Thomas picked up a long-ball from centre-back Ben Wilmot, dribbling past the full back (one of his four successful dribbles)before lobbing the keeper to set up Divin Mubama to head into an empty net. Once again, Thomas outpaced his full back to get into a dangerous position before crossing it to the far post for Million Manhoef to scramble the ball into the back of the net.
Fotmob provided Thomas with a 9.0 rating for his efforts, an improvement on his 8.5 last weekend!
ST – James Collins – Lincoln City
Collins was the star performer in Lincoln’s triumph over a poor Plymouth Argyle side, who are continuing their previous form from the Championship, losing 3-2 against Lincoln who won their second game of the season.
Collins’ first goal came from a mistake from the Plymouth goalkeeper Ashby-Hammond, who fumbled the ball from a Rob Street header, finding James Collins’ path to open his account for the 25/26 campaign. A few minutes later this total was doubled, as he slotted his penalty into the bottom right corner, sending Ashby-Hammond the wrong way.
Fotmob provided him with an 8.8 rating, whereas SofaScore were slightly less generous with an 8.2 rating.
ST – Oli McBurnie- Hull City
The final entry onto this week’s Lower Tiers Team of the week is Hull’s new addition in the striker position Oli McBurnie, who scored the last-minute winner and provided two assists in their last gasp win over Oxford United.
His goal in the 93rd minute came from close range, when Ryan Giles found him in space for him to slot the ball into the back of the net, sending the home fans into pandemonium.
McBurnie’s first assist didn’t really feel like a proper assist, as the goal was completely due to Joe Gelhardt’s trickery to dribble the ball into the box before finding the net although it certainly still counts for his statistics! In contrast however, his second assist was high quality, setting Matt Crooks up in space with a classy pass in one of his five chances created, the highest of any player on the pitch.
Fotmob gave McBurnie a well-deserved 9.2, the highest rating in the Championship this gameweek!
