You didn't need a goal or an assist to make this week's XI. Bobby Thomas, Olivier Boscagli and James McAtee all earned their places through performances that a quick glance at the scorers would miss. Alongside them, Arsenal supplied three players with identical returns, Liverpool delivered at both ends and Everton's late drama produced points for both sides.
The Premier League 2026/27 Gameweek 3 Perfect Line Up finishes on 160.5 Balanced points, with seven clubs represented. Nobody scored more than 15.5. This was a week of contributions spread across the pitch, not one enormous haul carrying the team.
Arsenal share the points around
Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard scored as Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea 2–1, and both finish on 15.5 points. Their contributions went beyond the finishes: Ødegaard created four chances in 77 minutes, while Havertz added three and put two of his three shots on target. Christos Tzolis joins them on 15.5, recording an assist, four chances created, a tackle and an interception across 90 minutes.
The shared score hides slightly different routes to value. Ødegaard and Havertz now have two goals each across three starts, while Tzolis has created eight chances in his opening three appearances. That gives managers something more useful than simply chasing a derby goal. The creative involvement is encouraging, but three matches remain a small sample: this is evidence to build on, not a reason to expect three matching hauls next week.
Liverpool's supply line and safety net
Liverpool's 2–0 win at Ipswich puts Alisson and Cody Gakpo in the XI. Alisson kept a clean sheet and made five saves, finishing on 12.5 points. This wasn't simply a goalkeeper collecting a shutout behind an untroubled defence. Gakpo supplied both assists for Alexander Isak and added three chances created, three tackles and an interception for 14.5 points.
Gakpo's opening three matches now contain a goal, three assists and eight chances created, taking him to 37.0 season points, the highest total among this week's selected players. His repeated involvement is the stronger signal than expecting another pair of assists. For Alisson, the saves mattered to this particular return, but both the workload and clean-sheet opportunity will change with the opponent. Neither part should be treated as automatic.
Haaland wins the match, Thomas wins a place
Erling Haaland scored the only goal in Manchester City's 1–0 victory over Coventry, earning 14.0 points from a performance that included four shots, three on target. Across three Gameweeks he has three goals from 14 attempts. That sustained shooting involvement offers firmer evidence than one successful finish.
On the losing side, Bobby Thomas scored 15.5 points without a goal, assist or clean sheet. His export records five shots, two chances created and four interceptions. The contrast is exactly why the final score cannot tell the whole fantasy story. There is a warning against chasing it, though: five of Thomas's six season shots and all four of his interceptions came in this match. A standout afternoon, certainly, but not yet an established weekly pattern.
George and Shaw deliver amid the late drama
Tyrique George and Luke Shaw feature from Everton's 2–2 draw with Manchester United. George's late goal helped him to 15.5 points, alongside three chances created and an interception. Shaw's cross for Benjamin Šeško supplied his assist and helped deliver 13.5 points, despite a booking and no clean sheet.
George scored from his only shot this week, so the finish alone is a fragile basis for expectations. His eight attempts and three starts across the season provide more context. Shaw also has three starts, with five chances created, six tackles and four interceptions across those appearances. His case rests on involvement at both ends rather than assuming United will suddenly become a dependable source of shutouts.
Creativity without the finishing touch
Olivier Boscagli earned 14.0 points in Brighton's 1–1 draw with Leeds, creating five chances without an assist. James McAtee also created five, adding three tackles and three shots for 14.5 points in Forest's goalless draw with Tottenham. McAtee now has nine chances created and 32.0 points across three matches, without a goal or assist. Boscagli has six chances created in total, so his GW3 burst needs more evidence before it becomes an expectation.
That's the thread running through this XI: goals helped, but they weren't the only route in. Look at repeated involvement before treating a big score as a new baseline. The TFF scoring guide explains why those wider contributions matter. Which of these players would you actually add?
