How does a midfielder get 8.5 out of 10 without scoring? The new Flashscore ratings system explained
The heroes of the week
The only thing that was going to stop Mo Toure's incredible goalscoring run for Championship side Norwich City was injury, and sadly, we saw the best and worst of the starting Socceroos striker during their 4-3 loss at home to Bolton Wanderers. Toure opened the scoring within five minutes from the edge of the box with a shot that was described on the TV broadcast as "absolutely lethal".
It didn't take long for things to go sour for Toure and Norwich, who conceded an eighth minute equaliser just moments before Toure had a second goal cancelled for offside and then needing help off the pitch with an apparent shoulder injury.
The club won't have long to determine Toure's condition as he was due to head to Queensland early this week for Australia's two friendlies with Brazil, the first of which is this Friday night. It would be a sad missed opportunity for the youngster if he was unable to test himself against the Selecao after a World Cup that could have gone better.
Gianni Stensness scored his fourth goal of the 2026 season for Norwegian club and UEFA Champions League participants Viking as they romped to an easy 3-0 win over UEFA Europa League side Lillestrom. The centre back rated 7.7 out of 10, being punished heavily by the algorithm for losing the majority of his individual duels.
Martin Boyle struck his third goal of the Scottish Premiership season as Hibernian drew 1-1 at home to Aberdeen. Boyle scored from the spot and rated only 6.5 out of 10 on account of that being his only shot in 72 minutes, whilst he recorded just 18 touches, seven accurate passes and lost six of nine individual duels in a very quiet stint.
Ajdin Hrustic had a career-best performance for new club Al Nasr in the UAE Pro League, scoring the team's second goal from the penalty spot and then assisting Wesley Delgado's match winner in a comfortable home victory. He was best on ground with a 9.0 out of 10 rating as he had even won the penalty that he converted, whilst creating a second big chance in addition to his assist. His five key passes was a game-high.
23-year-old Macarthur Bulls academy product Jed Drew got just his sixth career goal and second career assist for Austrian club Hartberg as they drew 3-3 at home to UEFA Champions League club LASK. Drew was subbed on at half-time to play his longest stint of the season and rated 7.8 out of 10 after setting up Hartberg's first goal and scoring a 77th minute equaliser.
Jacob Italiano opened his account for 2026/27 with a second-half goal in Grazer AK's 2-2 draw at home to Austria Vienna in a bottom-half clash. Italiano started in right midfield and rated 7.9 out of 10 thanks to three successive dribbles and his goal, which had an expected goals count of just 0.21 (meaning only 21% of similar strikes would typically score).
Mitch Duke hasn't been able to break into Machida Zelvia's starting lineup for the J1 League but he showed his experience on the continental stage last Thursday night when he and Aussie teammate Tete Yengi both scored for the club in a 2-0 AFC Champions League win over Cambodian side Svay Rieng. 35-year-old Duke rated 8.2 out of 10 thanks to the goal and winning eight of his 11 individual duels.
23-year-old Kealey Adamson celebrated his call-up to the Socceroos squad for this next week's friendlies with Brazil by recording a Flashscore rating of 8.5 out of 10 in QPR's 2-2 draw with Preston. Adamson created two big chances and made three key passes in his 71 minutes as a right midfielder, touching the ball 64 times and landing six of his seven attempted progressive passes.
Ten days after he was best on ground with an 8.8 rating, Alex Robertson showed again that he's right at home in the Championship with an 8.2 out of 10 rating in Cardiff's 3-1 win over Charlton Athletic. Robertson made four key passes, topped the match counts for accurate passes (71/79), ball touches (91) and made eight ball recoveries.
22-year-old Garang Kuol played for his new Czech club, FK Jablonec, for the first time - and immediately showed why he's deserving of more minutes going forward with his first ever goal in the Czech top-flight. It was a crucial 90th-minute equaliser for the home side, who were expected to win their 1-1 draw. His shot produced just 0.06 expected goals.
Former A-League midfielder Anthony Caceres assisted the goal that put Bangkok United 2-0 up in an exciting 3-2 league win over eight-place Pathum United. His rating of 7.9 out of 10 was second best on the park, having topped the match count for accurate passes in the final third (14/17), accurate passes into the box (4/8) and key passes (3).
Last Friday morning, former Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne City player Marcus Younis scored his second goal for Danish club Brondby as they beat seconid-tier club Velje in Denmark's knockout cup.
In other news...
Daniel Arzani was fourth best on ground rating 7.4 out of 10 in a 1-1 away draw for Ferencvaros, making three key passes and a game high 0.70 expected assists.
Max Balard rated 6.9 out of 10 in NAC Breda's 2-1 league win away to De Graafschap, passing at an accuracy of 98% including two key passes. His rating was dragged down by losing four of his six individual duels and being dribbled past twice.
Patrick Beach faced just three shots on target but let two of them through in Troyes' 2-0 Ligue 1 defeat away to Angers, rating only 6.2 out of 10.
Kasey Bos played 24 minutes off the bench for Excelsior Rotterdam against Ajax and rated 6.6 out of 10, touching the ball only 11 times for three accurate passes.
St. Mirren goalkeeper Jacob Chapman rated 7.0 out of 10 for making six saves despite his team losing 3-0 at home to Dundee United.
Alessandro Circati had his worst shift yet for new club Benfica, being subbed on before half-time in Portugal's O Classico only to be overwhelmed by the occasion. He rated 6.2 out of 10 because of a turnover that led to a shot on goal.
Milos Degenek played just seven minutes off the bench for APOEL Nicosia after starting in the first three rounds of the league season.
Cameron Devlin played for just one minute in the Old Firm derby, which his side Rangers won 1-0. It was the second time in a week Rangers beat their furious rivals Celtic, having knocked them out of the League Cup last weekend. Rangers cut the gap from Celtic at the top of the table from five points to two.
Yaya Dukuly played 76 minutes in Celje's Slovenian league 0-0 draw away to Mura.
Jason Geria played 90 minutes in Albirex Niigata's 2-1 J2 League win over Iwata.
Jake Girdwood-Reich rated 7.5 out of 10 in Motherwell's 2-1 Premiership loss away to Dundee FC, winning six of his seven individual duels and making a game-high ten accurate passes in the final third and nine accurate progressive passes. He was pipped only narrowly for Player of the Match by Dundee centre back Ryan Astley, who assisted their second goal.
Archie Goodwin returned from a minor injury to play 16 minutes off the bench for MLS club Charlotte, rating 6.3 out of 10.
Lucas Herrington got his first Premier League start for Hull City and rated 6.5 out of 10 in their 2-1 loss away to Newcastle, having lost three of his six individual duels. He made five clearances, five recoveries and two key passes.
Nestory Irankunda rated only 6.1 out of 10 playing 57 minutes for Sporting Lisbon in a shock 2-2 draw at home to Arouca despite being up 2-0 inside 20 minutes. Irankunda's rating was fourth-worst of all players as he touched the ball only 24 times and turned the ball over five times.
Jack Iredale rated 7.3 out of 10 in Hibs' 1-1 draw with Aberdeen, the fifth-best of all players, courtesy of winning six of his eight individual duels in aiddition to two interceptions, two clearances, three recoveries and a game-high eight accurate passes in the final third.
Jackson Irvine rated 7.5 out of 10 in Cerezo Osaka's 1-1 draw away to V-Varen Nagasaki. He made one key pass and three progressive carries from his 76 touches as well as two shots, both off-target. It was his work off the ball, headlined by three tackles won, five interceptions and two shots blocked, that boosted his rating to the second-best of all players.
Paul Izzo saved just three of the seven shots that came his way in Randers' 4-2 loss to bottom-of-the-table Sonderjyske, who went into the match with just two league points from the first eight rounds. He rated 5.9 out of 10 as a result. Ouch.
Fran Karacic rated 6.3 out of 10 in Lokomotiv Zagreb's 3-2 derby loss to league leaders Dinamo Zagreb. He lost six of his 12 individual duels, made two interceptions and gathered four ball recoveries as well as being booked.
37-year-old Ryan McGowan played a full 90 minutes for a third consecutive time as Livingston drew 2-2 at home to Inverness in the second-tier Scottish Championship.
Riley McGree rated just 5.8 out of 10 in Middlesbrough's 2-2 draw away to Birmingham, having gone down with an own goal that could hardly have been prevented. McGree was defending a corner on the goal line when an attempted clearance by his goalkeeper deflected into the net off his left shoulder.
Connor Metcalfe rated 6.7 out of 10 in a 90-minute game for German side St Pauli owing to three successful dribbles and one key pass.
Josh Nisbet rated 7.2 out of 10 for Dutch second-tier club Roda in a 0-0 draw with the Ajax reserves team. He made nine progressive carries, passed at 82% accuracy and won five of his nine individual duels as well as two clearances, two interceptions and six ball recoveries.
Aiden O'Neill rated 6.9 out of 10 when he was booked in the New York derby, which his side NYCFC lost 1-0. O'Neill passed with 82% accuracy, had two unsuccessful shots from inside the box and won eight individual duels.
Josh Rawlins rated just 6.4 out of 10 in 90 minutes for Dundee United as they won 3-0 away to St Mirren. He landed 22 passes at 88% accuracy with his 39 touches, but his progressive passing had an accuracy of just 40%.
Kye Rowles rated just 6.5 out of 10 for DC United in a 2-1 loss to Archie Goodwin's Charlotte.
Days after he was dropped from the Socceroos squad, former national team captain Mat Ryan saved three of six shots on target as Villarreal went down 3-1 away to Levante. Ryan has conceded 12 goals in six competitive matches, rating 6.5 out of 10 on this occasion.
22-year-old Luka Smyth rated just 6.0 out of 10 in a 31-minute stint for Notts County as they lost 2-0 to Reading. He touched the ball only five times playing as a substitute striker.
Ryan Strain rated 7.1 out of 10 in Falkirk's 1-1 Premiership draw away to St Johnstone, the fourth-best of the match. He won all three attempted tackles, 60% of his individual duels and accumulated five clearances and ten ball recoveries. He also made more touches (102), accurate passes (52/64) and key passes (3) than any other player.
Ante Suto played just 18 minutes off the bench for Hibs in their 1-1 draw with Aberdeen, rating 6.6 out of 10.
After getting his first career assist for Barnsley, Clayton Taylor was booked in a 23-minute stint at home to Leicester (D 1-1), rating 6.6 out of 10.
Marco Tilio played only three minutes off the bench in SK Rapid's 3-0 win over Tirol.
Three days after getting his first assist of the season, Nishan Velupillay played 90 minutes in Ingolstadt's 3-0 loss away to Viktoria Koln.
Patrick Yazbek rated a handy 7.6 out of 10 in Nashville's 3-0 win at home to Chicago Fire, a win which saw them lead the Eastern Conference by 11 points with eight rounds remaining. Yazbek saved one goal with a goal-line clearance in addition to passing at 98% accuracy (39/40). His rating was hampered by losing the majority of his individual duels, being dribbled past once and committing three fouls.
The casualty ward
Keanu Baccus (St Mirren), Jordan Bos (Feyenoord), Noah Botic (Austria Vienna), Rhys Bozinovski (Heracles), Cameron Burgess (Swansea), Lewis Miller (Blackburn), Paul Okon-Engstler (FC Koln), Kai Trewin (New York City), Cristian Volpato (Sassulo) and Thomas Waddingham (Portsmouth) were all unavailable due to injury.
Surplus to requirements
The following players did not receive any minutes at the weekend:
Eli Adams (Gamba Osaka), Connor Chapman (Gimpo FC), Nick D'Agostino (Viking), Thomas Deng (Yokohama F Marinos), Callum Elder (Lincoln City), Sebastian Esposito (Lecce), Jacob Farrell (Portsmouth), Joe Gauci (Lincoln City), Curtis Good (Buriram), Chris Ikonomidis (East Bengal), Gethin Jones (Milton Keynes), Luka Jovanovic (San Jose Earthquakes), Deni Juric (Wisla Plock), Sam Klein (St. Pauli), Hayden Matthews (Bradford City), Stefan Mauk (Cong An Ha Noi), Ashley Maynard-Brewer (Sheffield Wednesday), Gianluca Okon-Engstler (Club Brugge), Reno Piscopo (Persik Kediri), Liam Rippon (Klubi 04), Sam Silvera (Milton Keynes), Harry Souttar (Leicester), Ryan Teague (KV Mechelen), Kusini Yengi (Aberdeen)
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
