Eredivisie Team of the Week: Excelsior dominate while Eagles fly high

[p]Here are the eleven top performers from round 1 of the Eredivisie, according to Flashscore's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/rating/WtG2SIIU/"]new-and-improved in-house player rating system[/a].[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/soccer/netherlands/eredivisie/"]Catch up on all Eredivisie results and statistics on Flashscore[/a][/b][/p][image alt="The Eredivisie top XI of round 1" id="038949c6-ee2e-49d6-8e1a-27668b02efcd" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="a4ee0b80-3611-4795-bb2b-0755f91ecf3c" original-width="1080" original-height="1350" /][h2]Goalkeeper[/h2][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vaessen-etienne/rNBeXDEh/"]Etienne Vaessen[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/groningen/MBUGcjb9/"]FC Groningen[/a]): 8.3[/b][/p][p]Surinamese goalkeeper [b]Etienne Vaessen[/b] was excellent against FC Twente, recording six saves and even creating two chances as FC Groningen opened the season with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/groningen-MBUGcjb9/utrecht-p6QXMgOj/?mid=p2h6s0dl"]2-1 win[/a].[/p][h2]Defenders[/h2][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/janssen-simon/rVXGyog4/"]Simon Janssen[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/excelsior/nNlLsRUr/"]Excelsior[/a]): 8.9[/b][/p][p]Excelsior started the new campaign with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/cambuur-QRyYgO7J/excelsior-nNlLsRUr/?mid=Ie4ezqkL"]dominant 4- 1 win[/a] against promoted Cambuur, with left-back [b]Simon Janssen[/b] taking centre stage with two assists from corners. David Garden headed in the first, about 25 minutes before Noah Naujoks converted the second. Paired with 5 won tackles, Janssen was at his best on matchday 1.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/baas-youri/jyjasemf/"]Youri Baas[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ajax/8UOvIwnb/"]Ajax[/a]): 8.4[/b][/p][p]Ajax are aiming to bounce back from their joint-worst points finish since 1963, and a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/ajax-8UOvIwnb/zwolle-r1L5w2EB/?mid=hSeEuvR0"]2-0 away win[/a] at PEC Zwolle helped achieve that. One of the few constant factors in the Amsterdam side has been and is centre-half [b]Youri Baas[/b]. Baas completed 77 of 79 passes, won 7 of 12 duels and created 3 chances from the back as the Amsterdam giants started their campaign on a high.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/soualhia-abdelnour/UcgS7gMa/"]Abdelnour Soualhia[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/telstar/Aw0qTPat/"]Telstar[/a]): 8.6[/b][/p][p]Telstar opened the season with a truly shocking win away at UEFA Champions League qualifiers NEC Nijmegen, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/nijmegen-nRluRF0T/telstar-Aw0qTPat/?mid=lveRUMCr"]beating them 2-1[/a] after a first-half flurry. Carrying them from the back was summer signing [b]Abdelnour Soualhia[/b], the French-Algerian loanee from AZ. With [b]17 clearances[/b], 7 won duels, and an assist for Patrick Brouwer's first-minute opener, Soualhia proved himself a rock at the back for Telstar.[/p][embed guid="5045668a-0d43-4bce-a51c-dce5da3fb268" url="https://x.com/ESPNnl/status/2086099508077727896?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Midfielders[/h2][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/yegoian-irakli/U9aSiuA2/"]Irakli Yegoian[/a] (Excelsior): 9.2[/b][/p][p]Georgian midfielder [b]Irakli Yegoian[/b] brings plenty of creativity to Excelsior and proved his worth on Friday, scoring the first Eredivisie goal of the season before assisting Noah Naujoks' 2-0 in the 31st minute. Yegoian also created four chances and won possession 8 times, more than any other player.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/meulensteen-melle/x2S7DucC/"]Melle Meulensteen[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/g-a-eagles/hG8POBb8/"]Go Ahead Eagles[/a]): 9.3[/b][/p][p]Go Ahead Eagles' new star midfielder and our Player of the Week, [b]Melle Meulensteen[/b], played a massive part in the Eagles' [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/g-a-eagles-hG8POBb8/willem-ii-6u3qag0G/?mid=MigZS0se"]big 4-1 win[/a] over Willem II. The defensive midfielder scored a beauty to give the hosts the lead after brilliantly assisting Soren Tengstedt's 1-1 earlier in the game.[/p][p]Meulensteen also completed 51 of 54 passes, won possession three times, and created two chances to start the season on a high.[/p][embed guid="ea13864d-7865-457f-8565-d0bea5d7fbf8" url="https://x.com/ESPNnl/status/2086153244670058563?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/valente-luciano/4j2kSvnC/"]Luciano Valente[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/feyenoord/8zjySeoN/"]Feyenoord[/a]): 9.1[/b][/p][p]In his first game as Feyenoord captain, [b]Luciano Valente[/b] made the difference by scoring [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/feyenoord-8zjySeoN/sparta-rotterdam-KK4FaFV3/?mid=EJ1zmMYQ"]the game's only goal against Sparta[/a] - a subtle roller after great work from Gjivai Zechiel. The 22-year-old was the driving force in a lot of Feyenoord attacks, creating 4 chances and completing 48 of 52 passes, 34 of which came in the final third. Valente led by example.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/naujoks-noah/reknq43D/"]Noah Naujoks[/a] (Excelsior): 9.1[/b][/p][p][b]Noah Naujoks[/b] picked up right where he left off last season. The attacking midfielder was the club's top scorer last season with 11 goals and opened his account in style, scoring twice against Cambuur. Two created chances, two successful dribbles, and two won tackles completed an all-round great performance for Excelsior's star man.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tengstedt-soren/YXayjQye/"]Soren Tengstedt[/a] (Go Ahead Eagles): 9.1[/b][/p][p]Like how Valente was a driving force for Feyenoord, Soren Tengstedt was that for Go Ahead Eagles. No player was involved in more duels than the eager Dane, who won 13 of 14, which included 6/6 completed dribbles. He also scored the all-important equaliser and won 5 fouls as a terror to the Willem II defence.[/p][image alt="Soren Tengstedt was nearly unbeatable in duels against Willem II" id="018e1eec-6fd0-4fd1-b186-2239380113f6" credit-line="Opta via StatsPerform" guid="7cbef671-e50d-449a-a38c-c4bb255e9c42" original-width="2400" original-height="1800" /][h2]Forwards[/h2][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/garden-david/vaZfNruE/"]David Garden[/a] (Excelsior): 8.6[/b][/p][p]For a player who joined from an amateur club in the summer,[b] David Garden[/b] looked like a seasoned veteran in his Eredivisie debut. The 22-year-old striker joined from Quick Boys and immediately made his mark at Excelsior, scoring the 3-0 at the end of the first half and dominating in his duels, winning 10 of 11, which included 3/3 successful dribbles.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tadic-dusan/Ic4oPYSF/"]Dusan Tadic[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nijmegen/nRluRF0T/"]NEC[/a]): 8.5[/b][/p][p]In Garden's case, a player introduced himself to the bigger public. In [b]Dusan Tadic[/b]'s case, a player showed he's still got it after a long career. The Serbian playmaker joined NEC in the summer after a year in the United Arab Emirates and immediately made waves, [b]creating 8 chances[/b] in the shocking 2-1 defeat to Telstar - the most in an Eredivisie game since Opta starting tracking the stat in 2010/11.[/p][infobox id="383e2abc-afe3-4139-8e06-aa4254ac57ee" /]