Chelsea F.C. — Best pictures!

The Tottenham – Liverpool matchup (2:1) had entirely opposite consequences for the leaders of both teams: if Spurs’ Aaron Lennon managed to boost his FTBL rating, the same cannot be said of Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard.

The trip to London to play Tottenham Hotspur will be one of the trickiest season openers for Liverpool, with the participation of skipper Steven Gerrard, who faces a daunting plank of 27.20 rating points to beat, uncertain.

Bordeaux’s up and coming star midfielder Yoann Gourcuff (pictured) began the season with a brace as his side trashed Lens 4:1 and rose to the 5th place in the FTBL world ranking of midfielders with 154.41 points.

Cristiano Ronaldo, whose move to Real Madrid in a mega deal has now been confirmed, remained locked in a tug war with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi for the top spot in FTBL rating of the world’s top midfielders throughout the season, with the Portuguese holding

Barcelona’s Argentine prodigy Lionel Messi (pictured), who five days ago topped the FTBL rating of the world’s best midfielders, has dropped to 4th place, even letting new Real Madrid sign Cristiano Ronaldo overtake him.