The good 😀, the bad 😕 and the ugly 👹: Özil and Rooney shine, Pep goes mad | OneFootball

Ten midweek Premier League fixtures brought us 32 goals, including a 96th minute winner and a goal of the season contender.

Can we play every midweek from now on?

Sometimes playing more often can make games stale but this wasn’t the case at all here, which bodes well for what will be an excruciatingly busy Christmas period.

Though neither had a role to play this week, we guess the Premier League couldn’t truly kick-off until Sam Allardyce and Alan Pardew were back in the league. Right?

THE GOOD ?

Best team performance: Arsenal ?

There was an iffy middle 20 minutes for Arsenal on Wednesday but they were otherwise brilliant in their 5-0 demolition of Huddersfield.

It looked like things would go smoothly from the very beginning, with Alexandre Lacazette opening the scoring just three minutes in. Nobody has scored more home Premier League goals (five) than the Frenchman in his debut season.

Aaron Ramsey was exceptional, picking up two assists, Olivier Giroud clinically dispatched two goals from the bench, and Alexis Sánchez rifled home a volley.

And then there’s Mesut Özil. In five weeks, he can sign for a European club on a Bosman. On Wednesday he was still very much an Arsenal player.

For the first time, Özil directly contributed to three goals in a Premier League game. His goal and two assists came in the space of four minutes as Arsenal took the game away from the visitors to make it 11 consecutive home wins in the league.

For what it’s worth, this was also an eighth consecutive clean sheet for Arsenal’s first-choice back five.

Did the scoreline flatter the Gunners? A bit. Did Mesut Özil deserve it? Absolutely.

Best player: Raheem Sterling ?

Other players played better than Raheem Sterling this week but it’s doubtful anybody made a contribution that will affect the entire season as much as the winger.

Apparently Sterling can’t finish, so someone will have to explain how he’s now on 13 goals for the season.

A 96th minute winner may well be the goal that gets City over the line this season. For the third game in a row, the Englishman scored the crucial goal in the dying moments.

His curling effort from the edge of the box oozed as much class as Sunday’s ‘effort’ against Huddersfield seeped luck.

We might as well let Pep Guardiola take over from here.

“Raheem is still young enough [to improve]. He is making steps. I know he is feeling he can do it [change games].

“Before, he was feeling shy. His team-mates are giving him confidence.

“You have to have the personality to create the pass with Kevin De Bruyne in injury time and put it in [the top corner]. It was a fantastic goal.”

The scary part? He’s still only 22.

Best goal: Wayne Rooney ⚽

We were spoilt for choice but this was our best goal from the moment it left Rooney’s foot. No, it isn’t his penalty rebound.

It’s not the first time he’s scored from around the halfway line – it isn’t even the first time he’s done so against West Ham – but this really was something else.

After the game, Rooney himself said it may well be his best ever goal and is certainly the sweetest he’s ever struck a ball.

In case the goal wasn’t good enough, we even had Angelo Ogbonna trying to punch it away. That’s the sort of extra layer to a goal we look for.

The goal was even better still as it completed Rooney’s first ever Everton hat-trick.

And suddenly, just like that, the mood at Goodison Park has completely changed.

(Sorry Ashley Young!)

THE BAD ☹️

Worst team performance: Swansea City ?

Obviously playing at Stamford Bridge is tricky but Swansea were truly awful, offering nothing without Tammy Abraham.

Nothing is no exaggeration – Paul Clement’s men managed two shots in the entire game. Both from over 25 yards, neither on target. The first of those didn’t come until the 65th minute.

At the other end, they only conceded one but it could have been four or five if not for Lukasz Fabianski.

Honestly, we don’t have much more to say.

At least Swansea fans have this to look forward to:

Worst player: Renato Sanches ?

There was so much optimism when Renato Sanches joined Swansea on loan from Bayern Munich but it appears to have been completely misplaced.

Speaking of misplaced…

Paul Clement’s reaction says it all and the Portuguese was hooked at half-time.

Softest goal conceded:  Rooney v West Ham ?

Moyes isn’t having any luck away, or at home, or against his former clubs. It doesn’t look good.

This time we are talking about Everton’s opener as Rooney scored from a rebound after seeing his penalty saved.

Everton cut through West Ham with ease and Joe Hart was incredibly clumsy as he rushed out and brought down Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Damn it, Joe!

But wait, Hart redeemed himself by saving the penalty and … never mind, he palmed the ball straight back to Rooney to tuck in the rebound.

Seriously, Joe?

AND THE UGLY ?

Pep Guardiola, what is up? Just a friendly chat with an opposition player after the game, right?

We’ve seen this sort of thing from Guardiola before but usually with his own players.

He claims he was telling Redmond what a fantastic player he is. Erm, OK.

On Tuesday there was Tottenham’s damn ugly finishing:

On a more serious note, there were truly ugly scenes on the south coast when Crystal Palace travelled to Brighton for the most peculiar derby in the top flight.

Two stewards were hospitalised – one with broken ribs – as Palace fans without tickets tried to force their way into the Amex.

Some supporters got into fights as they tried to enter the ground with pyrotechnics, knives and knuckledusters. That’s not OK.