There were a few cracking games this week and a few names that cracked under pressure. It was a Shakespearian tragedy at Leicester, while Roy of The Eagles plummeted to the Earth after the highs of last week. But that’s not all. Here’s a recap of the week’s drama.
The Good
Huddersfield: Let’s not get carried away, it was only Manchester United. We’d love to see what they’re capable of when faced with a team that actually wants to play football.
Brighton: We might have underestimated their desire to stay in the division. More likely, however, is we overestimated West Ham’s desire to stay in it.
Tottenham: They’ll be able to apply pressure on the top two again, that’s for sure.
Harry Kane: His stock (and price) soars with each goal. He’ll have plenty of options if he ever gets tired of applying pressure and winning nothing.
Bournemouth: A welcome victory at a time when more than a few club owners are busy crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s on their managers’ P45 forms.
Leicester: You can always count on ‘The New Manager Bounce’ for a win.
Sofiane Boufal: His was the kind of goal kids dream of scoring in video games, let alone in real life. The best part of his run has to be the moment when two West Brom players collide with each other as he glides past them. Take a bow, son. Take a bow.
Chelsea: Roman Abramovich has put the Chelsea manager’s ejector seat trigger back on the table after a hard-fought win over Watford. But it’s within easy reach if he decides he wants to have some fun with it.
Michy Batshuayi: When he leaves his clown shoes at home, he scores goals.
Arsenal: So, it turns out that playing your best three attackers together in their preferred roles pays dividends. Who knew?
Mesut Ozil: This week, the German went from being a liability to lighting up the pitch. Even when he’s playing at 70%, he is one of the Gunners’ most important players. Good thing they’ve got him tied down for the next few… Oh.
The Bad
Liverpool: A missing defence, a misjudged gameplan, and a manager who makes Brendan Rodgers’s tenure look good in comparison.
Everton: The other Merseyside club is doing its best to keep up in the hilarity stakes, sinking towards the bottom of the table like a stone in the Mersey River.
Ronald Koeman: Counting down the days to the sack and a payoff that would make Christmas shopping fun for the Koeman family.
Slaven Bilic: Moved a few inches closer to the exit door and he’s biding his time, waiting for the boot. Harry Redknapp might fancy a bit of wheeling-dealing, if Bilic goes.
Manchester United: The unbeaten record is gone, and there’s a growing feeling that their manager has moaned his way into the minds of his players, causing a loss of confidence. Here we go again.
Victor Lindelof: Brought in from the cold and presumably headed straight back, after his mistake cost United a goal.
Crystal Palace: “And now back to our regularly scheduled programming…”
Richarlison: You miss an open goal, you’ll find yourself on this list, fella.
Idrissa Gueye: Got himself sent off and ruled out of Koeman’s last Everton game, against Chelsea in midweek. He was supposed to bring the balloons.
The Ugly
Dejan Lovren: A display so diabolical that after just 31 minutes, Klopp dismantled his gameplan and reshuffled his defence, midfield and forward lines just to get Lovren off the pitch. Deep Impact.