The Premier League Weekend as a Movie: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly | OneFootball

🎬 If this Premier League weekend were a movie, it would have an eight-goal thriller, a shock defeat for the champions and a long-awaited moment of celebration for Coventry City.

Manchester City survived a huge scare to maintain their perfect start, Brighton produced the statement result of the weekend against Arsenal, and several familiar faces found themselves back in the spotlight.

From hat-trick heroics and midfield masterclasses to costly own goals and growing pressure, here is our alternative review of thePremier League weekend.

🎥 Best Picture

The match that defined the weekend

Manchester City continue on with an unblemished record, but creditSunderland for pushing them all the way at the Etihad.

A positive performance from the visitors contributed to a ding-ding battle that saw eight goals scored and City squeeze out a win that takes them clear at the summit.

Brian Brobbey’s bulldozing performance for Sunderland saw him join an exclusive group of Premier League hat-trick scorers to end up on the losing side.

⭐ Best Actor

Player of the weekend

There aren’t many players who have started the Premier League season better than Pascal Gross.

Gross has put in consecutive midfield masterclasses to help Brighton beatManchester United and Arsenal, with the German recording a goal and an assist as the champions were torn apart at the Amex Stadium.

At 35, Gross looks as good as ever, and has a league-leading six goal involvements this season.

🎬 Best Director

Manager of the weekend

For a second straight week, Fabian Hurzeler takes this award. Brighton made the champions look ordinary during a resounding 3-0 win over Arsenal, who could not live with the hosts’ intensity.

The Seagulls are flying at the start of the season and Hurzler has reestablished himself as one of the hottest coaching properties in Europe. It’s easy to forget he’s still just 33.

🦹 Best Villain

The weekend's antagonist

For some own goals, you have to sympathise with the unfortunate party. Others, however, make you question what on earth the culprit was up to.

Lisandro Martinez's mistake for Manchester United's gift for Fulham falls into the latter category. A third Man United own goal for the Argentine, an unwanted club record in the Premier League era.

🤯 Plot Twist

The result/event nobody saw coming

Coventry City are up and running after an upset win at Nottingham Forest. The Sky Blues had endured a torrid return to the top flight with no points from four games, but head into the international break with renewed belief.

Frank Lampard led Coventry to their first Premier League points in 25 years with a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest. It wasn't pretty, but Lampard and his side won't care one bit.

🎭 Supporting Actor

Someone who didn't get the headlines

Nicolas Jackson was not always universally appreciated at Chelsea, but the Senegalese striker might have found a home at Aston Villa. Jackson was excellent as Aston Villa won at Spurs, with a lovely performance full of effort and sharp link-up.

Jackson took his goal in fine fashion, with a flick to bamboozle Micky van de Ven and finish fired into the bottom corner. He's stepped into Ollie Watkins' shoes nicely.

🍿 The Scene Everyone Is Talking About

The single moment dominating Monday's football conversation

Brighton's big win over Arsenal was the statement of the weekend as the Seagulls tore apart the Premier League champions.

Arsenal's seven-match winning run came to an abrupt end at the Amex, with Mikel Arteta apoplectic at his side's failure to do 'the basics'. The Gunners were well off their usual standard and now have three weeks to stew on what Arteta called a 'big lesson'.

"What we've done and the way we've competed and the amount of games we've won has been remarkable, but this is a big lesson for all of us to understand what it takes to win at this level," theSpaniard said.

🔮 The Sequel

The storyline carrying into next weekend

Few footballers are as under the microscope as much asFlorian Wirtz right now. After an underwhelming first season at Liverpool, the £116m has now shown the improvement needed in his second season to silence the critics.

An ineffective display at Bournemouth has seen calls for him to be dropped, while ex-Liverpool defenderJamie Carragher believes Wirtz might never replicate his Bundesliga performances in England. Whatever the verdict, Wirtz's name looks one set to stay in the headlines for the foreseeable future.