Where Mesut Ozil matches Kevin de Bruyne and other Premier League statistics

Mesut Ozil - keeping pace with Kevin de Bruyne... in the attacking stats at least

Winning football matches tends to be about scoring goals.

They can come from anywhere - long range or short, 40 yards or two yards, sometimes the 12 yards of the penalty spot. Or not, if you happen to be Liverpool.
For a goal to be scored, someone has usually done the hard yards beforehand. The creator. The common consensus is Kevin de Bruyne is the Premier League's king of creating chances, but there is a pretender to the throne.
To hit the back of the net, you're probably going to make an attempt on goal. Someone needs to tell Swansea City.
All this and more is revealed in the best of the statistics from the weekend's Premier League action.

Ozil v De Bruyne

One is apparently such a shoo-in for PFA Player of the Year award that the wife of a former player at his club has felt confident enough to bet a naked conga around a Stockport car park on the result of the poll.
In contrast, the other has been roundly criticised by his club's old boys in the media.
But how much difference is there between Manchester City's De Bruyne and Arsenal's Ozil?
Both have created a league-leading 30 chances, despite Ozil having spent considerably less time on the pitch.
Fewer of the chances Ozil has created have been converted by his Arsenal team-mates, but otherwise the Germany playmaker stacks up well against De Bruyne in the attacking stats.

On the attack...
Mesut Ozil		Kevin de Bruyne
568	Mins played	841
1	Goals	1
2	Assists	6
30	Chances created	30
8.33%	Shot conversion	4.55%
86.3%	Pass accuracy	86%

But Ozil's work without the ball does not stand up as well to comparison.
Even considering the longer time De Bruyne has spent on the pitch, the City attacker has got more involved in defensive duties.

...but in defence
Mesut Ozil		Kevin de Bruyne
6	Tackles	16
5	Interceptions	8
25	Recoveries	61

Fox in the box

Javier Hernandez once again netted from inside the box against Crystal Palace

Javier Hernandez doesn't bother with scoring from long range.
In fact, his opening goal in West Ham's 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace was his 41st in the Premier League, all of which have been scored inside the 18-yard box.
In maintaining that close-range record, Hernandez remains alongside two other players who scored all of their goals inside the penalty area - Tim Cahill (56) and John Terry (41).
In the cases of Cahill and Terry, the slim chance of them playing in the Premier League again suggests their records will remain intact.

Premier League goals scored in the box
Player	Goals	Goals inside box	Percentage
Tim Cahill	56	56	100%
John Terry	41	41	100%
Javier Hernandez	41	41	100%
Ruud van Nistelrooy	95	94	99%
Kevin Campbell	83	82	99%
Dwight Yorke	123	121	98%
Steven Fletcher	53	52	98%
Yakubu	95	93	98%
Jamie Vardy	47	46	98%
Jonathan Walters	43	42	98%

Not much further down the list, two of Hernandez's fellow former Manchester United strikers feature.
Of Ruud van Nistelrooy's 95 Premier League goals, 99% came inside the 18-yard box, while 98% of Dwight Yorke's 123 strikes came from similar range.

Paying the penalty

Mohamed Salah joined the ranks of Liverpool penalty-missers

When Mohamed Salah had his penalty saved by Huddersfield keeper Jonas Lossl, he joined a long line of Liverpool players to have wasted opportunities from the spot in the Premier League.
In fact, a 34th failure from 12 yards put Liverpool joint top with Arsenal as the most wasteful penalty takers.
Unsurprisingly, the top of that list is dominated by the clubs who have spent most time in the Premier League - Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham, Everton and Aston Villa.