Another weekend, another fine dose of Premier League action.It kicked off with Manchester City’s difficult trip to Turf Moor, in which they eventually beat Burnley 2-1 through a Sergio Aguero brace, continued with a spate of bitter-fought 3pms, not least including Swansea and Crystal Palace’s nine-goal thriller at the Liberty Stadium, and ended with Chelsea completing an impressive two-goal comeback against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur – and that was only Saturday!Indeed, Sunday didn’t disappoint either, as Stoke claimed an away win over Watford, Southampton took some retribution on Ronald Koeman and his Everton side, Arsenal convincingly swatted away Bournemouth and West Ham held Manchester United to a draw at Old Trafford.The footballing world has gone statistics mad over the last few years and FootballFanCast are no different – in fact, there’s nothing we enjoy more than unearthing a few anomalous gems from a marathon of number crunching.With that in mind, here’s a rundown of the most shocking statistics from all the weekend’s action, with the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham featuring prominently.
United’s home hoodoo
Old Trafford was once the Premier League’s greatest fortress but the Red Devils are currently 10th in the away table following a 1-1 draw with West Ham on Sunday. And whilst they’ve not been too shabby at the back, they’re struggling to produce at the other end of the pitch, netting just thrice in front of the United faithful since the start of October. Unfortunately for Jose Mourinho, this isn’t the only United home stat to feature in this week’s edition.
What do Milner & Heskey have in common?
A trivia question that’s sure to pop up in at least one pub quiz (especially if you frequent Merseyside taverns) in your life-time; what do Emile Heskey and James Milner have in common? Aside from representing Liverpool, Aston Villa and England, the former striker and the midfielder-come-left-back have both netted against Sunderland for five different clubs. Extra points for naming all ten of them!
Dazzling Zaha
He may ply his trade with the Premier League’s whipping boys of 2016, who endured yet another defeat on Saturday, but Wilfried Zaha’s performances on the wing have been borderline electric. Indeed, the Crystal Palace star is not only the best dribbler in the Premier League this season but also the rest of Europe’s top five leagues. He’s also bagged one goal and four assists in his last five league outings – including one strike and one set-up (albeit, for an own goal) in the nine-goal thriller with Swansea on Saturday.
Badboy Mourinho
Jose Mourinho’s endured a frustrating start to his Manchester United career and no statistic epitomises that better than the one above. Indeed, Mourinho has seen more sendings off than victories at Old Trafford this season, including his dismissal on Sunday. The Portuguese protested a Paul Pogba booking for diving by kicking a water bottle down the touchline – something referee John Moss didn’t look upon too kindly.
Diego’s different side
We’re all aware of Diego Costa’s pedigree in front of goal. In fact, he’s the Premier Leagues joint-leading goalscorer this season alongside Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (more on him later). But the Spaniard’s ability to bring others in the game perhaps goes unnoticed; he set up Chelsea’s winner against Spurs on Saturday with a low cross to Victor Moses, making him the Premier League’s third-top supplier throughout 2016 after Dimitri Payet and Christian Eriksen – two midfielders who are expected to create.
Metronomic Hendo
Jordan Henderson’s been like a man reborn since taking the anchoring role in Liverpool’s midfield. Whilst his energy and aggression have proved ruthlessly efficient in winning the ball back, what the Reds skipper’s done with it afterwards has been equally impressive. No Premier League player has completed more passes this season and the England international now ranks second and first for number of passes completed in a single appearance, after another afternoon of dictating play against Sunderland on Saturday.
Amazing Aguero
As previously mentioned, Sergio Aguero is the Premier League’s joint-top scorer with ten goals, increasing his tally against Burnley on Saturday with a brace at Turf Moor. Accordingly, the Argentine magician has now scored against 29 of the 30 teams he’s played in the top flight. Name the only club he hasn’t scored against to win a coconut!
Red Devils record
We told you Manchester United’s home record would be analysed once again and these statistics really put it into perspective. Jose Mourinho is now the unfortunate owner of an unwelcome Premier League record – and is the first Red Devils gaffer to draw four consecutive home fixtures since David Sexton. He was forced to watch from the stands as West Ham claimed a 1-1 draw on Sunday, with goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovich and Diafra Sakho.
He scores, he wins
It’s that lad Jimmy Milner once again, following another strike from the penalty spot to help secure Liverpool a 2-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday. Incredibly, the ad hoc left-back has never lost a Premier League fixture in which he’s scored, a record now spanning a whopping 45 games. So if Milner scoring equals Âa win, or at the very least a draw, should Jurgen Klopp stick the former England man up front from now on?
Spurs streak
Tottenham’s dreadful form at Stamford Bridge continued on Saturday as Chelsea completed a comeback to secure an invaluable 2-1 victory, maintaining their place at the top of the Premier League table. Spurs’ woeful record in west London is notorious – to the extent that only six members of their youthful squad were alive the last time the Lilywhites took all three points from the Bridge. Meanwhile, Saturday’s win saw Spurs become the team Chelsea have beaten the most throughout Premier League history.
Slaven’s secret club
Slaven Bilic’s been thrown plenty of criticism this season, with his Hammers side currently just one point above the relegation zone. But you can’t fault the Serbian’s record against Manchester United; following two draws during his debut campaign as Hammers boss, Bilic extended his unbeaten run versus the Red Devils to three on Sunday. Only eleven managers throughout the Premier League have managed the same feat – putting the Irons boss in a very exclusive club.
Arsenal super-sub
Whilst some still doubt Arsenal’s title credentials, there’s no doubt Arsene Wenger’s late summer spending spree has added fantastic depth to his squad. Nobody’s proving that more than Olivier Giroud, who continued to produce the goods from the bench on Sunday with an assist for Alexis Sanchez’s second strike against Bournemouth, drilling the ball in front of goal to allow the Chilean a simple tap in. He may be miffed about the lack of game time, but the Frenchman is emerging as an incredibly effective impact sub for the north Londoners.
Unwelcome feat
Whilst Olivier Giourd is producing at the other end, the north Londoners still have work to do defensively. Nacho Monreal conceded a penalty against Bournemouth to mark the first time Arsenal have done so in consecutive home fixtures throughout the history of the Premier League. Incredibly, the Spaniard nearly gave away a second against the Cherries with a suspicious hand ball, but referee Mike Jones refrained from issuing a spot kick.