Premier League fans were treated to an absolute feast of football on the weekend, with a staggering 36 goals shared between all ten games.
The action began with Everton suffering yet another worrying defeat at the hands of Watford in a 3-2 affair at Vicarage Road and continued with a spate of high-scoring 3pms, which saw every home side net three goals.
Manchester City then travelled to the King Power Stadium, only to find reigning Premier League champions Leicester a much tougher proposition than expected in a 4-2 defeat for Pep Guardiola’s boys.
Sunday wasn’t quite so exhilarating but nonetheless delivered some important results, as Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the table, West Ham claimed a point to spare themselves from the relegation zone and Manchester United edged out Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
The high-scoring nature of the weekend’s action has given FootballFanCast plenty of surprise statistics to dig our teeth into today, and here’s a look at some of the best…
Happy home birds
Some claim the advantage is often with the away side nowadays, with counter-attacking becoming such a pivotal part of the beautiful game. But that wasn’t the case in the Premier League last weekend as all ten sides avoided a loss on their home patch. Picking up points on the road always gets a little trickier this time of year.
Anfield advancements
That being said, relegation-fearing West Ham certainly wouldn’t have been disappointed with their point against Liverpool at Anfield. The Hammers were forced to hold on for much of the match (more on that later), but managed to spare themselves from the relegation zone as Swansea recorded an emphatic 3-0 win over Sunderland. Having also netted three times at Anfield last season, West Ham have bagged as many goals in their last two trips than the previous 20. Bilic, who has only lost twice in seven meetings with the Reds, clearly has the Merseyisde outfit’s number.
Not-so-great Guardiola
Much fanfare surrounded Pep Guardiola’s arrival in the summer but he’s clearly finding the Premier League much tougher than he expected, with his expensively-assembled, tiki-taka Manchester City side falling for pretty much every trick in the book as Leicester City beat them 4-2 at the King Power Stadium on Saturday. Following a 3-1 defeat at the hands of title rivals Chelsea, Guardiola has seen his team concede three or more goals in consecutive league fixtures for the first time throughout his managerial career.
Heroic Herrera
It may be his rather costly midfield partner who grabbed the headlines during the summer but Ander Herrera has arguably had a bigger impact on Manchester United’s results this season. The Spaniard is emerging as a real unsung hero next to Paul Pogba and put in another all-action display against Tottenham Hotspur, recording five created chances (including an assist for Henrikh Mkhitaryan) and eight defensive actions as Jose Mourinho’s side recorded a 1-0 win.
Chelsea – consecutive kings
Chelsea took their 3-4-3-inspired winning run to nine games on Sunday, beating West Brom in a rather unspectacular 1-0 affair. Despite barely escaping mid-table mediocrity during the pre-Abramovich era, the Blues have won nine Premier League games on the bounce on five occasions – the most in the history of the competition.
…and title destined?
Chelsea look like they could be about to run away with it at the top of the Premier League table, with the win over the Baggies creating a three-point gap over Arsenal and seven-point gap over Manchester City. This statistic further backs up that theory; Chelsea are in a stronger position after 15 games than any Premier League team over the last five seasons.
Hardworking Hammers
West Ham by no means set out to defend against Liverpool but accepted that role more and more as the match went on. As you can see from the above tweet, they completed a staggering amount of defensive actions – 138, including tackles – to ensure the scoreline stayed level.
Key man Carrick
Another Manchester United midfielder making a real difference. Michael Carrick started the season as a suspiciously peripheral figure but has re-established himself in the starting XI of late and is having a massive impact on results. In fact, the Red Devils are yet to lose a game in which the former England man has started this term.
Slimani set-ups
It’s been a difficult debut season for Islam Slimani at Leicester, struggling with fitness and the sheer number of alternatives Claudio Ranieri has to choose from up top. But the Algerian front-man started alongside Jamie Vardy against Manchester City on Saturday and was a real force, grabbing two assists in the first five minutes. Incredibly, he’s just one of two players to complete that feat in Premier League history, alongside Arsenal’s Andrea Arshavin.
Magnificent Mane
Liverpool’s £34million acquisition Sadio Mane is making an incredibly strong case for signing of the season as his new side’s top scorer in the Premier League. The Senegalese winger failed to find the net against West Ham but did notch up two assists, making him in some way responsible for 19 goals from his last 22 Premier League appearances – stemming back to his Southampton days.
Gayle force
Former Crystal Palace man Dwight Gayle has been phenomenal since dropping down to the Championship with Newcastle United during the summer. He cemented his status as the division’s top scorer with a hat-trick against Birmingham City last weekend, taking his tally for the campaign to 16 – the same amount second-bottom Wigan have managed throughout their entire squad.
Belgian bond
Christian Benteke converted from the spot to net past Hull City last weekend, adding another notch to the Belgian striker’s bedpost. Indeed, he’s now scored against 22 different sides in the Premier League, an incredibly impressive return but one also identical to his countryman Romelu Lukaku. Spooky.
Mad-chester
They may be two of the biggest clubs in world football, let alone the Premier League, but Manchester hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for City and United this season. Incredibly, the latter outfit’s win over Spurs on Sunday was the first home victory for a team in Manchester since September. The days of Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium being impenetrable fortresses are long gone.
Rampant Real
Real Madrid sit six points clear at the top of the La Liga table following a 3-2 to win over Deportivo on Saturday. That also saw them clinch a new club record, going 35 consecutive games without losing. That includes last season’s Champions League final.
Bye, bye Bobby
Former QPR, West Ham and Fulham striker Bobby Zamora decided to hang up his boots last Friday, aged 35 and without a club. So here’s our statistical bon voyage to the veteran front-man, who is just one of two players to score Premier League penalties with both feet. Ten points if you can name the other one!