Every week, we look back on the Premier League’s weekend action and compile our divisional Top Stats of the Week, with the last round of fixtures proving to be particularly entertaining. Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United are all tied for first place in the Premier League, with Manchester City losing ground after a goalless draw with Southampton at the Etihad.
Although David de Gea’s penalty-saving record has been questioned in recent years, the Spaniard’s save to deny Mark Noble from the spot was the difference between Manchester United leaving the London Stadium with three points or one. Jesse Lingard’s late goal gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team an important win at the Hammers, but Noble snatched a dramatic equalizer thanks to a penalty awarded in stoppage time.
Southampton has been on the receiving end of some lopsided scores in previous seasons, making a trip to Manchester City, posing as the latest difficult prospect. However, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team put in their greatest performance of the season to earn a point at the Etihad, with Jan Bednarek proving to be a pillar of strength as the Saints hung on for a goalless draw. Bednarek had spent much of the season on the bench, but he earned a spot in the starting lineup after a great performance in which he made three blocks, won three aerial duels, and led the Saints with four interceptions and five clearances.
Elsewhere there was an impressive win for Aston Villa against Everton, Brentford beat Wolves, and Watford won a potential six-pointer against a Norwich side rooted to the bottom. For now, we’ve got enough time to quickly reflect on some of the mouth-watering stats from the weekend’s action via OPTA stats.
- 66 – West Ham’s London Stadium is the 66th different stadium that Cristiano Ronaldo has scored at in matches played in Europe’s big five leagues, scoring at more unique venues than any other player since his Man Utd debut in 2003-04, ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimovic (64).
- 2 – Leon Bailey is only the second Aston Villa player to come as a substitute, score, and then be substituted in a Premier League match, after Julian Joachim against Derby in September 2000.
- 3 – Lucas Digne has scored three Premier League own goals; no French player has ever put more through his own net in the competition’s history (level with Younes Kaboul).
- 15 – Norwich have lost each of their last 15 Premier League games under Daniel Farke; this is now the longest losing run by any side in English top-flight history under a single manager.
- 100 – Sadio Mané has scored his 100th goal for Liverpool in all competitions, 10 of which have come against Crystal Palace, his most against a single opponent for the Reds.
- 5 – Newcastle remain winless in the Premier League this season (P5 W0 D2 L3); it’s the fourth time in their last seven Premier League campaigns that they have failed to win any of their opening five matches of a season (also 2014-15, 2015-16 & 2018-19).
- 2 – Allan Saint-Maximin has scored in consecutive Premier League matches at St. James’ Park, as many as scored in his first 30 such appearances there.
- 14 – Brentford are the 14th promoted side in Premier League history to accrue 8+ points after five games, and the first since Wolves in 2018-19, with all 13 of those previous sides avoiding relegation in that campaign.
- 35 – Norwich striker Teemu Pukki has ended a run of four league appearances against Watford without scoring, with the Hornets becoming the 35th club the Finn has found the net against in English league football.