Premier League stats: Man City on record trail, Pochettino’s landmark and the Burnley head master
Are Manchester City back on the record trail? Where does Mauricio Pochettino rank after landmark game? BBC Sport delves into the…
Note to Premier League managers: Manchester City are best avoided straight after a defeat. Just ask Watford.
The Hornets had conceded 38 in 11 matches against City before Saturday’s 8-0 drubbing added to their despair. But where does that result stand in the history books?
Three more questions: Who is Arsenal’s latest Premier League young gun? Which forward is the Premier League’s current head master? And which manager reached a 250-game milestone?
BBC Sport looks into some of the weekend’s Premier League statistics.
Man City’s record breakers back in business
Premier League champions Manchester City aren’t averse to breaking the odd record here and there.
In 2018, Pep Guardiola’s side became the first team in English top-flight history to reach 100 points, and they surpassed a host of other records on the way.
A few more records went on Saturday. Their 8-0 thrashing of Watford was their biggest win in the top division, and they scored five in the first 18 minutes, the fastest any side has gone 5-0 up in a Premier League match.
Argentina forward Sergio Aguero continued his fine scoring form, becoming the first player to score in seven consecutive Premier League appearances since Romelu Lukaku in December 2015.
David Silva’s opener, after 52 seconds, was the fastest goal in the Premier League this season but barely registers on the list of the competition’s quickest goals.
| Fastest Premier League goals ever | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Goal time (seconds) | Opponents | Season |
| Shane Long (Southampton) | 7.69 | Watford | 2018-19 |
| Ledley King (Tottenham) | 9.82 | Bradford | 2000-01 |
| Alan Shearer (Newcastle) | 10.52 | Man City | 2002-03 |
| Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) | 10.54 | Man Utd | 2017-18 |
| Mark Viduka (Leeds) | 11.90 | Charlton | 2000-01 |
| Dwight Yorke (Aston Villa) | 12.16 | Coventry | 1995-96 |
| Chris Sutton (Blackburn) | 12.94 | Everton | 1994-95 |
| Kevin Nolan (Bolton) | 13.48 | Blackburn | 2003-04 |
| James Beattie (Southampton) | 13.52 | Chelsea | 2004-05 |
| Asmir Begovic (Stoke) | 13.64 | Southampton | 2013-14 |
City also became the first Premier League side to score six or more goals in back-to-back meetings with another top-flight club since Chelsea did so against Wigan in 2010.
Manchester United’s 9-0 win over Ipswich in March 1995 remains the biggest victory in the Premier League era, City’s demolition of the Hornets saw them become only the seventh team to win a top-flight game by an eight-goal margin since 1992.
Top-flight ‘head’ master Wood
When it comes aerial prowess in the Premier League, Burnley’s Chris Wood leads the way thanks to his 10th-minute header against Norwich on Saturday.
The 27-year-old had to wait until November for his first league goal last term but opened his account for the season by nodding in Ashley Westwood’s corner before going on to score his and the Clarets second goal.
New Zealand international Wood has now scored more headers (seven) than any other player since the start of last term.
Five of his past six Premier League goals have been scored with his head, and four of those have arrived from corners.
In the table of headed goals since the start of last season, Wood is in front of Aleksandar Mitrovic, who scored six for Fulham last term, and Liverpool duo Sadio Mane (six) and Roberto Firmino (five).
Firmino’s header in Liverpool’s 2-1 in at Chelsea on Sunday was the 20th headed goal in the Premier League this season.
Since joining Burnley from Leeds in August 2017, Wood has scored 24 goals for the club, 10 of which have come with his head – but even he still has some ground to make up on the Premier League’s most prolific forwards in that area.
| Premier League players with the most headed goals | |
|---|---|
| Player | Number of goals |
| Peter Crouch | 53 |
| Alan Shearer | 46 |
| Dion Dublin | 45 |
| Les Ferdinand | 40 |
| Dwight Yorke | 38 |
| Duncan Ferguson | 36 |
| Teddy Sheringham | 36 |
| Tim Cahill | 31 |
| Olivier Giroud | 30 |
| Robbie Fowler | 28 |
250 not out for Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino’s 250th Premier League match as a manager brought a 2-1 defeat at Leicester on Saturday.
The 47-year-old, who spent 16 months at Southampton before moving to Spurs, also brought up his 250th appearance as Spurs manager across all competitions – a unique double.
Though the Argentine boss tasted defeat on his landmark occasion his record puts him in exalted company.
| The best Premier League managers after 250 games | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points | Win percentage |
| Jose Mourinho | 158 | 59 | 33 | 533 | 63% |
| Sir Alex Ferguson | 152 | 63 | 35 | 519 | 61% |
| Arsene Wenger | 146 | 62 | 42 | 500 | 58% |
| Rafael Benitez | 138 | 60 | 52 | 474 | 55% |
| Mauricio Pochettino | 131 | 58 | 61 | 451 | 52% |
| David O’Leary | 110 | 64 | 74 | 396 | 44% |
| Kevin Keegan | 111 | 60 | 79 | 393 | 44% |
| David Moyes | 101 | 61 | 88 | 364 | 40% |
| Martin O’Neill | 93 | 79 | 78 | 358 | 37% |
| George Graham | 90 | 81 | 79 | 351 | 36% |
Saka’s time to shine
As a supporter, there are few better sights than seeing a home-grown youngster come through the system to play for the first team.
And fresh from making his European bow against Eintracht Frankfurt, Bukayo Saka showed what he could do in the top flight.
The youngster, who stepped off the Arsenal production line with a seven-minute cameo against Fulham in January, made his first league start for the Gunners in the 3-2 win over Aston Villa.
At the age of 18 years and 17 days, the England youth international became the third-youngest player to start a Premier League game for the club.
The two players who did so earlier in their careers aren’t bad either – with Saka only behind Spain’s World Cup-winning midfielder Cesc Fabregas (17 years 104 days) and England forward Theo Walcott (17 years 212 days).
Yet when it comes to Premier League starts as a fledgling, Jose Baxter, 27, now with League Two Plymouth, takes some beating.
| Premier League’s youngest starters | |
|---|---|
| Player | Age |
| Jose Baxter (Everton) | 16 years 198 days |
| Reece Oxford (West Ham) | 16 years 236 days |
| Wayne Rooney (Everton) | 16 years 297 days |
| Neil Finn (West Ham) | 17 years 3 days |
| Jonathan Leko (West Brom) | 17 years 7 days |
| Andy Campbell (Middlesbrough) | 17 years 10 days |
| Stephen Carr (Tottenham) | 17 years 28 days |
| David Moyes (James Milner) | 17 years 35 days |
| Emile Heskey (Leicester) | 17 years 56 days |
| Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) | 17 years 76 days |
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