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Another wild weekend, filled with stats, came to a close as we move towards the business end of the 2021-22 season. The battle for top hhonorsand survival has continued across the continent, serving us some thrillers in the process.
In England, a nerve-racking Carabao Cup final went down to the wire as Jurgen Klopp ultimately claimed his first domestic cup with Liverpool. Meanwhile, the Premier League saw Everton almost derailing Manchester City's title charge, whereas Manchester United were held to a draw by Watford at Old Trafford.
Tottenham Hotspur crushed Leeds at Elland Road, thereby getting Marcelo Bielsa sacked. West Ham United returned to winning ways, putting more pressure on Manchester United and Arsenal in the race for the top-four.
In Spain, Real Madrid were made to dig deep to win their games. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid won comfortably, thereby cutting the gap to third-placed Real Betis to a single point.
In Germany, Bayern Munich's lead at the top was increased to eight points after Borussia Dortmund were held to a stalemate in Augsburg.
The Milan clubs dropped points for the second successive game in Italy, allowing Napoli to leapfrog them and climb back to the top of the Serie A standings. Meanwhile, Juventus continued their resurgence under Massimiliano Allegri with a win over Empoli, with new signing Dusan Vlahovic netting twice for the Old Lady.
In France, PSG's lead at the top of Ligue 1 was extended to 15 points after Marseille drew at Troyes. With only 12 games left to play in Ligue 1, it is almost certain that the league title will head back to Paris.
So, without further ado, here are the best stats from this weekend's footballing action in Europe:
Best stats from this weekend's footballing action (league wise)
EFL Cup
- Liverpool have won the League cup nine times in their history, becoming the most successful club in the history of the competition ahead of Manchester City.
- Jurgen Klopp won his first domestic cup as Liverpool boss, securing the 10th trophy of his club career as a coach.
- For those of you wondering, it was a dull 0-0 draw, there are some interesting stats. At the end of 90 minutes, Liverpool generated 2.12 xG (Expected goal) whereas Chelsea generated 1.95!
- The 11-10 shoot-out is now the highest-scoring penalty shoot-out between two English clubs.
Premier League
- After holding Manchester United to a draw, Roy Hodgson became only the fourth manager to not lose four consecutive games away to Manchester United after Jurgen Klopp, Sean Dyche and Steve Mclaren.
- Against Leeds, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min combined for a record 37th goal, overtaking Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard as the duo with the highest goal contribution to one another. Sumptous stats indeed.
- Manchester City have won their last 10 games against Everton in all competitions. This is Guardiola's joint-longest winning streak against a particular opponent (10 vs Watford).
- Manchester United have failed to score in five Premier League games at home this season. Only once (in 2013-14) have they managed to go scoreless (six) in a single Premier League season.
LaLiga
- Real Madrid have lost just once in their last 22 games against Rayo Vallecano in the league (W20 D1).
- Barcelona's resurgence under Xavi continued this weekend. They scored four past Athletic and have now scored 4+ goals in three successive games for the first time since May 2017.
- Pierre Emerick Aubameyang have scored in three consecutive games at a club for the first time since September 2020. He also became the first Barcelona player to score in three consecutive games.
- Yeremy Pino has become only the third player after Patrick Schick and Giovanni Simeone to score four goals in a single game this season.
Bundesliga
- Bayern Munich's scoring streak in Bundesliga has now reached 71 games, an ongoing record.
- On the other hand, challengers Dortmund have now scored in 55 of their last 56 league outings.
- Some worrying stats for Bayern. They have now failed to take the lead into the half-time break in their last four games. However, they have lost only once in their last four games.
- Leroy Sane has scored seven goals in Bundesliga this season. He managed only six in the whole of last season.
Serie A
- Inter Milan have now failed to score with their last 53 attempts at goal, their longest such run since February 2019.
- Ac Milan have drawn two successive Serie A games for the first time since December 2020.
- As far as the stats are concerned, Napoli are firmly in the title race (although Inter have a game in hand). Napoli have accumulated 18 points in 8 Serie A games in 2022, the highest in the division.
- Juventus are unbeaten in their last 13 Serie A games. The last time it happened, Maurizio Sarri was in charge of the Bionconeri.
Ligue 1
- Some terific stats for Kylian Mbappe. He has accumulated 10+ goals and 10+ assists in a single league season for the first time.
- Mbappe has also become the second-highest goalscorer for PSG, tying Zlatan Ibrahimovic (156). Only Edinson Canavi has scored more (200) for PSG than the duo.
- PSG have won six games after conceding the first goal in Ligue 1, their highest tally over a single in the French top-flight.
