This Week in Stats: Sterling seals the points for inefficient Manchester City
Three teams in the Premier League have yet to score a point. Are they in genuine trouble? And why are Manchester City inefficient?
Manchester City and Bournemouth are at opposite ends of the league table. They met on Saturday, and it took until the 97th minute for Raheem Sterling to score the winning goal. Neither side featured in week one or two of this round up, so it makes sense to take a look at them now.
As expected, City dominated the ball. They had 70 percent of the possession, and completed 143 final-third passes. That’s the third most by an away side in the Premier League this season. City, at Brighton on the opening weekend, top the list with 199.
Against Bournemouth, Pep Guardiola’s team completed 11 final third passes for every shot in the box they generated. The league average is 9.5, so they weren’t too far above that. For the season as a whole, though, it is taking City 16.1 completed passes in the final third per shot in the box, the highest in the division.
It’s not a problem in itself, but it will be interesting to see how they match up with Liverpool, in their next match after the international break. The Reds have had a shot in the box for every 6.9 final third passes they complete, the fewest of the big six teams.
As for Bournemouth, they have yet to take a point. Charlie Daniels scored a wonderful thunderbolt against City, but it was the Cherries’ first goal of the season and unlikely to be repeated.
They would have expected to have fewer shots than their visitors, but chance quality is a real issue for Bournemouth. They only had five shots in the box on Saturday, and only four in their previous home match, against Watford. A home side has had five or fewer box shots seven times so far this season; Bournemouth are the only team to have done so twice.
This lack of shots in the penalty area means they have yet to have a clear-cut chance (as defined by Opta) this season. Brighton are the only other side in the division yet to register a top quality opportunity. Bournemouth could be in real trouble this season.
West Ham yearn for home comforts
The Hammers also remain pointless at the foot of the table, and were well beaten at Newcastle on Saturday. Due to the World Athletics Championship taking place at the London Stadium recently, West Ham have yet to play at home. Their home record was the fifth worst in the division last season though, so they can’t necessarily rely on it to keep them up this year.
Their troubles were largely self-inflicted on Saturday, and that’s not a new theme. Since August 2015, West Ham have made 26 (Opta defined) errors leading to goals, which is the most in the league in that period.
Newcastle’s opening goal may not have counted on that front, but Declan Rice was dispossessed after trying to play out from the back. That enabled the Magpies to break forward and take the lead. They won the ball high up the pitch for the second goal too. Aleksandar Mitrovic then strolled through West Ham’s high defensive line for the third. All three were avoidable from the Hammers’ perspective.
By the end of the match, the home side had logged eight shots on target and four clear-cut chances. Both figures were the second most of the weekend (behind Liverpool on both fronts) and the most by a newly promoted team so far this season.
West Ham’s next two matches are against Huddersfield and West Brom. They’re not traditionally strong teams, but they are both in the top five at present. It could be a long season for the Hammers if they don’t get their act together soon.
Palace remain goalless and pointless
Both Crystal Palace and Swansea struggled last season. Going into this one, neither team had scored in the league. The visitors hadn’t even had a shot on target in their first two games.
That all changed shortly before halftime on Saturday. Tammy Abraham got goal side of Martin Kelly as Leroy Fer crossed into the box, and the on-loan Chelsea forward gave Swansea the lead.
Things got worse for Kelly as he made an Opta-defined defensive error after three minutes of the second half. He played the ball straight to Kyle Naughton, and he played in Ayew who raced through Palace’s high defensive line to seal the points. Swansea had finally had some shots on target this season, and scored both of them.
That may seem unfortunate for Palace, but they are in trouble at the moment. After surviving last season by utilising the direct soccer of Sam Allardyce, new manager Frank de Boer is trying to instigate a more patient, passing style.
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The problem is that such a style does not suit the players in the squad. Christian Benteke remains a fabulous option for an out ball; he won a remarkable 11 aerial duels on Saturday. But he didn’t have a single shot at goal.
By contrast, Andros Townsend, who is renowned for wasteful shooting, had five. His attempts were all from at least 18 yards out, and only one found the target. Benteke has only had four shots in total this season. Palace need to find a way to get the Belgian into games in an attacking sense.
Palace’s underlying numbers aren’t too bad so far, so they may yet be fine this season. Their next two opponents, Burnley and Southampton, aren’t the most daunting either. But their new style is causing them to make errors at the back and exclude Benteke at the front. De Boer needs to solve these issues, and quickly. He may become the first manager to lose his job in the Premier League this season otherwise.