This week we start looking at the statistical highlights and quirks of the 2018-19 Premier League season.
As the dust settles on a remarkable Premier League campaign, we can now begin to identify the standout numbers of an extraordinary season.
Foul play
The 35-year-old Brighton striker Glenn Murray has deservedly received plaudits for his 13 league goals this season. Without him, the club would have been doomed to relegation, seeing as their second-highest scorer, Shane Duffy, only found the net five times.
That haul left Murray level with the likes of Alexandre Lacazette at equal-10th in the Premier League goal charts. And he’s at the very top of another player table, albeit a considerably less glamorous one: Nobody committed more fouls in a game than Murray’s nine against Manchester United back in August.
Moreover, of the eight instances of one player making six or more fouls in a single match this season, Murray was responsible for three of them. He was also tied with United’s Paul Pogba and Liverpool’s Naby Keita for the highest number of fouls in a game without picking up a card: six.
Back in September we looked at Wilfried Zaha’s complaints about the brutal treatment he felt he was receiving from opponents.
So it’s not too much of a surprise to see that the Crystal Palace forward is among the players who suffered the most fouls in one game. The presence of Arsenal’s Lucas Torreira on that list is likely to raise considerably more eyebrows, however.
There were also 17 instances of a player being fouled six times in a game, and two them involved Zaha — away at Everton in October and at Brighton in December.
Light-touch approach
In October we identified the players who’d scored with the fewest touches of the ball. Unsurprisingly, no one managed to match Daniel Sturridge’s record of one touch, one goal for Liverpool against Chelsea in September.
The closest anybody came was Ivan Cavaleiro’s goal from three touches during his few minutes on the pitch for Wolves versus Bournemouth in December.
If we confine the search to players who were on the pitch for 90 minutes, though, then Leicester’s Jamie Vardy was the undisputed master of less-is-more forward play in the Premier League this season.
There were 19 examples of players scoring with fewer than 30 touches while playing a full game, and Vardy was responsible for six of them. Burnley’s Chris Wood appeared three times in the same list.
If we narrow the criteria down to just 25 touches or less, then Vardy still comes out on top:
His two goals and seven shots from just 24 touches against Arsenal in April was among the season’s most remarkable displays.
Pass masters
There were just eight instances of a player completing 90 or more passes in a single match, with Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte managing it twice and his teammate Ilkay Gundogan topping the list. It’s little surprise to see the table dominated by City and Liverpool players, although it’s noticeable that no midfielders from Jurgen Klopp’s side are present.
Big shots
Players were directly involved in 10 or more attempts on goal in a game nine times this season. Three of those performances were by Mo Salah, which isn’t bad for someone who was labelled a one-season wonder for much of the campaign. Vardy’s home performance against Arsenal makes another appearance here.
The highest number of shots by a team in a single game came from Liverpool in their home win over Manchester United just before Christmas, which turned out to be Jose Mourinho’s last game in charge of the club.
That Crystal Palace display at Selhurst Park against Cardiff, also in December, was among the most wasteful of the season, with just five of their 31 shots being on target and not one of them resulting in a goal.
But in terms of attacking impotence this term, nothing matched Bournemouth’s failure to register a single shot during their 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at the beginning of March, although Swansea also managed that same remarkable feat away at Huddersfield last season.