Weekend facts: Liverpool's short road to glory and much more

Fascinating facts from each of this weekend's Premier League games, including slow-starting Everton, imperious Rooney, illegal Spurs, poor Palace, pass-free Britannia, exciting Stadium of Light and rather good Liverpool.

Swansea 1-2 Everton

  • Seamus Coleman's opener means that Everton defenders have supplied 8 Premier League goals this season, more than at any other club.
  • Of Everton’s last 11 league goals, 5 have come from full-backs (Coleman 3, Oviedo 2).
  • Ross Barkley's late winner means that Everton have now scored 3 league goals from direct free-kicks this season; only Man City (5) have scored more, although Liverpool and Man United also have 3.
  • Of Everton’s 14 shots in this game, 10 came in the second half.
  • Swansea made a weekend-high 23 interceptions.

SwanseaEverton • Swansea 1-2 Everton on Stats Zone

 

ANALYSIS The kids are alright for Roy

 

Southampton 2-3 Tottenham

  • Either side of Jos Hooiveld's own goal, Spurs scored 2 goals from 3 unblocked shots on target (Saints had 5). Southampton goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga has conceded 10 goals this season but made only 6 saves.
  • Adam Lallana’s 13th-minute goal was Southampton’s 1st from outside the box in open play this season.
  • Tottenham have now gone 7 Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet. 
  • Excluding penalties, Roberto Soldado has hit only 8 shots on target in 15 league appearances for Tottenham.
  • Tottenham’s total of 18 fouls is a league high for them this season.
  • The only game under AVB in which they conceded as many fouls as in this game was the home game vs Arsenal last season (21).

SouthamptonTottenham • Southampton 2-3 Tottenham on Stats Zone

 

ANALYSIS Sherwood's gambles pay off

 

Crystal Palace 0-3 Newcastle

  • Palace had just 33% possession. Overall this season they have averaged a league-low 39.8% possession at home.
  • This is the first time Newcastle have kept back-to-back clean sheets in league away games since September 2011.
  • Prior to Yohan Cabaye’s goal Palace had kept three consecutive clean sheets at home, going 297 minutes without conceding at Selhurst Park in the league.
  • 22% of Crystal Palace’s passes were long, the highest proportion in the PL this weekend. Each team completed 17 long balls (Palace attempted 59 to Newcastle's 51) but the visitors completed 472 short passes to the hosts' 171.

Crystal PalaceNewcastle • Palace 0-3 Newcastle on Stats Zone

 

ANALYSIS Pardew continues to prove his credentials

 

Fulham 2-4 Man City

  • Yaya Toure has now scored 9 league goals this season, his most prolific campaign with City.
  • Toure has scored 4 direct free kick goals in his Premier League career – all this season. 
  • The only time a team has scored more goals after 17 Premier League games than City have this season (51) was City themselves, with 53 in their 2011/12 title-winning campaign.
  • City were the only team this weekend to reach double figures for shots on target (10).

FulhamMan City • Fulham 2-4 Man City on Stats Zone

 

ANALYSIS Meulensteen must unlock Taarabt's potential • ANALYSIS Negredo is City's unsung hero

 

Man United 3-1 West Ham

  • All 5 visiting goalkeepers to make their Premier League debut at Old Trafford have conceded and lost, Adrian joining Fulham's Edwin van der Sar, Manchester City's Andreas Isaksson, Derby's Mart Poom and Arsenal's Wojciech Szczesny.
  • Danny Welbeck has scored in successive PL games for the first time since April 2012.
  • Carlton Cole scored his 1st away Premier League goal since West Brom in February 2011, ending a run of 24 away games without a goal.
  • West Ham scored with their 1st and only shot on target in this game. It was their first league goal at Old Trafford in the league since Dean Ashton scored in a 4-1 defeat in May 2008.
  • Man United delivered 18 unsuccessful crosses in this game.
  • No one in the PL created more goalscoring chances this weekend than Wayne Rooney (6) – all from open play.

Man UnitedWest Ham • Man United 3-1 West Ham on Stats Zone

 

ANALYSIS United youngsters thrive but Rooney the main man

 

Stoke 2-1 Aston Villa

  • In 15 league games this season Charlie Adam has scored 4 goals - more than he managed in the whole of 2012-13 (3 in 27 games).
  • Aston Villa have scored only 1 goal in the first half of their last 12 league matches.
  • Stoke scored with both of their shots on target in this match; Villa had 4.
  • Villa were successful with only 56% of their passes in the opposition half, the lowest rate in the Premier League this weekend.
  • Stoke are only 9th in total long throws this season but had the most this weekend (9), in the week that Rory Delap retired from football.
  • There were only 344 completed passes in this game (Stoke 186, Villa 158) - easily the lowest in the division this weekend. The highest total was 841 at Fulham-Man City. 

StokeAston Villa • Stoke 2-1 Aston Villa on Stats Zone

 

ANALYSIS Stoke style guide a work in progress

 

Sunderland 0-0 Norwich

  • Including blocked shots, there were 33 attempts on goal. Of the other 17 Premier League 0-0s this season, only Norwich-Cardiff featured more shots (37).
  • Norwich have drawn just 2 of their last 15 league away games, both at Sunderland.

SunderlandNorwich • Sunderland 0-0 Norwich on Stats Zone

 

ANALYSIS Sunderland need a striker as Altidore struggles

 

West Brom 1-1 Hull

  • WBA striker Matej Vydra scored with his first shot of any kind in the Premier League.
  • 17 of the 20 league goals Hull have conceded this season have come in away games.
  • West Brom made the most unsuccessful passes in the final third (64) this weekend, Hull the fewest (31) – although in percentage terms the two weren't far apart: WBA's 108 completions from 172 attempts is 61.7%, Hull's 50 from 81 is 62.7%.

West BromHull • West Brom 1-1 Hull on Stats Zone

 

ANALYSIS Huddlestone leads the way for Tigers

 

Liverpool 3-1 Cardiff

  • Liverpool have scored twice as many goals in the first half of Premier League games this season (28) as they have in the second half (14).
  • The Anfield outfit have won 6 successive home league games for the first time since March 2010; they went on to win 8 on the bounce.
  • Liverpool have conceded exactly 1 goal in 6 of their last 7 home league games.
  • Brendan Rodgers' side hit the woodwork 3 times, making their season total a league-leading 15.
  • Cardiff had the most headed shots this weekend (6) and scored the only headed goal.
  • Liverpool played the highest proportion of short passes this weekend (93%). 609 of their 637 attempted passes were short.
  • The home side played 5 through-balls, a third of the total in the Premier League this weekend.
  • Luis Suarez made 16 touches in the opposition box, more than each of Villa, Cardiff, Hull and Southampton. 

LiverpoolCardiff • Liverpool 3-1 Cardiff on Stats Zone

 

ANALYSIS Henderson thrives after Gait-gate
 

Gary Parkinson is a freelance writer, editor, trainer, muso, singer, actor and coach. He spent 14 years at FourFourTwo as the Global Digital Editor and continues to regularly contribute to the magazine and website, including major features on Euro 96, Subbuteo, Robert Maxwell and the inside story of Liverpool's 1990 title win. He is also a Bolton Wanderers fan.