When was the last time three English sides lost on one Champions League Matchday? It's Martin Tyler...
Martin's back with some fascinating stats...
Martin Tyler's stats and facts column is here!
Every week he will be here on skysports.com to answer your questions and to offer you statistical gems from what he's seen as he tours the world commentating for Sky Sports.
Sky Sports' voice of football and his back-up team of experts want your queries on all things statistical and historical from the beautiful game.
So if you have spotted something from a game or have been stumped by a pub quiz question, simply email skysportsclub@bskyb.com and he will do his best to help.
Tyler's teaser
But as usual we'll kick off with a question for YOU. Click play to see this week's Tyler's Teaser.
Martin's starting stat
I saw a great game at White Hart Lane on Saturday full of landmarks that did happen and some that didn't.
Some of those that did: Jermain Defoe scored his 200th career goal, William Gallas scored his first goal for the club on his 50th appearance and it was also the 100th top-flight home goal that Tottenham have scored against Chelsea.
Some that didn't: Frank Lampard didn't make his 500th Premier League start or score his 100th Premier League goal in London or overtake Bobby Tambling's record of 129 top-division Chelsea goals. Plus Emmanuel Adebayor is still on 99 goals in England, as is Fernando Torres.
Tottenham have scored in their last 29 Premier League home games since a 0-0 draw with West Ham in March 2011. However, it was their first defeat in their last 21 Premier League London derbies at home since they lost 3-1 to Arsenal in September 2007.
Chelsea won at White Hart Lane for first time in seven years after three defeats and three draws in that period. It was also the second time that Chelsea have done the North London away double in the Premier League era, having previously done so in 2005/06.
THREE AT A LOSS
Dear Martin. Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal all lost in Europe this week. When was the last time three English teams lost on the same Matchday in the Champions League? It can't have happened very often. Neal (Chelsea fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Thanks to our friends at Opta I can tell you that this season's Matchday 3 was only the fifth time in Champions League history that we've seen three English sides lose. The previous occasions were:
2004/05: February 22/23 (last 16, first leg)
On this Matchday, Arsenal lost 3-1 to Bayern Munich, Chelsea lost 2-1 to Barcelona and Manchester United lost 1-0 to AC Milan. The other English team in action was Liverpool who beat Bayer Leverkusen. Chelsea overturned their deficit in the second leg, but Arsenal and Manchester United both went out of the competition.
2002/03: March 18/19 (second group stage)
On this Matchday, the Spanish sides got the better of the English. Manchester United lost 2-0 to Deportivo de La Coruña, Arsenal lost 2-1 to Valencia and Newcastle lost 2-0 to Barcelona. No other English teams were playing that night, but while Manchester United got out of their group Newcastle and Arsenal eventually went out.
2002/03: October 29/30 (first group stage)
The only previous time three English sides had lost on the same Matchday of the first group stage was almost exactly a decade ago. Newcastle beat Dynamo Kiev 2-1 at home, but the other three English sides all lost. Manchester United lost 3-0 to Maccabi Haifa, Arsenal lost 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool lost 1-0 to Valencia.
2000/01: April 17/18 (quarter-final, second leg)
All three teams in action lost on this Matchday with Arsenal losing 1-0 to Valencia and Manchester United losing 2-1 to Bayern Munich to seal their exits from the competition. Leeds also lost 2-0 to Deportivo de La Coruña, but it felt like a victory because they had won the first leg 3-0 and progressed to the semi-finals.
A HAT-TRICK OF SORTS...
Hi Martin, just wondered how many players have scored a 'Rooney hat-trick' like Wayne Rooney did this weekend; that is, two goals for their team and an own goal for the opposition! Can you also tell us how many players have scored at both ends in the same Premier League game. I can't remember any Man Utd players doing it before Rooney against Stoke. Bob Nene (Man Utd fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Wayne Rooney is only the second player to score this unique type of "hat-trick" whereby one of the three goals was scored at the wrong end. The only other player to do it in the Premier League era is my
Sky Sports colleague Niall Quinn. Back on September 22, 2001 he opened the scoring in the Sunderland v Charlton game, but at the wrong end! Charlton went 2-0 up through Steve Brown, but Quinn redeemed himself by scoring in the 74th and 77nd minutes and the game finished 2-2. Maybe we should call it the "Niall Quinn" hat-trick because he did it first!
This question has also made me think of the famous Aston Villa v Leicester game on March 20 1976 when Chris Nicholl scored all four goals in a 2-2 draw. He twice gave Leicester the lead and twice equalised - although he said the third (Leicester's second ) was the best goal he ever scored - a diving header!
To answer your other question, Rooney became the 32nd player to score at both ends in the same Premier League game and only the second player to do so for Manchester United. David Beckham had previously scored at both ends in a 2-2 draw with Blackburn in August 2001.
Here is a list of all of the players to have scored at both ends in the same Premier League game:
| Date |
Team |
Player |
Opponent |
Own Goals |
Goals |
| 26/1/93 |
Blackburn Rovers |
Colin Hendry |
Coventry City |
1 |
1 |
| 19/3/94 |
Chelsea |
Craig Burley |
Liverpool |
1 |
1 |
| 29/10/94 |
Southampton |
Neil Maddison |
Leeds United |
1 |
1 |
| 26/10/96 |
Blackburn Rovers |
Henning Berg |
West Ham United |
1 |
1 |
| 1/3/97 |
Chelsea |
Scott Minto |
Derby County |
1 |
1 |
| 14/11/98 |
West Ham United |
Frank Lampard |
Leicester City |
1 |
1 |
| 8/5/99 |
Aston Villa |
Gareth Barry |
Charlton Athletic |
1 |
1 |
| 19/3/00 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
Chris Armstrong |
Arsenal |
1 |
1 |
| 3/2/01 |
Ipswich Town |
Mark Venus |
Leeds United |
1 |
1 |
| 3/3/01 |
Everton |
David Unsworth |
Newcastle United |
1 |
1 |
| 22/8/01 |
Manchester United |
David Beckham |
Blackburn Rovers |
1 |
1 |
| 22/9/01 |
Sunderland |
Niall Quinn |
Charlton Athletic |
1 |
2 |
| 29/12/01 |
Bolton Wanderers |
Michael Ricketts |
Leicester City |
1 |
1 |
| 13/4/02 |
Charlton Athletic |
Richard Rufus |
Southampton |
1 |
1 |
| 26/10/02 |
Arsenal |
Edu |
Blackburn Rovers |
1 |
1 |
| 15/3/03 |
Southampton |
Michael Svensson |
Fulham |
1 |
1 |
| 28/8/04 |
Southampton |
James Beattie |
Chelsea |
1 |
1 |
| 27/11/04 |
Southampton |
Andreas Jakobsson |
Crystal Palace |
1 |
1 |
| 26/2/06 |
Fulham |
Heidar Helguson |
Bolton Wanderers |
1 |
1 |
| 9/4/06 |
Middlesbrough |
George Boateng |
Newcastle United |
1 |
1 |
| 3/11/07 |
Arsenal |
William Gallas |
Manchester United |
1 |
1 |
| 13/12/08 |
Bolton Wanderers |
Kevin Davies |
Aston Villa |
1 |
1 |
| 12/9/09 |
Hull City |
Kamil Zayatte |
Sunderland |
1 |
1 |
| 7/11/09 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers |
Jody Craddock |
Arsenal |
1 |
1 |
| 5/12/09 |
Manchester City |
Emmanuel Adebayor |
Chelsea |
1 |
1 |
| 9/1/10 |
Everton |
Leon Osman |
Arsenal |
1 |
1 |
| 2/5/10 |
West Ham United |
Carlton Cole |
Fulham |
1 |
1 |
| 22/8/10 |
Fulham |
Brede Hangeland |
Manchester United |
1 |
1 |
| 28/11/10 |
Liverpool |
Martin Skrtel |
Tottenham Hotspur |
1 |
1 |
| 29/10/11 |
Swansea City |
Danny Graham |
Bolton Wanderers |
1 |
1 |
| 26/11/11 |
Arsenal |
Thomas Vermaelen |
Fulham |
1 |
1 |
| 20/10/12 |
Manchester United |
Wayne Rooney |
Stoke City |
1 |
2 |
WAITING FOR RED
Morning Martin, I'm a Liverpool fan who is not so much worried as wary. In the past Anfield has been a fortress but it has taken five home games to register our first league win. My question is this: what's the longest period of time Liverpool have gone without a home league win and where did they finish that season? Thanks in advance, Huw, Liverpool
MARTIN SAYS: It may have taken Liverpool until the fifth attempt to record a home win this season, but that's nothing compared to the 1951/52 season when they went 10 home games without a win. The Anfield fans saw them beat Fulham 4-0 on October 13 and had to wait until March 22 for their next home win in the league (3-0 v Newcastle). In between they lost to West Brom and Aston Villa and drew eight games against Bolton, Man Utd, Preston, Chelsea, Blackpool, Wolves, Charlton and Middlesbrough. They finished the season in 11th place in the 22-team league.
Here is a list of Liverpool's worst home runs in the league:
| Date of Final Game |
Home Games Without a Win |
All in Same Season? |
Final Position |
| 08/03/1952 |
10 |
Yes |
11th, Div One |
| 24/08/1955 |
8 |
No |
N/A |
| 08/02/2003 |
7 |
Yes |
5th in PL |
| 01/05/1926 |
6 |
Yes |
7th, Div One |
| 20/01/1934 |
6 |
Yes |
18th, Div One |
| 04/12/1937 |
6 |
Yes |
11th, Div One |
| 21/02/1948 |
6 |
Yes |
11th, Div One |
| 19/02/1949 |
6 |
Yes |
12th, Div One |
| 17/01/1953 |
6 |
Yes |
17th, Div One |
| 20/03/1954 |
6 |
Yes |
23rd, Div One |
| 07/03/1970 |
6 |
Yes |
5th, Div One |
| 10/11/1984 |
6 |
Yes |
2nd, Div One |
If you're judging their waits from the START of a season, Liverpool also had to wait five home games for a home win in 1894/95 (finished 16/16) and 1911-12 (finished 17/20), so the signs are not too promising in that regard! On Sunday November 4 I'll be at Anfield to see them play Newcastle, live on Sky Sports.
CHAMPIONS CONCEDING
Dear Martin, even at this stage of the season it looks as if Man City will really struggle to keep clean sheets. Can you tell me what's the fewest clean sheets by any eventual title winner in one season? Also, I'd like to know what's the most clean sheets a side has kept without winning the title. Much obliged, Pat Armstrong
MARTIN SAYS: Manchester City have only kept one clean sheet in their eight games so far (against Sunderland) and if they continue at the same rate then statistically they will finish the season with only five shutouts to their name. That does not bode well for their title hopes because the fewest number of clean sheets recorded by any Premier League title-winner is the 12 that Manchester United achieved in 1999/2000. City themselves managed 17 on their way to the championship last season, but that was some way off the record set by Chelsea in 2004/05, who finished up with 25 clean sheets from their 38 games.
Number of clean sheets recorded by each Premier League title winner:
| Champions |
Season |
Clean Sheets |
| Chelsea |
04/05 |
25 |
| Manchester United |
08/09 |
24 |
| Manchester United |
07/08 |
21 |
| Chelsea |
05/06 |
20 |
| Arsenal |
97/98 |
19 |
| Chelsea |
09/10 |
18 |
| Manchester United |
92/93 |
18 |
| Manchester United |
95/96 |
18 |
| Manchester United |
00/01 |
17 |
| Manchester United |
11/12 |
17 |
| Manchester United |
93/94 |
17 |
| Manchester United |
06/07 |
16 |
| Blackburn Rovers |
94/95 |
16 |
| Arsenal |
03/04 |
15 |
| Manchester United |
10/11 |
15 |
| Manchester United |
96/97 |
15 |
| Arsenal |
01/02 |
14 |
| Manchester United |
02/03 |
13 |
| Manchester United |
98/99 |
13 |
| Manchester United |
99/00 |
12 |
The Chelsea team referred to above hold the record for most clean sheets in a Premier League season, but a solid defence does not necessarily result in a Premier League medal. Below we have published a list of the 10 teams to have kept the most clean sheets in a Premier League season - and only two of them went on to win the title!
Most clean sheets in a Premier League season:
| Team |
Seasons |
League Position |
Clean Sheets |
| Chelsea |
04/05 |
1 |
25 |
| Manchester United |
94/95 |
2 |
24 |
| Manchester United |
08/09 |
1 |
24 |
| Arsenal |
98/99 |
2 |
23 |
| Liverpool |
05/06 |
3 |
22 |
| Chelsea |
06/07 |
2 |
22 |
| Chelsea |
08/09 |
3 |
22 |
| Arsenal |
93/94 |
4 |
21 |
| Chelsea |
03/04 |
2 |
21 |
| Chelsea |
07/08 |
2 |
21 |
SAINT THAT A SHAME
Dear Martin. I noticed that Southampton have let in 24 goals so far. Has any team ever let in that many goals at this stage and where did they end up? Edward (Southampton fan)
MARTIN SAYS: According to our friends at Opta, this Southampton side do have the worst defensive record of any team in Premier League history after eight games of a season. They are the first side in 21 seasons of the Premier League to average three goals conceded per game at this stage.
The record was previously held by Sheffield Wednesday, who conceded 23 goals in their first eight games in 1999/2000, but if you're looking for omens it's bad news Edward because they were relegated at the end of that season. The next worst record is held by the Bolton side of last season, who'd conceded 22 goals by this stage and were also relegated.
Southampton are the eighth team in Premier League history to concede 20 or more in their first eight games. As you'll see from the table below, two of the previous seven did avoid the drop. Southampton (1998/99) finished 17th after conceding 21 in their first eight games and Sheffield Wednesday ended up 16th in 1997/98 after they let in 20 in their opening eight fixtures.
Most goals conceded in the opening eight games of a Premier League season:
| Team |
Season |
P |
A |
Final Place |
Newly Prom? |
| Southampton |
12/13 |
8 |
24 |
- |
? |
| Sheffield Wednesday |
99/00 |
8 |
23 |
19 |
No |
| Bolton Wanderers |
11/12 |
8 |
22 |
18 |
No |
| Barnsley |
97/98 |
8 |
21 |
19 |
Yes |
| Southampton |
98/99 |
8 |
21 |
17 |
No |
| Derby County |
07/08 |
8 |
21 |
20 |
Yes |
| Sheffield Wednesday |
97/98 |
8 |
20 |
16 |
No |
| Hull City |
09/10 |
8 |
20 |
19 |
No |
| Nottingham Forest |
92/93 |
8 |
19 |
22 |
No |
| Swindon Town |
93/94 |
8 |
19 |
22 |
Yes |
| Newcastle United |
99/00 |
8 |
19 |
11 |
No |
| Derby County |
00/01 |
8 |
19 |
17 |
No |
ACES WITH BRACES
Hi Martin. I managed to score a brace for my university's seconds on Saturday and then scored another one for the firsts on Sunday. This got me wondering, what is the shortest time between braces for a Premier League player? Also, this was my fourth brace of the season and I was wondering who has scored the most braces in one Premier League season so I can compare! This should give me some good ammunition to boast with to my team mates (PS can you just ask Opta about braces, not hat-tricks / four goals etc...) Mark (Leicester fan)
MARTIN SAYS: I want to know more of the story, Mark. Did the goals on the Saturday get you in the team for the Sunday? Let us know!
If we're excluding hat-tricks then I can't mention Les Ferdinand who remarkably scored three for QPR against Nottingham Forest on Easter Saturday 1993 and then three more against Everton on Easter Monday. No other player has scored three hat-tricks within 48 hours.
If we're looking at braces, and braces only, then the shortest gap is the two days needed by Guy Whittingham in December 1994 and Collins John in April 2004.
Whittingham scored two for Sheffield Wednesday at Everton on Boxing Day 1994 and then two more at home to Coventry on December 28. Collins John did the same for Fulham at Leicester on April 10 2004 and also at home to Blackburn on April 12. Clearly finding goalscoring form during the Christmas / Easter holiday period is going to help you top this list!
Fewest days between braces in the Premier League (date of second brace listed):
TWO DAYS
28/12/94: Guy Whittingham
12/04/04: Collins John
THREE DAYS
22/08/92: David Hirst
08/05/93: Ian Rush
23/11/93: Alan Shearer
01/01/94: Kevin Campbell
15/04/00: Paulo Wanchope,
08/05/01: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
26/12/06: Cristiano Ronaldo
01/11/08: Cristiano Ronaldo
27/03/10: Florent Malouda
14/04/12: Sergio Agüero
As for the most braces scored in one Premier League season, that record belongs to Alan Shearer, who scored nine braces for Blackburn in 1993/94. Again, this list excludes hat-tricks:
1993/1994: Alan Shearer (9)
1999/2000: Kevin Phillips (8)
2007/2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (8)
2005/2006: Thierry Henry (7)
1994/1995: Les Ferdinand (7)
2009/2010: Didier Drogba (7)
2001/2002: Thierry Henry (7)
1995/1996: Robbie Fowler (7)
2003/2004: Alan Shearer (7)
2011/2012: Wayne Rooney (6)
2008/2009: Cristiano Ronaldo (6)
2011/2012: Robin van Persie (6)
1993/1994: Matthew Le Tissier (6)
1993/1994: Chris Sutton (6)
