Martin Tyler's best stats of the 2014/15 season

Martin Tyler reviews the best statistics from the Premier League and Champions League last season.

MARTIN'S STARTING STATS

Barcelona’s triumph in the Champions League final over Juventus secured Spain’s superiority in Europe’s elite competition. Spain have produced 15 winners since the tournament officially began in 1955/56.

Neymar equalled Jose Aguas for Benfica in 1961 by scoring in both legs in the quarters, semis and the final.

He sealed Barcelona’s win with the last play of the match and it was the fifth time there has been a 3-1 scoreline in a European Cup final. Here's the other four:

1963/64 Inter 3-1 Real Madrid

1976/77 Liverpool 3-1 Borussia Monchengladbach

1996/97 Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Juventus

2010/11 Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United

It was the 8th European Cup final for both clubs. Barcelona have won five including four in a row, whereas Juventus have now lost six – the most any club has ever lost in this competition including the last four.

Xavi left Barcelona with a record of 767 apps and 85 goals. His 151st Champions League appearance sets a new record, overtaking Iker Casillas. Barca's front three have got 122 between them; Messi 59, Neymar 39, Suarez 25.

AUGUST

Goalscoring starts

Hi Martin. Happy to read your column once again. With 26 goals being scored on match day one of the new Premier League season, I'm wondering if this is the lowest number of goals ever scored on match day one of a Premier League season? Best regards! Sheikh, LFC fan in Ghana.

MARTIN SAYS: Twenty-six goals is about average for the opening weekend of a Premier League season and we saw one more goal scored this year than on Matchday one of last season.

The best goalscoring start to a Premier League season came in 2003/04 when we saw 36 goals scored – that’s 3.6 goals per game. There were no goalless draws and a few big scorelines including Fulham 3-2 Middlesbrough, Blackburn 5-1 Wolves and Manchester United 4-0 Bolton.

SEPTEMBER

Great column. How about some answers to do with the ages of players? Who is the oldest player ever to feature in a PL match? Likewise, who is the youngest ever player in the PL? Which team had the youngest (starting) line up and which team had the oldest (starting) line up (Chelsea?)? Colin

MARTIN SAYS: The oldest player in Premier League history is John Burridge, who was aged 43 years, 162 days when he played in goal for Manchester City against QPR in May 1995.

At the other end of the spectrum, the youngest player in Premier League history was Matthew Briggs, who played for Fulham against Middlesbrough at the age of 16 years, 68 days on May 13, 2007. He has only made 12 top-flight appearances since then.

Interestingly, the youngest team in Premier League history played in a Middlesbrough v Fulham match 12 months earlier on May 7 2006.

As for the oldest Premier League starting XI, it wasn’t Chelsea as you suggested. The Portsmouth team that played at Tottenham on March 27, 2010 had an average age of 32 years, 105 days.

OCTOBER

England’s Arsenal

Hi Martin. It’s always been stated lately about how many foreign players are playing at Arsenal and often how many of them are French. But watching the England game tonight there was five Arsenal players in England squad, four in the starting line-up and all five on the pitch for a period in the second half. When was last time Arsenal had five players in an England team? Matt Melinn - Arsenal fan

MARTIN SAYS: As you say, England had five players on the pitch in the second half of the game against San Marino when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on to join Calum Chambers, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck.

Thanks to Opta I can tell you that the last time five Arsenal players played for England in the same game was November 1988 against Saudi Arabia when Tony Adams, Michael Thomas and David Rocastle started the game – and then Brian Marwood and my Sky Sports colleague Alan Smith came off the bench in the second half.

NOVEMBER

Comeback kings

Hi Martin. Which team has won the most games in a Premier League season from a losing position? Steve Jordan

MARTIN SAYS: Only one side has had 10 comeback wins in a single Premier League season and that’s Newcastle in 2001/02, when they finished fourth in the table. The most emphatic of the Magpies’ come-from-behind wins was when they thrashed Everton 6-2 after falling behind to an early Duncan Ferguson goal. They also won 4-1 at Middlesbrough after conceding in the fourth minute and came from behind to beat Tottenham 3-1.

DECEMBER

Disappointing hunting grounds

Arsenal’s recent struggles at Stoke continued in December and so did Chelsea’s poor form at Newcastle: what is the worst example of a bogey ground for a team in the Premier League? (Johnno, Norwich)

MARTIN SAYS: There is one very clear winner (or loser) for this question and that’s Fulham, who have never taken a point at Goodison Park from 13 top-flight matches.

The Cottagers have come close to nicking a point on a few occasions against Everton, only losing by a single goal on six of their trips. In 2009-10 they were just minutes away from drawing until a late penalty from Mikel Arteta secured a 2-1 win for the Toffees.

It was a similar story in 2008-09 as Louis Saha’s 87th-minute goal gave Everton a 1-0 win while in 2001-02 the home side still won 2-1 despite having Thomas Gravesen sent off after 28 minutes.

JANUARY

King of the assist

@SkyFootball Who’s the fastest player to get 15 assists in a single Premier League season?#TylersTeasers @1905Fahad

MARTIN SAYS: Diego Costa’s second goal against Swansea in their 5-0 win was a landmark goal as Cesc Fabregas became the first player to provide 15 assists in two different Premier League seasons (2007/08 and 2014/15).

The Chelsea midfielder took five games fewer than anyone else in Premier League history to reach 15 assists. He needed just 21 games to reach the landmark. Robert Pires is second in that list, taking just 26 games in the 2001/02 campaign for Arsenal. I think this says a lot about the quality of Fabregas – and also the quality of the team he is playing in.

FEBRUARY

Leicester were bottom of the Premier League from late November, but has a team ever been bottom for a longer run and still avoided the drop at the end of the season? (Sam, Leicester)

MARTIN SAYS: Nigel Pearson’s side fell to the foot of the Premier League standings on November 29 and they remained there until April 18.

Leicester ended up breaking a record with this spell at the bottom. Before then, no other side had ever spent 100 consecutive days bottom of the Premier League and survived.

Nigel Pearson's side followed a precedent set by West Brom in 2004, who survived after 99 days at the bottom of the table.

MARCH

Aston Villa got their first penalty of the season against West Brom. Has a team ever gone a whole season without getting one? (Taylor, Cannock)

MARTIN SAYS: Seven sides have gone a whole campaign without winning a penalty; QPR (1994/95), Wimbledon (1998/99), Southampton (2000/01), Blackburn (2003/04), Charlton (2004/05), Swansea (2012/13) and Tottenham (2012/13).

However, Wimbledon's 1998/99 campaign came in the middle of an incredible 91-game drought without being given a spot-kick, stretching from November 1997 to March 2000, the longest spell in Premier League history.

APRIL

Harry Kane scored 21 Premier League goals. But tell me, was Kane the fastest to 20 in Premier League history? (James, Norfolk)

MARTIN SAYS: It was quite extraordinary from a player who started his first Premier League game in November, but he was by no means be the fastest.

Luis Suarez reached 20 goals for Liverpool in just 1,308 minutes last season, going on to grab 31 in the Premier League, and fellow South American Sergio Aguero hit 20 in 1,455 minutes.

MAY

How many Premier League teams have managed to win back-to-back league games at Old Trafford like West Brom have? There can’t be many! (Ann, Surrey)

MARTIN SAYS: You’re quite right – it’s not a common feat, but West Brom became the fifth team to win back-to-back league matches at Old Trafford in the Premier League era.

Only one side has ever won three in a row in the Premier League era at Old Trafford, and that just happens to be their local rivals, Manchester City, who started their run with that incredible 6-1 win back in October 2011, before winning 2-1 and then 3-0 in the next two seasons, with their run coming to an end after their most recent 4-2 defeat.