EPL

Aguero's Panenka anguish, comeback kings and second-half heroes - the Premier League weekend's quirky facts

By Sports Desk May 10, 2021

Manchester City's wait for a third Premier League title in four years went on after they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Chelsea at the weekend.

Pep Guardiola's side do have an unwanted statistic to their name in that ratio, however, having now lost three of their past four league outings at the Etihad Stadium.

Another trend to continue was Manchester United falling behind before beating Aston Villa 3-1.

As the season reaches its final stretch, players will be well aware it's a marathon not a sprint. Indeed, one of the division's most noted pace merchants has proved again he is adept at lasting the course.

Using Opta data, we take a look at these talking points from the most recent round of Premier League fixtures.

Aguero's Panenka woe continues City's penalty torment

Sergio Aguero knows a thing or two about scoring the goal to clinch a Premier League title, so City probably felt they had the perfect man standing over Saturday's penalty against Chelsea, with Guardiola's much-changed side 1-0 up thanks to Raheem Sterling.

But Aguero's awful chipped effort gave Edouard Mendy chance to go to ground, stand up again and catch the ball – a moment of complete embarrassment for the Premier League's all-time leading overseas goalscorer.

None of the misses have been quite as, well, hilarious as the one Aguero conjured up, but he joins Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Sterling in having failed from 12 yards this season.

These are not new problems, with those misses making City the first team since Tottenham in 1993-94 and 1994-95 to fail from four or more penalties in consecutive seasons.

Overall, City have missed 32 of 130 Premier League penalties, with Spurs (33), Liverpool, Aston Villa (both 34), Arsenal (36) and Manchester United (40) the only teams more profligate.

Of teams to have taken at least 50 Premier League penalties, Villa's 67.6 conversion percentage (71 from 105) is the worst. City have scored 98 out of 130 (75.4 per cent).

Marcos the marksman

When wing-back Marcos Alonso scuffed home Chelsea's winner at the Etihad Stadium, the inclination was to celebrate an "unlikely hero". However, the Spain international is no stranger to the scoresheet.

Alonso has now netted 24 goals for the Blues – the same number as Alvaro Morata and Daniel Sturridge and three more than Andriy Shevchenko.

In the Premier League era, only John Terry (61), Branislav Ivanovic (34) and Gary Cahill (25) have scored more often as Chelsea defenders.

Among his current team-mates, strikers Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham, with 39 and 30 respectively, are the only players with more goals for the club.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the forthcoming transfer window sees Alonso go into next season as Chelsea's leading club scorer.

Premier League record in sight for Solskjaer's comeback kings

When Bertrand Traore put them ahead on Sunday, Villa might have been forgiven for fearing the worst.

Sure enough, Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani were on target after Bruno Fernandes equalised from the penalty spot.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side now have 31 points from losing positions, bettering their previous best of 29 in 2012-13, when Alex Ferguson rounded off his celebrated tenure with one last title success.

In their four remaining games this term, United could overhaul the Premier League record of 34 points gained after falling behind, set by Bobby Robson's Newcastle United in 2001-02. Their 10 wins after conceding first in 2020-21 is already a competition best.

The Red Devils also claimed 24 points after going behind in 1999-00, when they retained the title. Arsenal emulated that feat in the same season, also doing so in 2011-12.

The equivalent of eight wins from behind has also been achieved by Everton in 2002-03 and Tottenham in 2010-11, the same campaign when West Brom turned deficits into 27 points.

Game of two halves for Traore

Coming from behind to win obviously requires a certain level of collective improvement throughout games. Individually, Adama Traore certainly seems to warm to his task as matches progress.

The Wolves winger netted the equaliser before Nuno Espirito Santo's men beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1.

That was his seventh career goal in the Premier League – all of which have been scored in the second half.

Traore's haul is the highest of exclusively second-half goals in the competition's history. His old Villa team-mate Rudy Gestede, former Middlesbrough midfielder Phil Stamp and ex-Newcastle and Ipswich Town forward Alex Mathie each have six.

Karel Poborsky, Gerald Sibon, Emre, Craig Fagan, Pablo Hernandez, Carlos Vela, Jose Holebas and Adam Smith all have five second-half Premier League goals, having never troubled the scorers before half-time.

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  • On this day in 2013: Michael Owen announces decision to retire at end of season On this day in 2013: Michael Owen announces decision to retire at end of season

    Former England striker Michael Owen announced he would retire at the end of the season on this day in 2013.

    Owen, then 33, had signed a one-year contract with Stoke after leaving Manchester United the previous summer but his time in the Potteries was hampered by a hamstring injury, contributing to his decision to call it a day.

    Owen scored 40 goals in 89 England appearances – making him the fourth highest scorer for his country’s men’s team at the time – and played at the top level for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle and Manchester United.

    “It is with an immense amount of pride that I am announcing my intention to retire,” Owen said on March 19, 2013.

    “I have been very fortunate in that my career has taken me on a journey I could only have dreamed of.

    “I now feel it is the right time to bring the curtain down on my career.”

    Owen burst on to the scene as a teenager at Liverpool and made England’s 1998 World Cup squad aged only 18.

    His memorable solo goal against Argentina in that tournament made him a world superstar.

    Owen scored 220 goals in club football, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, as well as being a three-time League Cup winner.

    The peak of his club career came at Liverpool where he scored 158 goals in 297 appearances, including a late double in the Reds’ 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Arsenal in 2001 – , before moving to Real Madrid in 2004.

    Owen returned to the Premier League with Newcastle in August 2005 and, after four injury-blighted years on Tyneside, moved to Manchester United on a free transfer and won his sole Premier League title at Old Trafford in 2011.

    He won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 – the first English player to collect the accolade since Kevin Keegan in 1979.

  • Eden Hazard lived the ‘dream’ playing for Real Madrid despite injury problems Eden Hazard lived the ‘dream’ playing for Real Madrid despite injury problems

    Eden Hazard has no regrets about how his dream move to Real Madrid unfolded as he enjoys life after football.

    The Belgian forward joined the Spanish giants in 2019 after becoming one of the best players in the world at Chelsea but could not have the impact he hoped for.

    Injuries and poor form restricted him to just 76 appearances in all competitions before leaving the club after four disappointing years last summer.

    He decided to retire soon after, aged just 32, but will put his boots back on this summer after signing up to play for the World XI at Soccer Aid.

    Hazard still looks back on his time at the Bernabeu with pride.

    “It was my dream, I can tell you,” he said. “Even if the story was not that good, we all know injuries and this and that, but when you look back you can see some pictures of me wearing the Real Madrid shirt and it was something I am really proud of.”

    Asked whether he could have carried on playing had things ended differently at Madrid, he replied: “That’s a good question, who knows? I think so, but my time playing football was over, I had a lot of injuries, so no regrets.”

    Hazard’s involvement in Soccer Aid on June 9 will see an emotional return to Stamford Bridge, where he enjoyed a stellar seven years.

    He won two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, an FA Cup and a League Cup and reflects on “pure happiness” during his stay in west London.

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    A post shared by Eden Hazard (@hazardeden_10)

    “I spent seven years, the best memories of my football career,” he said.

    “I met great players, not just inside the team but also outside the club, it was seven years of pure happiness.

    “When you leave you always feel a bit sad but this club is always in my head, so just good memories.”

    Hazard, who has kept in shape because he doesn’t want to look like “Peppa Pig”, is enjoying life away from football.

    He does not see a future in professional coaching or management, but would love to help his five children follow him into the game.

    “I am enjoying it a lot, I miss being with the lads in the dressing room a bit but I have the freedom to do what I want now,” he told the PA news agency.

    “I have kids, I have family, I can go to Belgium to see my mum and dad, so I can do a lot of things.

    “I don’t know, now it is just good to be away, but I still love football, for sure I am going to do something in football in the future, but now I just want to relax and enjoy my retirement.

    “I don’t think I will coach professionally, but I think I can coach for youth teams. I have kids, and I want to teach them how to play football.”

    He will be managed by current Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino in the charity match, with the likes of Usain Bolt and Roberto Carlos joining him in the World XI.

    “It’s going to be at Stamford Bridge with friends, so it is going to be a great night,” he said.

    “So let’s have fun, score some goals and make the fans happy. They do amazing work, especially when you are a dad and you have kids and you see everything they do for kids.

    “You want them to do more and that is why you want people to come to the game to have a good time at Stamford Bridge.”

    :: Soccer Aid for Unicef 2024 takes place on June 9 at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, with tickets available at www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets.

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