When Graham Potter landed his first managerial role in the fourth tier of Swedish football in January 2011, few would have expected him to be leading one of the Premier League's elite teams within little over a decade.
But after overseeing Brighton and Hove Albion's fine start to the Premier League season, Potter has stepped up to succeed Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea.
It remains to be seen how Potter, a coach with high potential, fares with new owner Todd Boehly but his arrival in west London marks the culmination of one of the most intriguing coaching journeys in recent memory.
From Ostersunds to Chelsea, Potter's rise has been Football Manager-esque.
Here, Stats Perform delves into his coaching career to date and what it could mean for the Blues.
From humble beginnings: The stunning journey at Ostersunds
Having featured prominently for the likes of West Brom, York City and Macclesfield Town during a playing career spent entirely in England, Potter made the unconventional move to Scandinavia in 2011.
Potter, whose previous coaching experience took in roles at the University of Hull and Leeds Metropolitan University, was recommended to Ostersunds by Graeme Jones, then Roberto Martinez's assistant at Swansea.
They would not regret taking him on. Within seven years, Potter was masterminding Europa League wins against Galatasaray, Hertha Berlin, and most noticeably of all, Arsenal.
Having led the side to three promotions in five seasons, Potter oversaw a terrific Svenska Cupen triumph in 2017, earning the chance to face some of Europe's biggest names.
That 2-1 success at the Emirates in February 2018 put Potter on the map, despite Arsene Wenger's men triumphing 4-2 on aggregate at the end of their round-of-32 tie.
Despite his limited resources, Potter became the first English manager to beat the Gunners in a European tie at the Emirates Stadium, while Ostersunds were the first Swedish team to win away at an English side since 1995, earning him a move to Wales.
Making waves on the Welsh coast: Reinvigorating Swansea
Swansea City were considered one of the Premier League's best-run clubs for much of their seven-year spell among the top flight between 2011 and 2018.
But the team inherited by Potter was not built for an immediate promotion challenge following their relegation that May. Having let several key men leave, their biggest outlay in Potter's first transfer window was the £3million signing of Manchester City youngster Bersant Celina.
Potter's men may have finished some nine points adrift of a Championship play-off spot, but a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals, where they suffered a controversial 3-2 defeat to City after going two goals up, put the tactician on the radar of Premier League clubs.
Despite only enjoying one season in Wales, Potter was key to the early development of the likes of Dan James and Joe Rodon, both of whom went on to join top-six clubs.
When a Premier League side were in the mood to change their style of play in 2019, Potter's sterling work in Wales put him high on their shortlist.
Seagulls soar to new heights: Potter in the Premier League
In the 2018-19 season, Chris Hughton's Brighton staved off relegation by just two points, scoring a mere 35 league goals across a dull campaign.
Potter's subsequent arrival at the club was not universally welcomed, with several pundits highlighting his lack of experience at the top level, but he quickly made them eat their words.
Although finishes of 15th and 16th in his first two campaigns may not have demonstrated obvious progress, Potter's ability to implement a progressive style was clear: having averaged 41 per cent possession in Hughton's final season, Brighton averaged 52 per cent the following year.
But the 2021-22 campaign saw Potter conduct some of his finest work to date, masterminding a ninth-place finish while losing only 11 games. Only Liverpool (two), City (three) and Chelsea (six) were beaten on fewer occasions.
In addition to the top three, only Tottenham and Wolves posted better defensive records than Brighton last term, and their high-press style was demonstrated by the fact only Liverpool and City won possession in the final third more often than the Seagulls.
On Sunday, Brighton's outstanding start to the new season went up a level, as they scored five goals in a top-flight match for the first time (in 364 outings) to blow Leicester City away.
But the Seagulls have now fallen victim to their own successes, with Potter unable to resist the advances of Chelsea.
London calling: Can Potter's methods work at Chelsea?
New owners often like to bring in their own coach upon taking charge of a club and, in that sense, Boehly's decision to dispense with Tuchel makes some sense – though doing so mere days after the end of a busy transfer window has attracted justifiable criticism.
Roman Abramovich's Chelsea tenure was characterised by success in the absence of an on-pitch identity, winning trophy after trophy despite a plethora of coaches, sackings and controversies.
If a more progressive, long-term approach is Boehly's aim, then Potter's past work suggests he could be the perfect man for the job.
Todd Boehly has made his first appointment as Chelsea owner, drafting in Graham Potter from Brighton and Hove Albion to succeed Thomas Tuchel.
The decision to axe Tuchel just a week after the close of the transfer window was a bold call but problems have reportedly stemmed throughout the summer, with defeats to Southampton and Leeds United proving to be problematic, and a decision is said to have been made before the surprise defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
In Potter, Chelsea have appointed one of the most highly-rated young managers within English football, the 47-year-old guiding Brighton to a ninth-place finish in the Premier League last season – the highest in the club's history.
He will inherit a talented and staggeringly expensive squad at Stamford Bridge, with key decisions to be made across the squad. Here, Stats Perform looks at the winners and losers of his appointment.
Winner – Marc Cucurella
Signed from Brighton for a reported £60million ahead of the 2022-23 season, many eyebrows were raised as to whether the Spain international was a worthwhile addition given Ben Chilwell's position in the squad already.
After a 15-minute cameo on the opening weekend, Cucurella has subsequently started all five of the following Premier League matches, with Chilwell demoted to the bench after he started the curtain-raiser against Everton.
Cucurella's position as first-choice down the left should be even more secure following the appointment of Potter, a player he brought to Brighton from Getafe in 2021 and one that was a staple in his side last season, appearing in 35 of the 38 league matches in a variety of position.
Loser – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Brought back to the Premier League on deadline day from Barcelona, former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang spoke about his delight of playing under Tuchel again following the pair's time together at Borussia Dortmund.
That reunion proved to be short lived, though, with Aubameyang now having to prove himself to Potter and potentially having to shake off the troublesome reputation he earned from Mikel Arteta in his time in north London.
Potter is a manager who has a set approach to play and Aubameyang must fill into that fully, though the new boss may not have the patience to try to make it work, instead looking to younger options that can be crafted to fill that role.
Winner – Armando Broja
Having impressed on loan with Southampton last season, Armando Broja was linked with further loan moves for the 2022-23 campaign but opted to remain at Stamford Bridge and fight for regular football.
The Albania international could secure exactly that under Potter if he quickly learns his style of play, with Potter's time at Brighton showing he is fully prepared to trust in the youth to fill voids in the squad – shown by Moises Caicedo's meteoric rise following the sale of Yves Bissouma to Tottenham.
Finding a long-term solution to Chelsea's striker woes is likely to be one of the biggest tasks on Tuchel's agenda after his arrival in west London and Broja should get the chance to prove he is exactly what is needed.
Loser – Ageing defenders
Chelsea spent heavily to bolster their defensive ranks after losing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, with Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana brought in as replacements.
The duo reportedly cost just over £100m and those fees will likely ensure they are Potter's first-choice pairing this season, with Chelsea keen to ensure they don't sustain another huge loss in the transfer market like they did with Romelu Lukaku.
That could be bad news for 37-year-old Thiago Silva and 33-year-old club captain Cesar Azpilicueta, both of whom will be vying for regular football ahead of the World Cup in Qatar but face considerable competition for a starting berth.
The NFC houses the reigning Super Bowl champions, but it enters the 2022 season viewed as the weaker of the two conferences.
Given the plethora of talented young quarterbacks residing in the AFC, the road to the Super Bowl appears to be an easier one in an NFC where the level of supply at the game's most important position is not quite as impressive.
But it would be wrong to suggest this is a conference lacking in depth, and there are several teams who could emerge as new and legitimate contenders to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona.
Which teams are most likely to earn that honour? Stats Perform previews the NFC with the help of its AI season simulation and pre-season position rankings.
Favourites
No team in the league is seen as having a better chance to win the Super Bowl than the Rams, with Stats Perform AI giving the defending champions a 15.3 per cent chance of retaining the Lombardi Trophy despite the loss of Von Miller and the absence of Odell Beckham Jr, who remains a free agent following the torn ACL he suffered in the Super Bowl.
Even without Beckham, the Rams' skill position players are ranked fifth. On top of that, the Rams enter the season first in pass rush, third in pass defense and first in run defense. That's what having Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey on the same team will do for you.
Their most obvious competition comes from the team they beat in a Divisional Round thriller last season, though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are projected to have just a 6.6 per cent chance to win the Super Bowl by stark comparison.
Despite the loss of center Ryan Jensen to injury and an offseason of change on the interior of the offensive line, the Buccaneers are still ranked sixth in pass protection. Tampa Bay's ability to justify that lofty position will go a long way to deciding whether Tom Brady - who had more passing plays of 25 yards or more than any other quarterback (42) in 2021 - can lead Tampa to a second title in three seasons.
Brady will have the benefit of a stacked wide receiver group, which is a luxury Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers do not enjoy as the four-time MVP launches another quest for a second Super Bowl ring.
Rodgers will be tasked with elevating a Davante Adams-less supporting cast to contention. However, though the trade of Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders dropped Green Bay's skill position players to 23rd, the Packers are still projected to win 11.5 games, the third-highest total in the NFL and a number tied in part to the continued improvements of a defense ranked third in pass rush and 10th in pass coverage that could give Rodgers the support he needs for a deep postseason run.
In the mix
The Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings combined to win a grand total of zero playoff wins in the 2021 season.
Yet all three are projected to threaten double-digit wins in 2021.
Philadelphia, blown out in the Wild Card Round by the Buccaneers last season, have a win projection of 11.9, the second-highest in the NFL behind the Rams, illustrating the strength of the roster and the level of pressure on quarterback Jalen Hurts as he heads into a critical second season as the starter knowing the Eagles have the draft capital to move on from him should he fail to deliver.
The Eagles' NFC East rivals the Cowboys have a win projection of 11 even after an offseason in which they traded wide receiver Amari Cooper and lost edge rusher Randy Gregory in free agency. Dallas will also start the year without left tackle Tyron Smith after he suffered a knee injury that will keep him out until December.
Though the Cowboys head into the season ranked sixth in pass defense, much of their success in that area was tied to takeaways and an 11-interception season from Trevon Diggs that history says is unlikely to be repeated. This is a roster that lacks depth in several key areas and the onus will be on Dak Prescott to maintain the form that saw him finish 2021 fifth in quarterback Efficiency Versus Expected (EVE) - which measures performance in expected passing situations compared to the league average - for the Cowboys to live up to their projection.
Minnesota are also predicted to produce an 11-win season in their first under the guidance of new head coach Kevin O'Connell, who will have a top-seven quarterback by EVE last season in Kirk Cousins and a skill-position group that goes into the campaign ranked eighth to work with as the Vikings aim to keep pace with the Packers in the NFC North.
Will Lance live up to expectations?
The most pertinent question in the NFC surrounds the San Francisco 49ers, who are given just a 10.6 per cent chance of making the playoffs for the third time in four seasons despite possessing one of the better all-round rosters in the league and coming within minutes of beating the Rams in the NFC Championship Game back in January.
Doubt around the Niners' ability to contend again is based on the complete unknown that is Trey Lance, the third overall pick from 2021 with just two NFL starts to his name.
Lance takes over from his now backup Jimmy Garoppolo, who was 10th in QB EVE in 2021, and the move from Garoppolo's down to down efficiency to a quarterback who is, for all intents and purposes, coming off a redshirt year, is a significant factor behind the Niners' projection of 7.1 wins.
Yet Lance is a quarterback with the big-play upside as both a passer and a runner to take an offense that finished 2021 first in EVE to an even higher level, and he will be working with a group of skill-position players ranked as the league's sixth best.
Supported by a defense that, according to the rankings, boasts the second-best pass rush and a top-seven pass coverage unit, Lance is in a tremendous situation to vindicate his lofty draft status.
Should he do so, an ultra-talented team will likely dramatically outperform their projection. If he endures the kind of growing pains associated with rookie quarterbacks, the Niners may be tempted to revert back to Garoppolo. It is that range of outcomes that makes the 49ers the most interesting team in the NFC if not the NFL.
Time to believe in the Saints?
The final few days of build-up to the new season have brought some perhaps unexpected hype about the prospects of the New Orleans Saints.
Is it justified? Well, their projection seems to suggest they have a strong chance of making it to the dance, New Orleans going into the season tied with the Los Angeles Chargers tied for the 10th-best playoff odds in the league at 60 per cent.
It is not overly difficult to make a case for the Saints, who retain one of the premier defenses in the NFL. New Orleans' defense is ranked first against the pass and fifth against the run. The coordinator who has overseen that defense, Dennis Allen, is now the Saints head coach after Sean Payton stepped away.
On offense, Alvin Kamara is a dual threat on the ground and as a receiver from the running back position, while the Saints are hoping Michael Thomas can get back to his All-Pro best at wideout after playing just seven regular-season games in the last two years.
The problem is that much of the external belief in the Saints appears to be built on hope rather than evidence. They are hoping Thomas can return to his old self, that Chris Olave can quickly become a rookie sensation at receiver and that Jameis Winston's encouraging seven-game pre-injury stretch last season was not a mirage.
Simply put, the Saints need a lot to happen for them to truly contend as many seemingly expect them to, but the undoubted quality of their defense does at least give New Orleans a reasonably high floor.
New quarterbacks, new places, same old results
Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz will each ply their trade in new locations following offseason trades.
Mayfield will look to rehabilitate his career with the Carolina Panthers while the Washington Commanders are the latest team to tell themselves they can succeed with Wentz.
Reality, however, begs to differ.
Even in what was a largely turnover-free 2021 season for the Indianapolis Colts, Wentz was still only 23rd among quarterbacks (min. 100 attempts in expected passing situations) in QB EVE.
It is no surprise, then, that the Commanders are projected to win 7.9 games, and spend another year mired in mediocrity, with Wentz unlikely to be helped by a skill-position group lacking proven playmakers outside of Terry McLaurin and ranked 31st in the league.
Mediocrity will also be the order of the season in Carolina, with the Panthers' reward for an offseason in which they traded draft capital for both Matt Corral and Mayfield a win projection of 6.8. Seven wins would represent an improvement for head coach Matt Rhule but is unlikely to be enough progress to prevent the Panthers from cleaning house come the end of the campaign.
With a new NFL season brings another chance to gain bragging rights over your friends in the world of fantasy football.
The 2022 campaign begins with a fascinating clash between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, one which should have plenty of fantasy intrigue given the plethora of offensive playmakers on show.
While fantasy players around the globe will need to have their lineups set in time for kick-off in Inglewood, it is the Sunday slate Stats Perform is concerned with this week.
Here we have picked out four offensive players and a defense who should be in your line-up for the opening week, provided of course you had the good sense to draft them.
Quarterback: Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles @ Detroit Lions
One of the quarterbacks under the most pressure to perform in 2022 gets a soft landing to start the season.
Hurts didn't have to do much to help the Eagles to a 44-6 beating of the Lions last season, but the dual threat should be licking his lips at the prospect of facing a defense that last season allowed the fourth-most yards per game (379.8) in the NFL.
Only four teams allowed more rush yards per game (135.1) than the Lions in 2021 and, despite some impressive offseason additions, there is little to suggest Hurts should not be able to excel on the ground and through the air in the season opener.
Running Back: Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers
The Packers made steps to improve their run defense in the offseason, but slowing down Cook figures to be a difficult challenge.
Cook has eight touchdowns in his last five games against the Packers (seven rushing, one receiving), a run that has included two 150-yard performances on the ground.
Playing in Kevin O'Connell's offense, Cook should continue to receive a lot of the wide zone carries that suit his playing style, making him a candidate for another big game in what should be a compelling contest.
Wide Receiver: Michael Pittman, Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans
Pittman produced his first 1,000-yard season in his second year in the league in 2021 and will unquestionably be the top target for new quarterback Matt Ryan in this campaign.
That is a very favourable position for Pittman to be in against a Texans team that allowed the third-most yards per pass play (7.12) in the NFL in 2021. Look for Ryan and Pittman to combine consistently to exploit Houston's vulnerability defending the pass.
Tight End: Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens @ New York Jets
Andrews has cemented himself as one of the top tight ends in the NFL and an extremely popular selection in fantasy football.
This week, he is an absolute must start against a Jets defense that should be improved after a strong offseason but surrendered the third-most passing yards in the league in 2021.
No tight end in the NFL was targeted more often than Andrews (153) last season and he should expect to be the favoured weapon of Lamar Jackson as the Ravens plot a return to the playoffs. The route to the postseason starts against the Jets, and the combination of his role and the opponent should deliver a productive start to the season for Andrews.
Defense/Special Teams: San Francisco 49ers @ Chicago Bears
Week 1 can be strange, but the season opener at Soldier Field has all the hallmarks of a mismatch, one which San Francisco's defensive line should utterly dominate.
The 49ers' pass rush, led by Nick Bosa - who had 15.5 sacks last season - is ranked second in the NFL by Stats Perform AI, while the Bears' offensive line is ranked as the second-worst.
That is a recipe for a game in which the 49ers put Justin Fields under constant pressure and force a plethora of negative plays and turnovers en route to victory. Slide the Niners' defense into your line-up and profit.
The Buffalo Bills are a team who have come to be defined by the agony they have suffered.
Though they are responsible for one of the most dominant stretches of offensive football in NFL history in the late 1980s and early 1990s and have more recently re-emerged as one of the most exciting teams in the league, the Bills are still yet to experience the ultimate glory of lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Buffalo finished in the top seven for yards and points every year between 1989 and 1993 as the Bills' K-Gun offense illustrated just how devastating a no-huddle attack could be. Yet Marv Levy's star-studded group is best remembered for losing four successive Super Bowls between 90 and 93.
And Bills fans would be forgiven for pessimistically thinking the Josh Allen era is doomed to end without a first Super Bowl win in franchise history.
Allen has silenced critics who doubted his ability to improve his accuracy to become one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the modern NFL, and the Bills have been in the top five in offensive yards and points in each of the last two seasons.
However, those campaigns have both delivered heartbreaking playoff losses to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bills on the wrong end of one of arguably the finest postseason game in NFL history, losing 42-36 having allowed the Chiefs to drive for a game-tying field goal in the final 13 seconds of regulation.
The Four Falls of Buffalo, as they were labelled in a 30 for 30 documentary about the Super Bowl losses, and '13 seconds' will forever live in franchise infamy.
But the Bills head into 2022 with a case for being the strongest team in the league. So, as they prepare to face the defending Super Bowl-champion Los Angeles Rams in Thursday's mouth-watering season opener, how can Allen and Co. soothe the wounds of those missed opportunities by finally getting over the hump this season?
Taking the pressure off Allen
It may be a perplexing statement to read given Allen is fifth in passing yards (8,951) and fourth in passing touchdowns (73) over the past two seasons, but the Bills could maximise the impact of having the luxury of a quarterback of his talents by taking some of the pressure off his shoulders.
Buffalo's front office appeared to realise that this offseason, selecting running back James Cook in the second round of the draft.
Cook's burst through the running lane and up to the second level makes him an ideal fit for an offense that has found success with outside zone run concepts.
The Bills called outside zone on 21.26 per cent of their run plays last year, above the NFL average of 19.1. They put up 4.51 yards per play on such runs, again better than the league-wide average of 4.32.
Cook is a home-run hitter who can weaponise the threat of such runs in a way Devin Singletary and Zack Moss cannot. The Bills had 60 runs of 10 yards or more in 2021, the seventh-most in the NFL, but 28 of them came from QB Allen (Singletary had 20 while Moss delivered only six).
Should Cook's 4.4 speed translate to the pros, the Bills would have a back with the skill set to allow them to increase their menu of wide zone runs and make the zone-read more of a weapon. Despite the threat of Allen as a runner, the Bills averaged just 3.67 yards per play on zone-reads last season.
The Bills turned to run game on only 34.7 per cent of offensive snaps in 2021 and, when they did, the ball frequently remained in the hands of Allen, who has carried the ball 422 times since entering the NFL in 2018, a number second only to that of Lamar Jackson (615) among quarterbacks. Last season accounted for 122 of thsoe, with Jackson (133) and Jalen Hurts (139) the two signal-callers to attempt more runs.
Cook's arrival can take some of the onus off Allen as a runner, while the former Georgia back will hope to give his QB a few more easy buttons in the passing game.
His average of 10.9 yards per reception in a college career that spanned from 2018 to 2021 was seventh in the Power 5 in that time and first in the SEC, while Cook also racked up 11 receptions of at least 10 yards in 2021, tied for 12th among Power 5 backs.
Playing in an offense that has seen Allen consistently push the ball downfield -- Derek Carr (72) and Russell Wilson (70) were the only two quarterbacks to attempt more passes of at least 21 air yards last year than Allen's 68 -- Cook should have substantial space in underneath areas to exploit as a receiver.
If Allen takes advantage of those high-percentage throws when they come available, it will decrease the pressure on him to make the highlight reel passes to which the NFL universe has become accustomed, yet potential improvements in his accuracy could also have a massive bearing on his and the Bills' success in 2022.
Allen's extra 1%
Across the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, in which the Bills did not punt and scored a touchdown on every drive against the New England Patriots, and his equally remarkable performance in the '13 seconds game', Allen completed 77.4 per cent of his passes for 637 yards, nine touchdowns and zero interceptions.
He averaged 10.27 yards per attempt and had a passer rating of 149.0 in an incredible finale to a campaign that makes talk of finding areas for improvement seem bizarre.
Yet the best athletes are always striving to find that extra one per cent and Allen looks to have indentified where his potentially lies.
"I think, myself especially, making sure I'm on time, making the right reads and giving our guys good enough balls to get some some more RAC [run after catch]," Allen said during the offseason.
"That's one thing I think, on offense, run after catch was wasn't very high last year, but again, that's me putting the ball where it needs to be and allow our guys to catch in a good position to make a run after the catch.
"So working on that, that's been been one of my biggest takeaways in this offseason and trying to work on just ball placement and allowing our receivers to do that."
Allen's assessment is backed up by the numbers. Among 31 qualifying quarterbacks, Allen was last in yards after catch per reception with an average of just 4.5 in a season where his well-thrown percentage dropped significantly.
In his breakout 2020 season, Allen produced an accurate, well-thrown ball on 80.5 per cent of his pass attempts, the seventh-best ratio among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts. Last season, his well-thrown rate fell to 77.2, below the league average of 78.1 for signal-callers to reach three figures in attempts.
Though the difference in his YAC per reception was negligible -- Allen averaged 4.6 per completed pass in 2020 -- there is no doubt the Bills' offense would benefit from him rediscovering the accuracy of two seasons ago.
Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley have departed, but Stefon Diggs and the emerging Gabriel Davis represent two top two pass-catching weapons for Allen, and he also has two new targets for 2022 who should each thrive if he can do a better job leading his receivers.
Veteran Jamison Crowder has averaged 4.6 yards after catch per reception since 2019, almost a full yard more than Diggs (3.7) and rookie fifth-round pick Khalil Shakir possesses the vision, fluidity and love of contact to excel with the ball in his hands.
Allen improving his anticipation will go a long way to helping the Bills meet the expectations they face in 2022, but he could still use a helping hand from a loaded defense that was not without its own imperfections last year.
A more prolific pass rush
The Billls' headline addition of the offseason was that of Von Miller, the veteran edge rusher who arrived after displaying the plentiful amount of fuel he still has in the tank during a sojourn with the Los Angeles Rams that ended with his second Super Bowl title.
Miller finished the season with a stunt-adjusted pass rush win rate of 43.4 per cent, which was the fifth-highest among edge rushers with at least 100 one on one matchups.
Between Week 15 of the regular season and the Rams' Super Bowl triumph, Miller racked up nine sacks. Only in the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers did he fail to bring down the quarterback.
No surprise then, that Miller's acquisition sees the Bills pass rush enter the season fourth in Stats Perform's postional rankings.
Justifying that ranking is another matter, however.
The Bills did an excellent job of pressuring opposing quarterbacks last season, in which they were sixth in pass rush win rate. Yet there is clear room for improvement in converting those pressures into sacks. Buffalo registered 42 sacks in 2021, 39 of them for negative yardage - that latter number good enough for 12th in the NFL.
Buffalo will look for Miller to vastly improve the Bills' ability to turn pressures into negative plays, though the former Denver Bronco cannot do it alone. Gregory Rousseau, Carlos 'Boogie Basham' and A.J. Epenesa all had pressure rates below 17 per cent last season as the trio of edge rushers selected highly by the Bills over the course of the last two years struggled to justify their respective draft statuses. On the interior, Ed Oliver has never had more than five sacks since being picked in the top 10 in 2019.
It was in the Divisional Round where the Bills need for extra pass-rush help was encapsulated. Buffalo pressured Patrick Mahomes 23 times but registered just two sacks.
Any kind of disruption is production when it comes to the pass rush. Pressure often leads to critical mistakes, but the likes of Mahomes and his contemporaries have grown so adept at dealing with it - Mahomes threw just five interceptable passes on 194 attempts under duress last season - that is simply not enough to get into the backfield and expect bad results for the offense.
Simply put, the Bills must do a better job of ensuring their successful pass rushes pay dividends and consistently put opposing aerial attacks in disadvantageous situations
Success in doing so would improve the odds of an extremely talented secondary surviving cornerback Tre'Davious White's early-season absence and create more chances for an opportunistic defense to produce turnovers going up against offenses working from behind the chains.
The Bills' inconsistency in turning pressure into sacks, their need for more YAC and perhaps a less Allen-centric run game are all minor blemishes for arguably the most complete team in the NFL.
Yet small issues can quickly become significant problems in the spotlight of the postseason, and it would grealy behove the Bills to iron out the imperfections that could impact their hopes of finally ending their tortuous wait for a title.
Erling Haaland's blistering start to life at Manchester City has caught the Premier League by storm and the Norwegian opened his account for the club in the Champions League with a brace against Sevilla on Tuesday.
Having hit the 12-goal mark across all competitions already, Haaland may well have the record books in his sights and, unlike many others, will have a break midway through the season during the World Cup in Qatar.
That is a frightening prospect for any defender and Tottenham are next for the former Borussia Dortmund man in a match that already throws up plenty of talking points.
Last year, City were aggressive in their push to land England captain Harry Kane but were unable to conclude a deal, with Pep Guardiola instead opting to largely play without a recognised centre forward during the title-winning campaign that followed.
Kane, after a slow start, was at his brilliant best yet again for Spurs, firing in 17 goals to help the club pip north London rivals Arsenal to Champions League football – though the talk around the striker continues to be his lack of trophies.
Even Antonio Conte himself has spoken on the matter, saying it's a "real pity" he remains without major honours, and Kane may be forgiven for wondering what might had been if a move to City had played out.
Kane's Premier League experience may well have led to a lightning-quick start to life at City, like Haaland, but the two players are considerably different – Haaland having few touches of the ball other than striking into the back of the net, while Kane is more involved in Spurs' approach play.
Haaland has touched the ball just 132 times in the Premier League this season which, considering his 10 goals, means he averages a goal nearly every 13 times he touches the ball. In reality, he can be much more deadly.
Hitting a hat-trick in the 6-0 demolition of Nottingham Forest last month, Haaland touched the ball just 16 times and had the same number of touches a few days prior against Crystal Palace, where he also scored a hat-trick.
In comparison, Kane has touched the ball 255 times in the Premier League this season, almost double the amount of Haaland, and has scored five goals in six games – a phenomenal return but one that barely stands out given Haaland's form.
Not just a natural scorer, Kane plays a big part in Spurs' build-up play. In the Premier League this term, the England skipper has 115 successful passes, 36 unsuccessful attempts and 76 per cent accuracy.
Haaland, meanwhile, has 62 successful passes, almost half the amount of Kane, with 15 unsuccessful attempts and 81 per cent accuracy.
In the final third, the differences become even more clearer; Haaland with three chances created and a single assist, while Kane has 13 chances created – though he's yet to secure an assist, with those around him underperforming.
Son Heung-Min, in particular, has had a disappointing campaign thus far. The South Korean has a total of 17 attempts in the Premier League this season without finding the back of net – with four more chances going begging in the recent win over Fulham.
Last season, Son had a conversion rate of 26.7 per cent, higher than any other player with more than 20 attempts on goal, and won the Golden Boot with a total of 23 goals – tied with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
While those stats may seem alarming, it's not quite time to call for change as Son's 17 attempts have an Expected Goals (xG) tally of just 1.7 and a total of 0.1 xG per attempt.
Last season, Son's xG was 15.8 and he outscored that by seven goals, while the xG per attempt stood at a higher value than the current campaign at 0.18.
Fortunately, Son's blip in form has not affected Spurs' return at the start of the Premier League season as Antonio Conte's side stand alongside City as the only two clubs in the division not tasting defeat in the opening six matches.
While Spurs have performed at the level the statistics would expect, scoring 10 goals with an xG of 10.3 and an xG per attempt of 0.11, City, aided by Haaland, have outperformed their expected returns.
Pep Guardiola's side have scored 19 goals from an xG of 13.9 and hold an xG per attempt of 0.14, with their attacking contingent in their prime while Spurs need some of their major players to get going.
Chelsea's dismissal of Thomas Tuchel has caught the footballing world by surprise, with his exit coming just a week after the close of the transfer window and a lavish spending spree.
The Blues are on the hunt for a new manager yet again, Todd Boehly swinging the axe in the same sort of fashion that predecessor Roman Abramovich would have – although Boehly's approach seems far more fierce.
Defeats to Leeds United, Southampton and Dinamo Zagreb were certainly disappointing for the Blues but, with just six games gone in the Premier League and one game down in the Champions League, there was plenty of time to turn things around.
The hunt for Tuchel's successor will be a difficult one, particularly given the strong record the German has boasted during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Here, Stats Perform dives into Opta's insight into Tuchel's spell in west London.
Delivering on all fronts
Tuchel leaves Chelsea with a 60 per cent win percentage across all competitions, with a 55.6 per cent percentage in the Premier League standing as the fourth highest in Blues' history among managers to have taken charge of at least 50 matches.
In the Champions League, where Tuchel led Chelsea to glory just months after taking the job in XXX, the German boasted an impressive 66.7 per cent win percentage in the competition.
It was in the FA Cup where Tuchel had the best return, with an 80 per cent win percentage having led the Blues to back-to-back finals, though they suffered defeat in both to Leicester City and Liverpool.
In 589 days in charge of Chelsea, Tuchel led the club to four major finals (2x FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League) and no manager has even taken charge of the Blues in more, with Jose Mourinho also boasting four.
Best of the rest
Unable to compete with Manchester City and Liverpool at the summit of English football, Chelsea firmly established themselves as the best of the rest under the guidance of Tuchel.
Under Tuchel's guidance, Chelsea picked up 122 points from 63 Premier League matches with only City (152) and Liverpool (136) picking up more.
Chelsea's return of 168 goals across all competitions under Tuchel was again beneath only the duo, with City netting 240 and Liverpool scoring 201.
With 49 clean sheets in 100 matches, Tuchel's side stand head and shoulders above all their rivals though, City ranking second with 44 and Liverpool in third with 43.
Had them in the first half
Quickly finding steam with Chelsea, leading them to Champions League glory and the FA Cup final just months after taking the reigns, Tuchel's return in the first half of his stint with the Blues is impressive.
In all competitions, Tuchel's first 50 games yielded 32 victories, 11 draws and seven defeats, with just 24 goals conceded.
A notable decline came in the final 50 matches of Tuchel's spell, however, with four fewer wins (28), two more draws (11) and nine losses – though the most alarming stat is conceding 53 goals, over double the amount from his first 50.
Tottenham are gearing up for their first Champions League campaign in three seasons with momentum on their side and expectation levels high.
A large part of that is down to head coach Antonio Conte, who guided Spurs back into Europe's elite club competition in his first half-season in charge of the north London club.
Conte boasts a CV that is the envy of many managers around the world, the Italian having won eight major trophies during his coaching career, including five top-level league titles in two countries.
But Conte's domestic success has not transferred onto the European stage, having exited the Champions League in the group stage more times than he has advanced, despite managing some of the continent's elite clubs.
Ahead of Tottenham's Group D opener against Marseille on Wednesday, in which Conte will become the fourth coach to take charge of more than one English club in the competition, Stats Perform looks at the 53-year-old's underwhelming record.
JUST ONE KNOCKOUT WIN
Tottenham will be the fourth side Conte has taken charge of in the Champions League after Juventus, Chelsea and Inter. He has managed 36 games with those three heavyweight sides but won just 12 for a 33 per cent win rate.
To put that into some context, that compares to a 65 per cent win rate in the Premier League (over a much larger sample of games) and 68 per cent win rate in Serie A.
Breaking down that European record further, Conte won six of his 16 matches as Juve boss in the competition and just three each with Chelsea and Inter across eight and 12 matches respectively.
Those victories with Juve, Inter and Chelsea, if you were wondering, came against Celtic (twice), Qarabag (twice), Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Monchengladbach, Chelsea, Copenhagen, Nordsjaelland, Shakhtar Donetsk and Slavia Prague.
Conte's best run in UEFA's elite club tournament remains his first campaign when taking Juve to the quarter-finals in the 2012-13 season, where his title winners were well beaten by Bayern Munich over two legs.
Remarkably, that season's 5-0 aggregate win over Celtic in the last 16 remains Conte's only knockout-stage success in the Champions League.
That was one of only two occasions in five attempts a Conte side has made it beyond the first round, in fact, the other instance being in the 2017-18 season when Chelsea finished second to Roma in the group and were then eliminated by Barcelona in the last 16.
Conte was unable to guide Juve out of the group stage in 2013-14, failing to finish ahead of Galatasaray for second place behind Real Madrid, and also fell at the first hurdle in successive seasons with Inter.
EXCUSES, EXCUSES
But exactly why has one of the best coaches of his generation struggled so badly when it comes to balancing domestic and European football?
One suggestion is that, like a lot of Italian coaches, Conte prioritises league titles over continental cups, but the Spurs boss laughed that idea off at a news conference on Tuesday and pointed to the success of compatriot Carlo Ancelotti, the winner of more European Cups than any other coach.
"Success in Europe with a trophy is important for every manager," Conte added when probed on his underwhelming Champions League record. "You know very well that it is not simple, not easy to lift a trophy in Europe and especially the Champions League.
"It is important to be there and you have more probability if you are the coach of a team who expects to win. Two years ago, with Inter, we lost the final of the Europa League against Sevilla. For sure, in my heart, in my mind, in my ambition, there is the will to have success in Europe."
Conte did indeed reach the final of the Europa League with Inter in the 2019-20 season, but even that can be considered a disappointment as a much-fancied Nerazzurri lost to Sevilla in the final and were only in the competition by virtue of their early Champions League elimination.
Another theory, put forward by Conte himself, is that his squads simply have not had the depth to cope with demanding runs across multiple competitions.
"Some important mistakes have been made at the planning stage; we can't play both the Champions League and Serie A with such a small squad," Conte said two years ago on the back of Inter's second successive group-stage exit.
"I'm tired of saying the same things over and over again. Perhaps the [club directors] could come over here and say something. I hope that this will help them understand a few things."
SIXTH TIME LUCKY WITH SPURS?
Passing the buck to those higher up is very much out of the Conte playbook, a classic ploy usually used to help get his way when the transfer window approaches.
But on the back of a busy few months of transfer activity at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in which the Italian has been backed heavily, that excuse will surely not cut it with Daniel Levy and Co.
While Tottenham are not realistically expected to challenge for the Champions League trophy this term, failing to advance from a favourable group that contains Marseille, Eintracht Frankfurt and Sporting CP would be yet another blight on Conte's CV.
However, Conte may already be laying the foundations to cover his back should Spurs miss out on a place in the last 16, with the ex-Chelsea boss hitting out at the congested fixture list this side of the World Cup.
"Honestly, to see this schedule about Tottenham is incredible, it's crazy because we played three games in six days against Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Fulham," he added on Tuesday.
"Now we are playing after four days, but we are starting to play again three important games against Marseille in the Champions League, [Manchester] City away and Sporting Lisbon away in six days. I think maybe this is my first time in my career to see a schedule like this.
"I think in this situation we are unlucky, but I think in the future, and also I spoke with the club, we have to pay great attention to speak also to the Premier League. One day more, one day less can change totally your life and you can drop points. This is no good for a team like Tottenham."
These are the same issues the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel have also raised, the difference being each of those have lifted the Champions League trophy aloft during their careers.
Now, as he embarks on his sixth season in the greatest club competition of them all, Conte must put talk of fixture congestion, a lack of squad depth or simply being unlucky with the draw to one side and prove that lessons have been learned from the past.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia played just 10 times for Lokomotiv Moscow, and only one of those appearances was as a starter.
Yet, his father claimed in 2020 that then-Lokomotiv coach Yury Syomin cried actual tears when Kvaratskhelia said he would not be staying beyond the end of his initial loan agreement. The youngster also apparently broke down.
Seemingly the teenaged Kvaratskhelia made quite the impression on his coach, though curiously not enough to play on a regular basis. It's fair to say Kvaratskhelia's decision to move on and ultimately join fellow Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan was a smart one.
"After that, I was glad my son was in Rubin, where they let him play football," Kvaratskhelia Sr added, and it was in Kazan where the talented winger began to consistently show the talents that Napoli will hope can help them get the better of the mighty Liverpool on Wednesday.
Kvaratskhelia will make his Champions League bow when the Reds come to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, a commendable achievement given his rollercoaster of a 2022.
Turbulent times
A couple of weeks on from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, FIFA made it possible for foreign players and coaches in both countries to suspend their contracts.
Kvaratskhelia was eligible for such action, and while he did suspend his agreement, it seemed his initial plan was to eventually return to Rubin.
However, he and the club later announced a mutual termination after it emerged his family were subject to threats due to the original decision of not permanently leaving Russia.
He saw out the remainder of the 2021-22 season back home in Georgia with Dinamo Batumi – it was clearly a level below his usual standard as he scored eight goals in 11 league games, but it helped keep Kvaratskhelia sharp for his national team, netting three times from four Nations League outings in June.
Nevertheless, few would have considered those early months of the year to be ideal for a young talent hoping to make the step up to one of Europe's major leagues – that was where he had previously looked destined to end up.
Arsenal had been known admirers for a long time, sending scouts to watch him as early as September 2019. Several other English and Italian clubs were linked with him, but it was Napoli who ultimately took the punt.
The early signs suggest it is going to pay off for them rather handsomely.
Blossoming at Napoli
Replacing a club great is never a simple task, but if Kvaratskhelia continues at his current rate, Lorenzo Insigne will become a distant memory very quickly.
Insigne's move to Toronto in Major League Soccer came as something of a surprise when initially announced, and filling that void with a player who had most recently been playing in Georgia will have raised some eyebrows.
Additionally, bringing in Kvaratskhelia for Insigne was hardly like-for-like. The latter was all about dropping deep and essentially playing as a playmaker, with his 74.1 touches and 45.2 successful passes per 90 minutes both highs among Opta-classified forwards (minimum 1,000 minutes played) in Serie A last term.
Kvaratskhelia is far more direct and intent on getting in behind the defence, while his ability on the ball makes him a threat both as a carrier and dribbler – his nine carries with a take-on is bettered by only Rafael Leao (12) among wingers this term.
A predominantly right-footed winger who prefers to operate from the left, one might expect him to be a little one-dimensional, but he has already shown in Serie A how effective he can be chopping back on to his left foot, bamboozling the Monza defence with a feint before slotting home left-footed in last month's 4-0 win.
That was one of four goals already this season, none of which were penalties – that is a haul no player can better without adding in spot-kicks, and that form helped him win the first Player of the Month award of the campaign.
Of course, it remains early days in his Napoli career, but he has taken to Serie A with promising ease and has a style of play that will endear him to a set of supporters always ready to fall in love with talented attackers.
Hopefully Syomin's tears of disappointment will turn to pride when 'Kvaradona' makes his Champions League introduction on Wednesday.
The time is almost upon us. When that first ball is kicked at the start of the Los Angeles Rams' opener against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, we will be on our way to yet another enthralling season of NFL action.
And there are few better reasons to get excited at the beginning of a new campaign than the promise of a good old redemption story.
These tales may not necessarily revolve around someone who has suffered a fall from grace, though; in some cases, it might just be someone who has taken a smidge longer than expected to blossom.
So, before the thunder and lightning of a new NFL season, Stats Perform has taken a look at five men who could have a touch more motivation to show everything they have to offer in 2022.
Baker Mayfield – Carolina Panthers
Mayfield perhaps leaps out as the most obvious choice.
Big things were expected of the quarterback when he was the number one pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, charged with leading a flailing 0-16 Cleveland Browns.
There were moments of promise in his four years in Cleveland, throwing 27 touchdowns in 14 games in his first season, and in 2020 he played a big part in getting the Browns to the playoffs, unthinkable when he came through the door.
However, in 2021, Mayfield threw just 18 TD passes, the worst season of his career, as a Browns team who were starting to feel like they had outgrown him finished 8-9.
Of quarterbacks to have more than 300 passing attempts, only Sam Darnold (59.9), Trevor Lawrence (59.6) and Zach Wilson (55.6) had a lower pass completion percentage than his 60.5.
After a lot of uncertainty, he finally found a new home after being traded to the Panthers, who are in desperate need of a quality QB after the Darnold experiment failed last year.
It is a risk for both parties, and both need it to work, but you could also argue it could not get much worse for either.
Gabe Davis – Buffalo Bills
There had not been any immediately obvious signs that Davis was going to be a breakout star for the Bills for most of his first two seasons.
Seven TDs in his rookie year – and none in the playoffs from only four catches – were followed by just six in the 2021 regular season.
However, thanks to his explosive performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in last season's playoffs, plenty are excited about what could come from Davis and the much-fancied Bills in 2022.
His four TDs and 201 yards from eight receptions – for an average of 25.1 yards – were still not enough as the Chiefs ultimately won the AFC Divisional Round encounter in overtime, but Davis emerged as a potential new star.
By the end of the campaign, no player had recorded over 1,000 burn yards – yards in situations where a receiver 'wins' his matchup against a defender – from fewer receptions (45) than Davis.
But was this a one-off, or can Davis do it all over again? We will soon find out.
Trevor Lawrence – Jacksonville Jaguars
Lawrence could end up being a very similar story to Mayfield. He was also the number one pick for a team with little else going for it.
In his rookie year, Lawrence threw for 12 TDs, but his poor pass completion percentage was set out above.
He remained a busy man regardless, with only six QBs making more than his 602 pass attempts, but the Jaguars could only manage three wins, two more than in 2020.
Whether it was sloppy throwing or feeling the need to take risks with little assistance, Lawrence threw 26 pickable passes, with only four QBs who made over 300 pass attempts seeing a worse pickable pass percentage than his 4.59 per cent (Jimmy Garoppolo – 4.82, Taylor Heinicke – 5.04, Zach Wilson – 5.21, Davis Mills – 5.56).
There is undoubted talent there, hence the hype when he was picked up by Jacksonville in 2021, and it is surely just a case of Lawrence having more help and getting more experience. We will perhaps see this season.
Matthew Stafford – LA Rams
Yes, it's another quarterback, but with a twist. This one just won the Super Bowl, after all.
It may seem strange given the ring he has on his finger, but the situation with Stafford's elbow means he must prove himself all over again.
In terms of numbers, the Rams QB has now established himself among the elite. Stafford ranks in the top 12 all-time in completions (11th, 4,302), passing yards (12th, 49,995), passing yards per game (sixth, 274.7), touchdown passes (12th, 323) and game-winning drives (seventh, 42).
Crucially, he led the team to Super Bowl success last year, too.
But the Rams' hopes of a repeat are pinned on Stafford being fit enough to perform all year long, and there are some worrying noises around an elbow issue heading into the year.
Should Stafford shake off those concerns and combine with Cooper Kupp for another outstanding season – and perhaps another ring – nobody could possibly doubt his legacy.
Kliff Kingsbury – Arizona Cardinals
It is not just players who have something to prove, but coaches, too – and you could argue Kingsbury does more than most.
While undoubtedly a talented coach, Kingsbury is building a reputation as someone who comes up with effective plays to start a season but is less able to adjust to keep ahead of the competition once they figure it out.
After winning their first seven games, the Cardinals raced out to a sensational 10-2 start last season, well ahead of projected results, only to stumble to 11-6 after losing four of their last five in the regular season, before being humbled 34-11 by the Rams in their first postseason game.
The excellent start cannot be ignored, but neither can the fact that it made nine seasons in a row in which a team led by Kingsbury have had a worse second half of the season than the first.
Despite being without DeAndre Hopkins for the first six games due to suspension, Kingsbury has an exciting team in Arizona and it would be no surprise to see them start strongly again.
They just need to figure out a way to maintain it this time.
Istanbul awaits next June, and this week the journey starts as the group stage of the Champions League begins.
Of course, the ultimate goal is to reach the final and lift the trophy. Most will fail in that quest, but that's not to say those who don't win the competition are failures.
Every year we enjoy breakout seasons from individuals in the Champions League as they announce themselves on the biggest stage.
Whether those performances earn big-money moves or simply greater acclaim, you can expect there to be a few players you might not be very familiar with who go on to impress.
Ahead of the first round of games, Stats Perform has identified a few to keep an eye out for.
Tanguy Nianzou, centre-back, 20 – Sevilla
After coming through Paris Saint-Germain's academy and then spending a season at Bayern Munich, France youth international Nianzou joined Sevilla as the replacement for Jules Kounde in pre-season.
It's been a rocky start for the youngster. He's part of a defence that's looked extremely unconvincing, with their expected goals against (excluding penalties) of 7.5 the second-worst in LaLiga after four games, three of which Sevilla have lost.
On matchday one, Nianzou will come up against Erling Haaland and Manchester City. The defender is very highly rated, but this will be a massive test of his readiness for regular football at such a level.
Goncalo Ramos, forward, 21 – Benfica
If you believe transfer gossip, there were plenty of clubs ready to prise Ramos from Benfica in the transfer window, but ultimately he stayed put and will be considered Darwin Nunez's replacement this season.
A well-rounded striker, Ramos works hard, is up for a physical battle and is technically proficient. Last season, he scored seven Primeira Liga goals as back-up to Nunez, although his early form in that regard this term suggests work is needed.
His two strikes from 3.9 xG show he's getting into good situations but isn't yet proving clinical – albeit he did net four in Champions League qualifying.
Benfica are in a group with Juventus and PSG, so they'll hope Ramos finds a reliable streak to aid their outside chance of progression.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, winger, 21 – Napoli
The first winner of Serie A's Player of the Month award of the new season – and in his very first month in the league – it's been some introduction from Kvaratskhelia.
He was playing back home in Georgia in the second half of last season after being able to suspend his contract at Rubin Kazan amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. His deal was then terminated by Rubin after it emerged he was subject to death threats after leaving.
Kvaratskhelia had been linked with numerous big clubs but eventually landed at Napoli as Lorenzo Insigne's replacement. They may not be anything alike as players, but that's not stopped Kvaratskhelia having a major early impact with four goals in five Serie A games.
A tall winger who possesses great dribbling skills, he's a player primed to make a statement this season.
Lorenzo Lucca, striker, 21 – Ajax
He may only be 21, but Lucca's fledgling career has already been somewhat nomadic, finding himself registered as a senior player at six clubs – the latest being Ajax, whom he joined on loan with an option to buy from Serie B side Pisa.
Remarkably, the last of his six league goals for Pisa last season came in October, so it's clear the jury is still out and he has a lot to prove, but he has the attributes to be a threat for any team.
Standing at just over two metres tall, Lucca is a giant, yet he also possesses a surprising turn of pace and is technically very good. The Italy Under-21 international has only played 21 minutes with the first team this season, but he has three goals in two games for the second string.
It's unlikely he'll be a key figure for Ajax, but given his skillset he will be a viable option at times – let's just see if he can take his chances.
Matt O'Riley, midfielder, 21 – Celtic
Last season, O'Riley was playing in League One for MK Dons; on Tuesday, he'll likely line-up against Real Madrid. It's been quite a quick ascension for the gifted midfielder.
A product of Fulham's academy, O'Riley left the Cottagers stunned when he rejected a new contract in 2020. He spent six months training with Dons and then signed for them in January 2021 – that saw him exposed to first-team football and a year later he was at Celtic.
The London-born Denmark Under-21 international has enjoyed a wonderful start to the season, with his vision and ball-playing abilities marking him out as a real creative threat and earning links to Manchester United.
How he fares in the Champions League with the step up in quality could prove crucial with respect to his short-term future.
For Erik ten Hag, there was never any doubt. Just three days after arriving from Ajax, and with only two training sessions with his new team-mates under his belt, the Manchester United boss felt Antony was ready to be unleashed in Sunday's meeting with Arsenal.
"He knows the style we want to play and what we expect and demand," Ten Hag, who coached Antony at Ajax in the previous two campaigns, told Sky Sports ahead of United's 2-1 victory. "He can particularly be an offensive threat with his speed in one-on-ones."
The tricky winger this week became United's second-most expensive signing ever at £68million – behind only the £89m paid for Paul Pogba – and made an instant impact with his goalscoring display against a previously perfect Gunners side.
Antony's well-taken strike after 35 minutes at Old Trafford gave United the lead in a game they had otherwise been second best in, with Arsenal – and Gabriel Jesus in particular – looking very dangerous in an attacking sense either side of that opener.
One of the first players to congratulate Antony was fellow attacker Marcus Rashford, who himself netted on his debut for United and also his first appearance in the Premier League, against Arsenal of all sides in a 3-2 home win six-and-a-half years ago.
And while Antony made a big impression on his United bow, this victory belonged to Rashford. The England international assisted the opener and then scored two of his own goals after Bukayo Saka had deservedly levelled for Arsenal in the second period.
It meant Rashford both scored and assisted in a Premier League game for the first time since October 2020 – and at the perfect time, too, with some calling for the versatile forward to make way from the side.
Selecting both Rashford and Antony was a big call from Ten Hag against an Arsenal side that boasted five wins from five prior to Sunday's contest at Old Trafford, the Dutchman changing a winning formula after three victories on the spin with the same XI.
At 22 years and 192 days, Antony became the youngest Brazilian player to score on his Premier League debut, and the first player from the South American country to net on his first appearance for United.
The ninth Brazilian to put on the famous United strip, Antony not only found the net but also lit up Old Trafford with some trademark Samba skills, the highlight being some neat footwork to beat two Arsenal players when seemingly going nowhere and helping to create a big chance for Christian Eriksen.
He played just short of an hour before being replaced by Cristiano Ronaldo – out of United's starting line-up for a fourth game running – and departed with the most shots of any player (three), the highest xG (0.32) and having attempted the joint-most dribbles (seven).
It was an inspired call from Ten Hag, who three weeks on from his appointment being questioned by some high-profile names following defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford, is now instead being hailed as a managerial magician.
Time will tell on that front, of course, but the signs in wins over Liverpool, Southampton, Leicester City and now Arsenal have been hugely encouraging.
Despite a first loss since back-to-back defeats derailed their hopes of Champions League football in the final fortnight of last season, Arsenal remain top of the embryonic table and if not for some contentious calls may well have come away with another victory.
VAR was again at the centre of controversy as a Gabriel Martinelli goal was ruled out at 0-0 after referee Paul Tierney, having being instructed to check the pitchside monitor, adjudged Martin Odegaard had fouled Eriksen in the build-up.
But thanks to Antony and Rashford, this day belonged to United. For the first time in 17 months, they have won four league games in a row and finally have momentum on their side in what is shaping up to be a promising future under Ten Hag.
Having snuck into the playoffs last season, the Philadelphia Eagles were one of the NFL's surprise packages in 2021 but will have to shoulder larger expectations heading into 2022.
A 9-8 record from last year presents a solid platform to build upon as the Eagles seek to wrest the NFC East crown from the Dallas Cowboys.
Their heavy playoff defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round illustrated how far the Eagles were from legitimate contention in 2021.
Philadelphia have made a series of significant moves to put themselves in position to challenge the elite.
Indeed, theirs is a roster that appears among the most complete in the NFL, piling the pressure on both quarterback Jalen Hurts and a well-rounded roster to make the strides that will be anticipated by Eagles fans in one of US sports' most demanding cities.
Can defensive additions pay dividends?
There is obvious room for improvement on Philadelphia's defense following their efforts of last year on that side of the ball.
The Eagles had opponents have a 10-play drive on 38 occasions, with only the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Chargers and New York Giants having more, while the percentage of opponents converting on third down and short was the highest in the NFL at 74.2 per cent.
As well as struggling to get off the field on third down, the Eagles also had issues stopping significant plays on first down, with opponents passing for at least four yards 59.4 per cent of the time, again the highest rate in the NFL, while opposing offenses found the endzone on 45 of 74 drives on which Philadelphia allowed them inside the 30-yard line. Only the Las Vegas Raiders (61.2) allowed a touchdown on a higher percentage of such drives than the Eagles (60.8).
Philadelphia focused a lot of energy on improving performance in both of those areas.
The Eagles traded up in the first round of the draft for Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, who at 6ft 6in and 341 pounds put on one of the most remarkable displays of athleticism the Scouting Combine has seen.
Davis will look to be an immediate force against the run and use his massive frame to make life easier for a talented group of pass rushers that now includes hometown hero Haason Reddick, whose 23.5 sacks over the last two seasons are the fifth-most in the NFL.
The addition of Reddick is a significant one to a defense that was eighth in pass rush win rate last year, and the Eagles have also done plenty to boost their chances of slowing down opposing aerial attacks.
By signing James Bradberry to pair with Darius Slay at starting cornerback, the Eagles now have the only two players in the NFL to register at least 15 interceptions and 80 or more pass breakups since 2016.
And their recent trade for C.J Gardner-Johnson gives the Eagles an ultra-versatile safety with the ability to play slot corner at a high level. Gardner-Johnson lost 33 of his 111 man coverage matchups last year, his open percentage allowed of 29.73 on the right side of the league average of 30.89 for corners.
The Eagles were a top-10 defense by yards per play allowed (5.20) in 2021 and their additions should theoretically help address the issues that prevented from faring even better.
However, defensive efficiency is famously volatile. Success is no guarantee despite the raft of impressive additions, and that is why the microscope will predominantly be focused on Hurts and the offense.
Will Philly love Hurts after 2022?
More consistency will be the order of the day for Hurts, despite the Eagles racking up 28.5 points per game between Weeks 8 and 18 as they went 7-3 over the last 10 regular-season games.
In 2021, Hurts' pass completion percentage stood at 64.1 from 449 attempts. Of quarterbacks to have more than 300 passing attempts, only Baker Mayfield (63.9), Trevor Lawrence (63.4) and Zach Wilson (58.4) had a lower figure.
Hurts' well-thrown percentage for 2021 was also below the league average of 78.1 for QBs with a minimum of 100 attempts, but that was in part a product of his aggressiveness. He averaged 9.3 air yards per attempt, fifth among signal-callers with at least 100 passes. Among quarterbacks to meet the 300-throw threshold, his average was only bettered by Russell Wilson (10) and Lamar Jackson (9.7).
The Eagles look to have assembled the talent around Hurts to deliver more stable production.
Philadelphia's marquee move of the offseason was to send a first-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for wide receiver A.J. Brown, who offers Hurts a physically imposing true number one option who excels in creating separation. His burn rate, which measures how often a receiver won his matchup with a defender on plays where he was targeted, of 64 per cent and his burn yards per route average of 4.0 yards was tied for the best among receivers with at least 100 targets (inc. playoffs).
But Hurts won't solely be able to rely on Brown. Though he displayed good chemistry with DeVonta Smith last year, Hurts needs his former Alabama team-mate to step up in terms of defeating coverage. Smith burnt his opponent on 55.7 per cent of his 115 targets. Of receivers to be targeted more than 100 times, only seven had a lower percentage.
Tight end Dallas Goedert was Hurts' most reliable passing game option last year, posting a 77.3 per cent burn rate from 88 targets that was the highest of any player in the position to be targeted on at least 80 occasions.
Yet Hurts was at his most dangerous on the ground in 2021, his 80 carries the most of any quarterback. Sixty of those came on scrambles – a tally only bettered by Patrick Mahomes – with Josh Allen (7.48) and Mahomes (6.27) the only signal-callers with at least 100 attempts and 50 scrambles to average more yards per carry on such runs.
His 29 explosive runs of 10 yards or more were the fourth-most in the NFL and nine more than Eagles running back Miles Sanders, who was second among running backs with at least 100 carries with a yards before contact average of 3.65. Sanders, despite failing to find the endzone in 2021, was also fourth in the league in yards per carry on runs that were disrupted by a defender, putting up 4.17 per attempt.
Playing behind an offensive line that ranked fifth in pass protection win rate and second in run block win rate last year, all the ingredients are there for Hurts to be centre stage in what could be one of the NFL's most dynamic and diverse offenses.
The Eagles will be aided by a schedule that sees them face only five teams that made the playoffs last season, but there are potential potholes on their path to contention in the NFC.
Backup tackle Andre Dillard has already suffered a fractured forearm in a blow to the depth on an O-Line featuring a veteran in Lane Johnson who has consistently dealt with injury issues.
While the Eagles acquired one of the league's more underrated coverage linebackers in Kyzir White, there remain doubts over the spine of the defense, particularly at the safety position.
On paper, the Eagles have almost everything required for a deep playoff run, but rarely are NFL seasons straightforward. A season of defensive regression or further injuries to the trenches could leave the onus firmly on Hurts to elevate those around him.
The overarching question in Philiadelphia is whether Hurts can be their franchise quarteback. Given how impressive the Eagles' roster is, it may take some adversity for the team to get a definitive answer.
Serena Williams' long and illustrious tennis career looks to have drawn to a close after the American lost to Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open on Friday.
Following a long piece in Vogue last month, Williams wrote of her plan to "move in a different direction" after "these next few weeks", suggesting the tournament at Flushing Meadows would be her last outing.
Thanks to her success and brilliance on the court, Williams has become synonymous with tennis and is regarded by many as the greatest the women's sport has ever seen.
At the age of 40, Williams has persisted with tennis far longer than most do, and that is testament to her quality and enduring desire for success.
Though Williams left a glimmer of a chance that she may yet play again, joking that she "always did love Australia", she may well have taken to the court for the last time. Here, Stats Perform takes a look at the key facts, stats and figures of her career; in other words, Serena's remarkable legacy.
Twenty-three… and done?
Of course, the headline fact for Williams' career is her grand slam titles count.
She has won 23, which is more than anyone else in the Open era.
But she still had one target left: matching Margaret Court. The Australian's 24 grand slam successes include nine won before the Open era began in 1968, though her overall total has been the benchmark ever since she claimed her final crown at the US Open in 1975.
Clearly, victory for Williams at Flushing Meadows would have been the perfect farewell, but it was not to be. Will that near-miss encourage her to take one more shot in Court's homeland next year?
The finals hurdle
Had Williams managed to reach the championship match in Queens, she would have equalled another record.
She headed into the US Open having played in 33 grand slam finals, one more than Martina Navratilova.
But Chris Evert (34) sits out in front, and that record is now set to remain hers for many, many years.
Top of the pile
It's been a while now since Williams was last the highest-ranked player in the world, but in a way that only further highlights how remarkable her career has been.
She's spent 319 weeks ranked as world number one, which is behind only Steffi Graf (377) and Navratilova (332).
While many might have expected Williams to have been top of the pile for even longer, it's worth remembering how she's spent time out due to injuries and pregnancy, with her general involvement in top-level tennis decreasing after 2014 when she played 16 tournaments – in 2016 that halved to eight, and during no year since has she played in more.
Additionally, some will also be surprised to learn she actually only finished the year as the top-ranked female player five times. Nevertheless, that's still third to only Graf (eight) and Navratilova (seven).
Go hard or go home
Such has been Williams' quality, she was always considered a threat regardless of the surface – she's won each grand slam at least three times.
But there's no denying she was at her most lethal on hard courts.
She has won 48 WTA Tour-level titles on hard courts, which is 11 more than anyone else (Graf) in the Open era.
Those 48 come from a grand total of 73 across all surfaces, leaving her ranked fifth behind Navratilova (167), Evert (157), Graf (107) and Court (92).
Surface to say…
Williams' comfort on hard courts goes even further than that.
She's won 541 matches on the surface, making her one of just two female players to surpass 500 victories on one specific ground type.
Navratilova (600 on carpet) is the only other player to achieve the feat, with Serena's sister Venus (498 on hard) the closest to the 23-time grand slam champion.
The grass is greener
Despite that unrivalled excellence, hard courts may not be the surface many feel to be most synonymous with Williams, however.
Wimbledon is the tournament that would appear to be her favourite.
She's reached the final at SW19 11 times. Only Navratilova can better that record for the most finals at one tournament – though it's worth saying she contested the WTA Finals and Chicago 14 times each, Eastbourne 13 times and 12 at Wimbledon.
Serena Williams' long and illustrious tennis career looks to have drawn to a close after the American lost to Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open on Friday.
Following a long piece in Vogue last month, Williams wrote of her plan to "move in a different direction" after "these next few weeks", suggesting the tournament at Flushing Meadows would be her last outing.
Thanks to her success and brilliance on the court, Williams has become synonymous with tennis and is regarded by many as the greatest the women's sport has ever seen.
At the age of 40, Williams has persisted with tennis far longer than most do, and that is testament to her quality and enduring desire for success.
Though Williams left a glimmer of a chance that she may yet play again, joking that she "always did love Australia", she may well have taken to the court for the last time. Here, Stats Perform takes a look at the key facts, stats and figures of her career; in other words, Serena's remarkable legacy.
Twenty-three… and done?
Of course, the headline fact for Williams' career is her grand slam titles count.
She has won 23, which is more than anyone else in the Open era.
But she still had one target left: matching Margaret Court. The Australian's 24 grand slam successes include nine won before the Open era began in 1968, though her overall total has been the benchmark ever since she claimed her final crown at the US Open in 1975.
Clearly, victory for Williams at Flushing Meadows would have been the perfect farewell, but it was not to be. Will that near-miss encourage her to take one more shot in Court's homeland next year?
The finals hurdle
Had Williams managed to reach the championship match in Queens, she would have equalled another record.
She headed into the US Open having played in 33 grand slam finals, one more than Martina Navratilova.
But Chris Evert (34) sits out in front, and that record is now set to remain hers for many, many years.
Top of the pile
It's been a while now since Williams was last the highest-ranked player in the world, but in a way that only further highlights how remarkable her career has been.
She's spent 319 weeks ranked as world number one, which is behind only Steffi Graf (377) and Navratilova (332).
While many might have expected Williams to have been top of the pile for even longer, it's worth remembering how she's spent time out due to injuries and pregnancy, with her general involvement in top-level tennis decreasing after 2014 when she played 16 tournaments – in 2016 that halved to eight, and during no year since has she played in more.
Additionally, some will also be surprised to learn she actually only finished the year as the top-ranked female player five times. Nevertheless, that's still third to only Graf (eight) and Navratilova (seven).
Go hard or go home
Such has been Williams' quality, she was always considered a threat regardless of the surface – she's won each grand slam at least three times.
But there's no denying she was at her most lethal on hard courts.
She has won 48 WTA Tour-level titles on hard courts, which is 11 more than anyone else (Graf) in the Open era.
Those 48 come from a grand total of 73 across all surfaces, leaving her ranked fifth behind Navratilova (167), Evert (157), Graf (107) and Court (92).
Surface to say…
Williams' comfort on hard courts goes even further than that.
She's won 541 matches on the surface, making her one of just two female players to surpass 500 victories on one specific ground type.
Navratilova (600 on carpet) is the only other player to achieve the feat, with Serena's sister Venus (498 on hard) the closest to the 23-time grand slam champion.
The grass is greener
Despite that unrivalled excellence, hard courts may not be the surface many feel to be most synonymous with Williams, however.
Wimbledon is the tournament that would appear to be her favourite.
She's reached the final at SW19 11 times. Only Navratilova can better that record for the most finals at one tournament – though it's worth saying she contested the WTA Finals and Chicago 14 times each, Eastbourne 13 times and 12 at Wimbledon.
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