All eyes turn to one of the biggest derbies in world football this weekend, as Milan and Inter battle it out at the San Siro.

The two arch-rivals went toe-to-toe in the hunt for the Serie A title last season, with Milan emerging victorious on the final day to clinch the league crown for the first time since 2011.

Stefano Pioli's side have begun their title defence with an unbeaten start to the campaign, securing two wins and two draws, while Inter have won three of four, losing to Lazio last Friday.

Still early in the season, a single point separates the two and bragging rights are on the cards on Saturday, though neither side has a particularly good record against one another in recent years.

Milan seek to end poor derby return

A 2-1 victory over Inter in February, where Olivier Giroud netted a brace, puts Milan in hunt of consecutive league wins against Inter for the first time since 2011 – which were the first two league derbies played under Massimiliano Allegri.

While they were victorious in that particular clash, the two Coppa Italia semi-final ties in March and April saw Milan unable to score in either tie, meaning they could go three consecutive derbies without scoring for the first time since 1980.

Milan's last win as the designated host at San Siro against Inter came in Serie A back in January 2016, with Inter winning three and drawing three against the Rossoneri since then.

Inzaghi's unwanted record

Simone Inzaghi has only won one point in his first two derbies in Serie A since joining the Nerazzurri and is seeking a win to prevent an unwanted record, as failure to do so would see him become the first Inter coach not to win any of his first three matches against Milan in the top-flight since Osvaldo Bagnoli in 1993 (D2 L1).

In order to secure victory, Inter could turn to Joaquin Correa who has scored four goals in Serie A against Milan, more than any other side. The Argentine has also scored four goals in his last five appearances in the competition, having gone goalless in his previous 18.

Either way, there should be goals and a victor as Inter are the only team, excluding relegated and promoted sides, not to draw a Serie A match since last April.

During that sequence, Inter have 11 wins, at least three more than any other team, and two losses – one of which was the 3-1 defeat to Lazio last Friday.

Leao vs Lautaro

Having fended off transfer interest from Chelsea, Rafael Leao is set to make his 100th Serie A appearance in Saturday's game and the Brazilian's record sees him stand as one of the finest young players in the division.

Among players born since 1999, Leao has provided 16 Serie A assists, more than anyone else, and has scored 24 goals – putting him behind only Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic (55) and Inter's Andrea Pinamonti (25), who is on loan at Sassuolo.

With Romelu Lukaku absent through injury, Inter will turn to Lautaro Martinez to find the difference and the Argentine enters the tie in a fine vein of form.

Martinez has been involved in a goal in each of his first four appearances this season (three goals, one assist), only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2007-08) and Nicolo Barella (2021-22) have had a hand in a goal in their first Serie A appearances in a second for Inter since 2004-05, when Opta started collecting assist data.

Pioli's perfect return

Though Milan's recent record against Inter does not make for pretty reading, their overall record heading into Saturday's derby is encouraging as they have won five consecutive home matches in Serie A.

A sixth in a row with victory against Inter would see Milan hit that tally for the first time since August 2014, under Clarence Seedorf and Filippo Inzaghi.

Milan's defence is also looking strong, having kept a clean sheet in their last two Serie A matches. A third this weekend would see Milan secure three clean sheets in the first five top-flight seasonal games in three campaigns in a row for the third time in their history (after 1952-23, 1953-54, 1954-55 and 1978-79, 1979-1980 and 1981-1982).

If there is one thing football fans will simply never be calm about, it is the amount of money their club spends on transfers.

No matter how many new, shiny players their team signs, that brief release of endorphins they get from watching YouTube compilations, checking Twitter for updates and finally seeing some over-produced nonsense of a reveal video soon dissipates and it's on to the next one.

Having said that, you wonder what it must have been like to be a Nottingham Forest fan during the transfer window, which finally closed on Thursday.

Back in the Premier League for the first time since 1999, Forest are determined to cement their place in the top tier.

Whatever anyone thinks about the quality of the arrivals, the club absolutely went for quantity as an incredible 21 players came through the door at the City Ground at a total cost – according to Transfermarkt – of £145.76m. Only Chelsea (£251.09m), Manchester United (£214.22m) and West Ham (£163.80m) spent more in the Premier League.

At the other end of the scale, the spending of the team that finished two places above Forest in the Championship last season, Bournemouth, has been comparatively meagre.

The Cherries committed just £24.21m to incomings, with three of their six new arrivals in the window coming in on free transfers, and one a loan.

Head coach Scott Parker was sacked on Tuesday after making his feelings known on the lack of investment from above after his team's 9-0 humbling at Liverpool.

But which approach is likelier to pay off in the long run? You would think Forest's launching of money at anything and everything will give them a better chance of staying up, and possibly even challenging higher up the table in future, but football is rarely that simple.

Using fees from Transfermarkt, Stats Perform has taken a look at the past 10 years of spending from the Premier League's promoted clubs to see how those who splashed the cash in their first season back in the big time fared.

Forest have, unsurprisingly, spent more than any promoted team in Premier League history.

The only club to have come close was Aston Villa in 2019-20, forking out £143.55m after they got themselves back into the top flight.

While it worked as they avoided relegation, they did so by the skin of their teeth, with the final-day draw at West Ham keeping them safe by a single point.

Their survival was largely down to the brilliance of Jack Grealish, who was already there, though some of their signings that season remain at the club - such as Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba.

There have only been two other clubs to spend more than £100m in their first season back in the English top flight and both came in the 2018-19 campaign, with very different results.

Wolves' outlay of £101.48m saw them challenging for the European spots, finishing seventh with 16 wins and 57 points, ahead of Everton, Leicester City and West Ham.

Fulham, on the other hand, spent slightly more (£104.85m), but it did them no good at all as they finished 19th and went straight back down to the Championship, leaving them lumbered with a lot of expensive players with big contracts.

They have managed to recover since, and invested £55.26m after promotion last season, but it was proof if it were needed that big spending is not even a guarantee of survival, let alone success.

There have been just five clubs that have spent less than Bournemouth in preparation to make the jump from the second tier to the Premier League since the start of the 2012-13 season.

Two of them came in that campaign, and as above, with mixed results. Reading spent just £9.74m and unsurprisingly went back down, while West Ham forked out £21.51m on new recruits and finished 10th, and have remained in the Premier League ever since.

The same thing happened in 2014-15 as Burnley's spend of £11.36m was not enough to keep them up, while Leicester's outlay of £20.57m is the least any promoted team has spent without going back down in the past decade. A year later, they won the league.

The least any promoted team has ever spent was fairly recently, with Norwich City deciding they would try and mix it among the best in the land in 2019-20 with an outlay of just £7.93m. It did not work.

Those stories do not really allow us to draw any conclusions though, given the vastly differing fortunes between clubs who appeared to follow similar volumes of spending.

That rings true throughout the past 10 years, with some interesting outcomes along the way.

In the 2013-14 season, Cardiff City (£41.23m) spent more money than both fellow promoted sides, Hull City (£27.99m) and Crystal Palace (£29.70m), but were the only one of the three to go back down.

The 2017-18 campaign is the only one in the past decade that has seen all three promoted sides stay up, with each of them spending between £40-60m (Newcastle United - £41.85m, Huddersfield Town - £51.08m, Brighton and Hove Albion - £59.85m).

In the 2020-21 campaign, only high-spending Leeds United (£96.12m) stayed up of the promoted teams, with West Brom (£37.93m) and Fulham (£33.53m) going back down.

However, last season, only low-spending Brentford (£33.03m) stayed up, with Watford (£39.15m) and Norwich (£57.20m) going back down.

Across the past 10 seasons, the team that spent the most out of the three newly promoted sides has ended up being relegated in five of them, while in seven of the past 10 seasons, the team that spent the least of them has been relegated.

So, what can we gleam from all this?

Essentially, spending money does appear to provide a slight upper hand. Those who have spent more have given themselves a better chance of staying up, but arguably not by the extent you would expect, or even to the extent that makes doing so worthwhile.

Those who choose to be more frugal seem to pay for it eventually, apart from those who already had a strong squad or structure anyway, such as West Ham in 2012-13.

As is the case throughout the game, spending money will only work if it is done with intelligence and the players purchased are utilised efficiently.

Forest will be hoping Steve Cooper can continue to control the wheel as ably as he did in the Championship, but for whoever takes over at Bournemouth, this season might be like getting ahead of Formula One cars in a Ford Focus.

As the old adage goes, form is temporary, class is permanent.

It can happen to the best. Harry Kane, for example, scored just once in his first 13 Premier League games for Tottenham last season, before netting 16 in his next 24 outings once he had his mojo back.

Going under the radar slightly given their results did not particularly suffer as they hunted down an unprecedented quadruple, but opposite to Kane, Mohamed Salah's outstanding goalscoring form in the first half of the season for Liverpool regressed after the turn of the year.

Salah scored 20 non-penalty goals in 26 games in all competitions before heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, where his Egypt team suffered an agonising defeat on penalties to Sadio Mane's Senegal in the final.

On his return, Salah scored just five non-penalty goals in 25 outings. The assumption was that the 30-year-old needed a break, and he began the new campaign with a penalty against Manchester City in the 3-1 Community Shield victory and scored the equaliser at Fulham in an opening day 2-2 draw.

However, he has failed to score in three home games against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Newcastle United, with his only other goal so far being a consolation in the 2-1 defeat at Manchester United.

That is not to say Salah is necessarily out of form (three goals in six outings is hardly bad so early in the season) but when he has set such high standards, seeing Liverpool have to so often rely on goals from elsewhere just feels a bit... strange.

Ahead of the Merseyside derby on Saturday, Stats Perform has taken a look at why Salah might not be producing the numbers we so often associate with him in front of goal. And in fact, playing against Everton at Goodison Park could be just the tonic.

Three of Salah's four Premier League goals for Liverpool against Everton have come at the home of the Toffees, with only Michael Owen (four) having scored more away goals for the Reds against their local rivals in the competition.

Salah's next goal in the Premier League will see him overtake Steven Gerrard's haul of 120 for the club.

It is frankly remarkable the goal has not already arrived, with Salah somehow unable to score in Liverpool's win against Bournemouth last weekend, even though almost everyone else did as Jurgen Klopp's men ran out 9-0 victors at Anfield.

He had chances, incredibly missing from close range after excellent build-up down the left in the first half, before controlling a lofted Fabinho pass in the second and firing over the bar.

In the much more difficult 2-1 win against Newcastle on Wednesday, Salah was relatively anonymous in front of goal, having just two shots, with neither on target.

Is this bad form though, or is Salah just being asked to fill a different role by Klopp?

The sale of Mane to Bayern Munich always felt like it was going to have a significant impact, with the Senegalese attacker such a vital part of their forward line in recent years.

Luis Diaz's January arrival looked to be setting the table for the next evolution of the attack, with Mane playing down the middle after the Colombia international came in, but the signing of striker Darwin Nunez at the end of the season seemed to signal a slightly more drastic change.

What would it mean for Salah? Well, so far it appears to have had an impact on his role, even with Nunez missing for the last three games through suspension after getting sent off on his home debut against Palace.

Last season, Salah averaged 56 touches per 90 minutes in the Premier League. So far this season he has averaged just 48, seemingly indicating fewer moves are going through him.

More noticeably, although the season is still very young, he is taking fewer shots than usual. Last season he was taking 4.5 shots per 90 in the league, which so far this campaign is down to just 2.8.

You might think that could be due to being more selective in his shots, but that also does not appear to be the case, with his shooting accuracy down at 33.3 per cent from 59.4 last season.

It is not all numbers going down though, as Salah appears to be on a mission to act as chief creator, having already crafted 21 chances from open play for team-mates in his five Premier League games, already more than a third as many as the 62 he created in 35 league games last campaign.

He made eight key passes in the draw with Palace, four at United and six against Newcastle, more than any other Liverpool player in each game, suggesting Salah is preparing himself for life alongside Nunez, who gobbled up chances at Benfica last season.

The 23-year-old had a shooting accuracy percentage of 62.3 per cent in the Primeira Liga in 2021-22, and a shot conversion rate of 30.6 per cent, compared to Salah's conversion rate of 22.8 per cent in a season in which he still scored 23 Premier League goals.

This could mean that, while not exactly reverting back to being the winger he was at Roma when playing with Edin Dzeko, Salah's job in the team may be evolving from main goal-getter to someone who can either score or create in equal measure, making Liverpool a little less predictable.

In his final season with Roma in 2016-17 before moving to Merseyside, he averaged 2.9 shots per game and created 2.5 chances from open play, not entirely dissimilar to the numbers he has put up in the early stages of the new season.

The plan with the presence of Nunez is presumably to cause one of two things, either lead to the Uruguayan making use of the space left by defenders all rushing to stop Salah, or allow the Egyptian more room than usual as opposition players are forced to keep an eye on his new team-mate.

You will never extinguish Salah's thirst for goals. Breaking scoring records is what he lives for, but as he said recently in an interview with Sky Sports: "I never say before the season [my individual goals]. But the collective one is the Premier League and Champions League. It has to be. That was my target last season and I go again until I win both again."

Whatever it takes to win more silverware at Liverpool, Salah will do it, and don't be surprised if that starts with a return to form against winless Everton.

After all, class is permanent.

When we talk about footballers "returning to haunt" their former employers, conversation generally focuses on strikers – or, at the very least players who score against their old teams.

But Jules Kounde just needs to be present for there to be a degree of longing or jealousy in the air at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Saturday, as Sevilla host Barcelona.

The France defender actually left Sevilla on good terms, with the club – and most fans – fully aware they had enjoyed a player of such quality for far longer than they'd ordinarily expect to, particularly when you consider Los Nervionenses' reputation as the selling club to end all selling clubs.

The only real gripe among Sevilla fans was the fee, with the initial €50million – plus €12.5m in add-ons – somewhat on the low side when you consider the other fees changing hands this year. Nevertheless, it was a club-record sale.

Over his three years in Seville, Kounde developed into one of the world's most-promising centre-backs, one capable of getting fans out of their seats, even.

Having finally been registered to play in LaLiga ahead of last weekend's 3-0 win over Real Valladolid, Kounde's second game with Barca sees him return to familiar surroundings – "too soon," some sheepish Sevilla fans will be saying.

Reminder of what Sevilla had

As good as Kounde was for Sevilla, it must be remembered he was very much one half of a partnership. He and Diego Carlos will probably be regarded by many supporters as the best centre-backs in the club's history – they just so happened to arrive and depart at roughly the same time.

Over the three seasons Sevilla had Kounde and Diego Carlos as their first-choice centre-backs, their defensive record was among the best in Europe.

Only Manchester City (57) and Real Madrid (52) kept more clean sheets than Sevilla (51) among teams in the top five leagues. Similarly, just five teams conceded fewer league goals (excluding own goals) than their 94 – including Paris Saint-Germain (85) and Lille (91), who each played at least 10 games less – and their expected goals against (xGA – 115.7) was the seventh lowest. Again, three of the clubs above them played 10 or more games less.

What makes this even more remarkable is that over the previous three seasons, Sevilla's 152 goals conceded saw them rank 51st out of the 74 teams to play at least 102 top-flight games over that period.

Julen Lopetegui's pragmatic, possession-based system undoubtedly helped, and there was a particular subtlety to it that allowed Kounde to really show his strengths.

Fernando, their defensive midfielder, plays deep enough to almost act as a third centre-back at times, and that gave Kounde the opportunities to move forward with the ball, safe in the knowledge he had cover in behind him.

As a defensive triumvirate, there was very little they lacked. Fernando offered protection and positional sense; Diego Carlos possessed great strength and composure on the ball; Kounde provided athleticism, drive and excellent distribution.

With Diego Carlos moving to Aston Villa in June, Fernando is the only one remaining. Sevilla's efforts to replace them had Monchi – presumably as a coincidence – going with another Brazilian-French combination in Marcao and Tanguy Nianzou, but the former is yet to play through injury and the latter has looked shaky alongside the unimpressive Karim Rekik.

In the early weeks of this season, the absence of Kounde and Diego Carlos has been glaring because their excellence at the back helped mask Sevilla's deficiencies going forward in the past. Over the previous three seasons, their 145 goals scored saw them rank 33rd among teams in the top five leagues, but they failed to really address that in pre-season and have begun the campaign with three defeats in four games.

Few would be surprised if Barca pile on the misery.

The archetypal Barcelona centre-back?

Few teams compare to Barcelona when it comes to appreciation of possession, so making the transition to a side that expects to control every single match can be a challenge.

But, theoretically, Kounde couldn't have had better preparation for such an environment. Over his three years in Spain, Sevilla were second in LaLiga for average share of possession at 59.7 per cent, with Barca (65.8 per cent) the only team seeing more of the ball.

The main difference at Barca is likely to be that Kounde is expected to distribute more than before, and that should occur naturally given the Blaugrana's even greater hold on possession.

But Kounde's admirers will hope that doesn't take away from his biggest strength.

Kounde is a defender who likes to progress the ball by carrying it. That's not to say he is a poor passer – he's very good – he just happens to be extremely adept when on the ball.

Across the top five European leagues last season, Kounde's total carry progress of 3,720 metres upfield was the 13th highest among centre-backs. But for the average distance of progressive carries, he ranked as high as seventh (minimum 1,000 minutes played).

These weren't just carries that progressed play by a couple of metres, either. His 159 progressive carries over 10 metres was the ninth most among the same players, while only three centre-backs recorded more carries with take-ones than Kounde's 19.

Put simply, this is a centre-back who likes to get his team on the front foot by taking initiative. He's positive, brave and effective. Considering Ronald Araujo's more pragmatic approach on the ball, Kounde should have the space and support to become a significant influence.

One of the best examples of Kounde's forward-thinking mentality actually came against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey last year, as he embarked on a brilliant solo run that culminated in a wonderful finish.

Kounde was the last of Xavi's major recruits this window, but considering defence was probably the area of the squad that needed strengthening the most, he was arguably the most crucial of the new arrivals.

As he prepares to return to the place where he made his name, Kounde has the perfect opportunity to truly announce himself to Barcelona fans.

With matchday six just around the corner, fresh off the first midweek Premier League fixtures of the season, now is when things can start to get tricky.

Some regular starters will likely be rested, and some new faces could emerge and force their way into the calculations going forward.

In a sink-or-swim week, it will be important to focus on players considered too important to their respective side to leave out – but who are those players?

Using Opta data, Stats Perform is here to help, with four suggestions of players that are in form that is impossible to ignore.

David Raya (Brentford v Leeds United)

Brentford's David Raya produced one of the more unlikely goalkeeping performances of the season in his side's 4-0 win over Manchester United – although maybe it should not have been unexpected.

The Spain international has only the one clean sheet to his name this season, but he ranks second in saves-per-90-minutes, and since the start of last season, he ranks second in save percentage.

Only Jose Sa (75.7 save percentage) has a higher save percentage than Raya's 74.2, and only Dean Henderson (five saves per 90 minutes) stops more shots per game this campaign than Raya's 4.4.

Joao Cancelo (Manchester City v Aston Villa)

Manchester City's Portuguese full-back has established himself as one of the most reliable fantasy picks as a crucial part of one of the Premier League's best defences, while also proving to be a consistent source of goals.

Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Cancelo ranks fourth out of all defenders for goal involvements with two goals and seven assists, while only Virgil van Dijk (22) is credited with more clean sheets than Cancelo's 21.

He gets a friendly matchup against Aston Villa as well, who this season have scored four goals and conceded nine from their five matches, placing them in the bottom-five in both categories.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal v Manchester United)

Arsenal are enjoying their best start to a Premier League season since 2003-04, with five wins from five matches, and 20-year-old winger Bukayo Saka is a big reason they are such a threat going forward.

Among Arsenal players, Saka ranks second in both assists (two) and chances created (10) – and it is no product of a small sample size.

Since the beginning of last season, only Kevin de Bruyne (102), Mohamed Salah (84) and Son Heung-min (80) have created more chances than Saka (78) – with a gap back to Mason Mount in fifth (66).

Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham v Tottenham)

It should never be a surprise to see Aleksandar Mitrovic scoring goals, but to be going at a goal-per-game in a newly promoted side is evidence of the special talent the Serbian possesses.

Only Erling Haaland has more goals than Mitrovic's five so far, and he is tied with the Norwegian for the Premier League lead in both shots (22) and shots on target (12).

Mitrovic's hot start follows his Golden Boot win in the Championship last season, where he netted 43 goals in 44 appearances. Out of England's top four leagues, Mitrovic is 19 goals clear of any other player since the start of that campaign.

The NFL is all about evolution. The constant fight to gain a decisive advantage, in a league where those who can adapt fastest are kings, consistently leads to sweeping changes every offseason.

While it is the raft of head coaching changes that dominate the headlines when the regular season gives way to 'Black Monday', it is the more granular alterations to a team's approach that can often have the greatest influence on a franchise's fortunes in a given season.

Switches in scheme or a diversion away from a team's long-standing tendencies are regularly brought on by the arrival of a new coaching staff or a change in coordinator, but personnel moves also frequently dictate the approach coaches settle on as they plot a path towards success.

Schematic decisions that may not cause much of a league-wide stir can end up having a huge influence on the outcome of a season, and there are no shortage of such changes that figure to have a significant bearing on the race for the playoffs in 2022.

Here, with the help of its advanced data, Stats Perform looks at five switches in scheme or tendencies that could play a defining role in the coming campaign.

Can McDaniel transform Tua?

The Miami Dolphins' second-half surge in 2021 was tied to their reliance on the run-pass option as they tailored their offense to Tua Tagovailoa's strengths.

Not only were the Dolphins prolific in going to the RPO, they were very effective when they called them.

Miami called a RPO on 12.27 per cent of their pass attempts, the league average was 3.5 per cent. They averaged 7.25 yards per play on RPOs, comfortably above the league average of 5.85.

Given their success on those plays and Tagovailoa's comfort in executing them, RPOs will still be a part of the Miami attack in 2022.

But the usage numbers are unlikely to be as high under new head coach Mike McDaniel, who brings his take on the Kyle Shanahan offense to Miami afer serving as the San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinator last year.

McDaniel will likely reduce the number of straight dropback pass plays for Tagovailoa. The Dolphins ran them on 34 per cent of passes last year, below the league average of 36.1 per cent but well above the 2021 49ers, who used such plays only 22.9 per cent of the time while utilising the quick game on 40.97 per cent of passes compared to 25.97 per cent for the Dolphins.

The arrival of McDaniel will likely tip the balance towards the quick game for Miami in 2022 as he looks to give Tagovailoa easy buttons in the same way Shanahan did for Jimmy Garoppolo, getting the ball into the hands of Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill to do damage after the catch.

McDaniel, who was San Francisco's run-game coordinator prior to his promotion last year, will undoubtedly lean on Raheem Mostert, Chase Edmonds and a ground attack certain to be heavily based around inside and outside zone runs to take the burden off Tagovailoa and set up play-action.

Miami used play-action on 14.57 per cent of their passes in 2021, above the average of 12.7 per cent but still trailing the 49ers (15.89 per cent). With Tagovailoa's ability to hit Hill and Waddle downfield with consistent accuracy in question, look for McDaniel to put significant stress on defenses by attracting linebackers up to the line of scrimmage with play-action and then running Hill and Waddle cross-field on horizontal routes at the intermediate levels that are well within his quarterback's range.

Under Shanahan, McDaniel has had an education into scheming his weapons into space, and he should thrive at doing so when running an offense himself for the first time. Tagovailoa's challenge will be to prove he can deliver and make the most of the advantageous situations in which his coach will put him. Fail, and the Dolphins may soon be searching for a new franchise quarterback.

More deep balls and diversity for Niners

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Shanahan has insisted nothing in his playbook has changed as he enters the season with a new starting quarterback, and the 49ers head coach will unexpectedly have the same top two signal-callers as he did last season.

It is the order that has flipped, with Jimmy Garoppolo agreeing a reworked contract for 2022 to be Trey Lance's backup. Regardless of what Shanahan says, the 49ers' approach is likely to be different with Lance under center.

Lance averaged 10.10 air yards per attempt across his 10 full quarters of action last season (he started two games and played the second half when Garoppolo was injured in Week 4), the second-most among quarterbacks with at least 50 pass attempts.

On the other end of the scale, Garoppolo's 7.38 air yards per attempt were well below the league average of 7.99. Garoppolo attempted just 26 passes of 21 or more air yards the entire season, while 11 of Lance's 70 passes were of that distance.

The scheme isn't changing, but the tendencies certainly will. Lance will be more aggressive and attack downfield more often, likely leading to explosive splash plays that are not necessarily reliant on receivers creating yardage after the catch.

Though the plays may have already been in Shanahan's playbook, there is certain to be more of an emphasis on the threat of the quarterback run with Lance at the helm.

Just 2.62 per cent of the 49ers' run plays came on the zone-read last year, below the league average of 4.2. That number should increase, as should San Francisco's usage of the RPO game, which the Niners used on only 1.09 per cent of pass plays last year but averaged 8.43 yards per play when they did.

With Lance and the running back both threats to run on such plays, defenses will have to account for three possibilites when defending RPOs against the 49ers, exemplifying how much more diverse their offense can become with the 2021 third overall pick under center.

San Francisco's attack will be even more varied and more aggressive in 2022, but it is also likely to be more volatile due to Lance's inferior precision to Garoppolo on the intermediate passes that set up the yards after catch opportunities on which the 49ers have done such damage in recent years. How that volatility impacts the win-loss column will determine whether Garoppolo gets on the field at any point in the final year of his contract.

Vikings look to the 3-4

The Vikings swapped out basically everything this offseason. New general manager, new head coach – who will also be the offensive play-caller – and new defensive coordinator.

Though head coach Kevin O'Connell's offense will be different to the one run by former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, the systems are similar enough that Kirk Cousins and Co. are unlikely to endure too much pain in acclimating to the new scheme.

The biggest adjustments will come on the defensive side of the ball, which will be run by Ed Donatell, who spent the last three seasons coordinating Vic Fangio's defense for the Denver Broncos.

The Fangio defense has become the en vogue scheme in the NFL as acolytes such as Brandon Staley have put their spin on it and the two-high safety shells that have been a hallmark of the system have helped limit explosive plays and level the playing field a little in an offense-dominated league.

Denver played Cover 1 robber – which is where a safety from a two-high look drops down into the box to disrupt in-breaking routes in the congested area – as the defense's primary coverage in 2021. The Broncos ran Cover 1 robber 41.87 per cent of the time in a season where the league average was 14.17 per cent.

The Vikings were more varied but still used Cover 1 robber more than any other coverage, relying on it for 21.81 per cent of defensive snaps.

Whether Donatell uses that coverage to the same extent in Minnesota remains to be seen, but the transition for the Vikings' secondary may be a smooth one given how often they ultilised the same shell under Mike Zimmer. 

The most significant change to the defense comes up front, with the Vikings switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

Though defensive fronts are much more hybrid in the modern NFL, the tenets of the 3-4 front are the same. The three-man line is tasked with holding ground and filling up gaps at the point of attack, offering more space to the four linebackers to take better pursuit angles against the run and opening a wide menu of blitz packages against the pass. 

Minnesota's two starting outside linebackers are de-facto edge rushers and both players who should each theoretically thrive in that role. Za'Darius Smith has significant experience with the 3-4 from his time with the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers while the athletic profile of Danielle Hunter – whose 60.5 sacks since 2015 are tied for the seventh-most in the NFL – makes him an ideal candidate to excel as a stand-up pass rusher.

Possessing two impressive space-eating interior defenders in Harrison Phillips and Damon Harrison and an inside linebacker in Eric Kendricks who had five sacks last year, the Vikings have the personnel to continue to succeed rushing the passer despite the change in front. They were 10th in pass rush win rate in 2021, had the sixth-most pressures (291) and the second-most sacks (51).

Despite their joy in getting after the quarterback, the Vikings were 26th in yards per play allowed (5.66), with their struggles tied to a run defense that allowed 51 runs of at least 10 yards. Only 12 teams allowed more. If the switch to the 3-4 helps the Vikings grow more stout against the ground game, then a team with the talent on both sides of the ball to contend for the playoffs will be in a much better position to make noise as a potential Wild Card team.

The Raiders' overdue defensive switch

The Las Vegas Raiders will have a new offensive system after hiring Josh McDaniels as their head coach and will also have the benefit of expanded firepower following the blockbuster trade for All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams. 

Las Vegas will have the personnel and the offensive scheme to go blow for blow with their high-powered rivals in the AFC West.

The question is whether their defense can do enough to contain their divisional foes, and its success in doing so likely rests on how the Raiders adapt to new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.

In 2021, the Raiders only gave up 5.2 yards per play, the ninth-fewest in the NFL; however, former coordinator Gus Bradley's steadfast commitment to single-high Cover 3 defenses saw Las Vegas shredded for 888 net yards in a pair of defeats to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Las Vegas played Cover 3 zone on an incredible 65.79 per cent of snaps last season. The league average was 23.75 per cent.

In his final year as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator, Graham relied heavily on Cover 3, which the Giants used 45.58 per cent of the time. 

But Graham used a wider range of coverages more regularly than his predecessor. The Giants played Cover 1 robber, Cover 2 and Tampa 2 at a rate above the league average.

The Raiders' secondary talent is questionable, but Graham is a coordinator who predominantly plays the coverage with which they are most familiar but is more flexible than Bradley. As such, the transition to Graham should be a relatively smooth one for the Raiders' defensive backfield; however, it will be their ability to excel in a defense that promises to be much more multiple than it was a year ago that determines whether this unit improves.

Las Vegas' defense did not embrace the two-high revolution in 2021. With Graham running a unit that will be tasked with stopping three explosive downfield passers in Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Russell Wilson in the AFC West, such shells will almost certainly become a bigger part of the Raiders' gameplan. How their defenders adapt to playing those coverages more frequently will have a huge bearing on the Raiders' success in competing for top spot in a loaded division.

Will 'Big Red' turn to the run?

As the Raiders perhaps shift towards a more two-high heavy world, the Chiefs' hopes of regaining the Lombardi Trophy will in part be tied to their proficiency in attacking such defenses.

The Chiefs' often exaggerated struggles against two-high coverage shells dominated much of the discussion in the first half of last season as defenses looked for a way to take away the shot play to Tyreek Hill.

By the end of the year, the Chiefs appeared to have solved the riddle and averaged 33.2 points per game over the final six weeks of the regular season.

Yet with Hill gone, the Kansas City offense has lost the reason many opponents not named the Raiders defended them with such coverages.

Defenses are unlikely to suddenly move away from the two-high looks when playing Kansas City now Hill is a Miami Dolphin, and teams will continue to dare Mahomes to take what he is given underneath and attempt to limit his opportunities to go downfield to the deep threats the Chiefs do have, namely Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman.

Mahomes will need to be patient and connect with tight end Travis Kelce and other receivers who should excel attacking the underneath areas such as Juju Smith-Schuster and rookie second-round pick Skyy Moore.

But the Chiefs may also look to run the ball more to get defenses out of those coverages and draw more defenders into the box, opening the deep areas of the field for Mahomes to attack.

Kansas City ran the ball on only 31.8 per cent of offensive snaps last season, and there is plenty of evidence to suggest they would succeed if they did so more often.

The Chiefs ranked first in run block win rate in 2021 – their exploits in that regard allowing Clyde Edwards-Helaire to average 3.08 yards before contact per attempt, the eighth-most among running backs with at least 100 attempts – and Kansas City were seventh in yards per play on the ground (4.54). Rookie undrafted free agent Isaiah Pacheco has caught the eye in training camp and could blossom into a dynamic threat out of the backfield.

It is tough to make the case for taking the ball out of Mahomes' hands. However, as defenses continue to present him with more varied and complex looks, there is a need for a greater balance in the Chiefs' offense.

Between using a first-round pick on Edwards-Helaire and building an O-line that can produce dominant run-blocking, the Chiefs have spent significant resources on players with the potential to help them achieve that balance by committing to what has been an efficient run game. A modest shift in their offensive tendencies could be the key to the Chiefs getting back to the top of the pile despite the loss of one the league's most fearsome playmakers.

Erling Haaland continued his incredible start to life in the Premier League with a record-setting treble in Manchester City's 6-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest.

The Norway international made it two hat-tricks in the space of five days – and a perfect one at that, with his right foot, left foot and head – in City's latest statement victory.

Meanwhile, Liverpool left it late to see off Newcastle United 2-1 at Anfield.

There were goals and drama elsewhere on Wednesday, too, and Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data.

Manchester City 6-0 Nottingham Forest: Haaland makes history

Haaland now has nine goals in five Premier League games since joining City from Borussia Dortmund – the best start of any player in the competition's history at this stage.

He surpassed the record of eight goals previously held by Micky Quinn and City great Sergio Aguero, the man he is effectively replacing at the Etihad Stadium.

The prolific striker is just the seventh player to score a hat-trick in back-to-back games in the competition and the first since Harry Kane did so for Tottenham in December 2017.

Fellow newbie Julian Alvarez also scored twice, while Joao Cancelo netted the other as City bagged five or more goals in a league game for the 32nd time under Pep Guardiola.

That accounts for 14 per cent of City's games under the Catalan coach in the competition, with that tally more than twice as many as any other side over that period (Liverpool, 15).

The only side to have exceeded the 18 goals City have scored after five games of a Premier League season were Manchester United, who had 21 to their name at this stage 11 years ago.

Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle United: Carvalho the late hero

Newcastle led with an hour played at Anfield, only for Roberto Firmino to level and Fabio Carvalho to fire home in the 98th minute to snatch all three points for Liverpool.

That was the 40th winning Premier League goal scored by Liverpool in the 90th minute or later – the most of any side – with three of those coming in this fixture.

Timed at 97 minutes and nine seconds, it was Liverpool's latest goal in the top flight since Dirk Kuyt's penalty against Arsenal in April 2011 (101:48).

Alexander Isak had earlier given Newcastle the lead with a debut goal, making him the sixth Swedish player to net on his Premier League bow.

Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa: Martinelli keeps Gunners perfect

Arsenal dug deep to overcome Villa and make it five wins in a row to begin a league campaign for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when they went on to finish second.

Gabriel Jesus steered Arsenal ahead for his sixth goal involvement in his first five Premier League outings for the club, breaking Mesut Ozil's previous record of five.

Douglas Luiz equalised directly from a corner, but Arsenal hit back just 151 seconds later through Gabriel Martinelli, who converted Bukayo Saka's cross.

That was Saka's 17th Premier League assist – only Cesc Fabregas (38), Wayne Rooney (22) and Michael Owen (18) had more before turning 21.

West Ham 1-1 Tottenham: Soucek denies Spurs

Tottenham could not see out a lead at London Stadium as they were denied the chance to make their best start to a Premier League season after five games.

Thilo Kehrer turned a Harry Kane delivery into his own net, with that a league-high seventh own goal scored by West Ham since the start of the 2020-21 season.

Tomas Soucek levelled for West Ham with his 19th Premier League goal, each of those coming from inside the 18-yard box.

That strike was assisted by Michail Antonio on his 200th league appearance for West Ham, whose tally of two goals after five games is their fewest since 1994-95 (one).

While Spurs could not hold on for the win, they are unbeaten after five games in the competition for only the third time, having previously done so in 2004-05 and 2016-17.

It's no surprise that at the end of this latest PGA Tour season it was Rory McIlroy ultimately hosting the FedEx Cup, considering the statistically dominant campaign the Northern Irishman put together.

Though his three-win season might not appear at the top of his career highlights - the major championship triumphs in 2012 and 2014 may never be matched - it nevertheless culminated in one of the best statical campaigns of his heralded career.

After lifting the FedEx Cup for the third time, the first player in Tour history to do so, McIlroy capped off a season that saw him earn his fourth scoring average title, at 68.67, the only player on the PGA Tour to finish with a sub-69 average (the overall average for the 2021-22 season was 71.092).

Only Vijay Singh (2003) and Tiger Woods (eight different times) have matched McIlroy with a season-long average below 68.7.

McIlroy's six-shot comeback over Scottie Scheffler at the Tour Championship also cemented the 33-year-old’s fourth season of at least three wins, as he also jumpstarted his campaign with a victory at the CJ Cup before claiming the RBC Canadian Open midway through the year.

"I'm back to playing the golf that I'm used to playing, and the golf that I know that I can play," McIlroy said prior to the FedEx St. Jude Championship. "COVID was a weird time for everyone, and then coming out of it and going into the 2021 season, with my swing where it was, I was trying to change a couple of things and was going down a path I realised wasn't the path for me. [I'm] coming back out of that and now getting back to playing the golf I know I can play."

The late-season rise was in no doubt due to McIlroy's impressive resurgence across several aspects of his game. After ending The Masters ranked next-to-last among 209 TOUR players in average proximity from 50 to 125 yards (24 feet, one inch), McIlroy went on a tear that saw him close out the season with an average of 14 feet, one inch, best among all players with more than 30 attempts in that span.

But that wasn’t the only area where he’s upped his play. McIlroy ranked No. 131 in scrambling percentage last season, only to finish 30th this year, while also improving more than 50 spots in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (63rd in 2020-21 to 12th this season). Perhaps most importantly, the 22-time PGA Tour winner was 16th for Strokes Gained: Putting per round, after he finished 66th in 2021 and 122nd in 2019-20.

McIlroy ended the season ranked inside the top-50 in all four primary Strokes Gained categories (off-the-tee, approach the green, around the green and putting), only the second time he's done that, joining the 2018-19 season. That season he also won the TOUR Championship and RBC Canadian Open, along with The Players Championship.

"This year feels very similar to the way I played in 2019," he said. "It's a carbon copy in terms of the consistency and the numbers and the strokes gained numbers, but my finishes in the majors have been better and that's been – that's been a real positive looking ahead into next year and the future."

CANTLAY REPEATS

Before McIlroy hoisted the PGA Tour's ultimate prize, all eyes were on Patrick Cantlay for a potential repeat.

Last season's FedEx Cup champion was primed to go back-to-back after he became the first player to successfully defend a Playoffs event since their 2007 inception. At the BMW Championship, the 30-year-old birdied the 17th at Wilmington Country Club to hold off Scott Stallings in a one-shot victory, his second win at the event in as many years.

A year ago, Cantlay survived in a six-hole playoff at Maryland's Caves Valley Golf Club to win the BMW Championship, before sealing the FedEx Cup with a one-shot win over Jon Rahm.

"I think every time I've tried to defend, I don't think I've been able to do it, but it's something that you definitely circle on your calendar as something you want to do," Cantlay said. "These golf courses reminded me a lot of each other, and I was glad not to go six holes in a playoff."

Much like a season ago, it was largely the putter that lifted Cantlay to a post-season victory. Over the last two FedEx Cup Playoffs, Cantlay is +18.39 in total Strokes Gained: Putting, the most of any player.

The BMW Championship was a microcosm of that, as Cantlay was ranked 49th of 67 players in the third round, losing 1.493 strokes to the field. But after a late-night putting session, the Californian ranked 10th in Sunday’s final round, gaining 1.628 strokes on the field. He was a perfect 10-for-10 on Sunday putting inside 3 feet, after missing one in 13 attempts the day before. He was 16-for-17 from inside 10 feet on Sunday and just 15 for 20 on Saturday.

ZALATORIS BREAKS THROUGH

Fans have been anxiously awaiting Will Zalatoris’s first trip to the PGA Tour winner's circle, after heart-aching playoff losses this year at the Farmers Insurance Open and PGA Championship.

Viewers finally got their wish in the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, as the young 26-year-old poured in a clutch par at the last to force extra holes with Sepp Straka. He ultimately outlasted the Austrian on the third playoff hole.

"It's kind of hard to say 'about time' when it's your second year on Tour, but about time," Zalatoris joked. "Obviously this was a grind considering the start that I had. I love this golf course, I played well here last year. Considering all the close finishes that I've had this year, to finally pull it off, it means a lot."

The budding superstar led the field in both Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (+1.93) and Tee-to-Green (+2.35), becoming just the second player to lead both at the FedEx St. Jude Championship (Dustin Johnson, 2020).

All the more impressive was that he finished the first round at one over, the highest score to par after the opening round by a winner at the FedEx St Jude Championship. The previous worst opening round by a winner? Vijay Singh, who was one under after 18 holes in 2008.

Zalatoris was tied for 86th after the first round, marking the lowest position by a winner after the opening round of the playoffs (McIlroy previously held the honor, sitting at T67 after the opening round of the 2016 Dell Technologies Championship). 

It wasn't particularly certain we would arrive at Kylian Mbappe's five-year anniversary at Paris Saint-Germain.

For well over a year, it was widely expected the superstar forward would swap the French capital for the Spanish and join European heavyweights Real Madrid.

But, lo and behold, an eye-watering new deal that runs until June 2025 was agreed back in May, much to the fury of Madrid and the joy of the PSG faithful.

A lot has changed since 2017, not least the fact Mbappe is now a World Cup winner with France.

And yet, there is a feeling that the PSG mission is very much not accomplished, so just how do we judge Mbappe's success at the Parc des Princes thus far?
 

DOMESTIC DOMINANCE

Mbappe has won Ligue 1 in four of his five seasons with PSG, adding to the title lifted in his last year with Monaco in 2016-17, and also has three Coupe de France, two Coupe de la Ligue and two Trophee des Champions to his name.

While it has not quite been a clean sweep of honours for the Parisians, they have dominated domestically during Mbappe's time at the club and the France international has played a huge part in that.

Indeed, since making his PSG debut in September 2017, only Robert Lewandowski (185) and now team-mate Lionel Messi (203) have been directly involved in more goals across Europe's top five leagues than Mbappe's 167 – 123 goals and 44 assists.

Yet, harshly or otherwise, Mbappe's domestic achievements with PSG are often discredited due to club's sheer financial might. For all the Ligue 1 titles, it is the Champions League that is considered to be the true barometer of success for the French giants.
 

EUROPEAN SHORTCOMINGS

PSG have consistently fallen below expectations in the Champions League, coming closest to winning Europe's elite club competition in the 2019-20 season when they lost to Bayern Munich in the final in Lisbon.

The following season, PSG reached the semi-finals of the competition before losing to Manchester City. In Mbappe's other three seasons in Paris, they have fallen at the last-16 stage – most recently last term against Real Madrid.

In Mbappe's five years at the Parc des Princes, he has scored more Champions League goals than any of his team-mates, netting 27 in all, with Neymar being his closest rival in that regard with 20 goals.

While Mbappe cannot do it all himself, he must shoulder some responsibility for PSG's continental shortcomings – particularly as in his first three seasons at the club, he netted just one knockout goal in the competition.

That came in 2018-19 in the round of 16 against Manchester United, when PSG suffered elimination after the Reds Devils' remarkable comeback at the Parc des Princes.

Mbappe also failed to score in the knockout stages in 2019-20 as PSG finished runners-up in the competition, though there has been a significant upturn in the past two seasons, with the forward netting four across two legs against Barcelona in the 2020-21 last 16, including a famous hat-trick at Camp Nou, then scoring twice in the quarter-finals as PSG knocked out Bayern.

In the 2021-22 season, Mbappe repeated the feat against Real Madrid in the last 16, scoring twice, but PSG were eliminated as Karim Benzema turned the tie on its head.

All in all, nine of Mbappe's 27 Champions League goals have come in the knockout stages, eight of which have come in the last two seasons. Including the group stages, Mbappe has scored 14 goals in the past two seasons, compared to 13 in his first three years.

Yet all he has to show for it is that runners-up medal from 2020.

ANOTHER NEW ERA, DIFFERENT STORY?

With five years already under his belt as a PSG player and potentially three more to come (though Madrid will surely have something to say about that), Mbappe still has plenty left to achieve in his home city.

He is just 26 goals short of overtaking Edinson Cavani as the club's all-time record goalscorer, yet personal milestones will surely be sacrificed in pursuit of that elusive Champions League crown.

Now joined by Neymar and Messi in one of the most star-studded forward lines in history, anything less than going all the way for PSG will be deemed a massive failure – as was the case last season when the front three struggled to truly click.

Having fallen short in agonising fashion with that aforementioned defeat to Madrid in last season's knockouts, the French champions have taken a calculated gamble by replacing Mauricio Pochettino – who never truly took to the job – with former Lille and Nice boss Christophe Galtier.

Reunited with de factor sporting director Luis Campos, with whom he worked closely at Lille to help create the team that pipped PSG to the Ligue 1 title by a point in 2020-21, the Parisians have opted to take a different approach in their quest to be kings of Europe.

The early indications are positive, too, with PSG winning their opening three Ligue 1 matches and scoring 17 goals in the process – a tally only Rennes (18 goals in 1950-51) have bettered in the competition's history at that stage.

PSG were held 1-1 by Monaco last time out, however, and their impressive start has not come without its complications. Neymar and Mbappe clashed in the 5-2 win against Montpellier over who would take a penalty, and the latter was also spotted seemingly sulking in the same game after the ball was not played his way.

It appears some things may never change at PSG in that regard, but ending the club's wait for continental glory is something that simply must happen if Mbappe is to eventually bow out having achieved all he set out to at his boyhood club.

Manchester United make the trip to Leicester City on Thursday on the back of successive Premier League victories, coinciding with captain Harry Maguire dropping out of the side.

Already under pressure in some quarters following chastening defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford in his first two games in the job, Erik ten Hag made the bold call to drop his skipper – as well as star forward Cristiano Ronaldo – for the subsequent wins over Liverpool and Southampton.

After claiming six points from six and letting in just one goal across those two matches, compared to six conceded in their first two outings, Ten Hag has no real reason to integrate Maguire back into his starting line-up for the King Power Stadium clash.

With Maguire set for a watching brief from the bench against his former side, Stats Perform looks at what exactly has gone wrong for the England international, and whether there is any way back.

OLD TRAFFORD BECOMES HARRY'S HOUSE

Maguire joined United in an £80million deal from Leicester in August 2019, a fee that remains the most ever paid for a defender. With that valuation comes pressure, yet the centre-back thrived in his new surroundings and was named captain the following January following Ashley Young's move to Inter.

The 29-year-old played the full 90 minutes in each of his first 71 Premier League matches, equalling Gary Pallister's club record, though he could not quite surpass him as he was substituted in the following game against Aston Villa with a minor injury.

Put simply, Maguire was a guaranteed starter and often repaid that faith, reflected in his stats across those first two campaigns. 

Between the start of the 2019-20 season and the end of 2020-21, Maguire ranked second for interceptions (132), second for duels won (443), second for successful passes (4,127) and fourth for recoveries (436) among all Premier League defenders.

THE CAPTAIN OF A SINKING SHIP

Last season was a difficult one for United and by extension Maguire, who as captain had to front up to the club's issues. The Red Devils finished with their lowest-ever Premier League points tally (58) and failed to record a positive goal difference for the first time in over 30 years.

The 57 goals United scored last season was massively down on each of Maguire's first two campaigns at Old Trafford, but even more alarmingly, they shipped a whopping 57 goals across their 38 matches – the most they have let in in a single season in 43 years.

From being towards the top of several metrics in the two campaigns prior, Maguire was nowhere to be seen in the 2021-22 campaign. The Englishman's cause was not helped by missing eight matches, though even on a per-game basis his figures dipped in a number of key areas.

The number of goals conceded per 90 minutes went from 0.95 in his first season to 1.47 last time out; recoveries dropped from 6.2 to 5.3; duels won from 6.3 to 4.7; and successful passes from 57 on average to 48.

TEN HAG'S BIG CALL

Maguire has always had his critics, but the criticism aimed his way has become much louder over the past 12 months. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, the abuse went too far in April this year when Maguire received a bomb threat at his house.

The defender's hopes of winning over the fanbase were hit by disappointing displays in United's opening two games of the current campaign, coinciding with new recruit Lisandro Martinez being integrated into the team as the left-sided centre-back.

It had become clear that change of some sort was required, and Ten Hag made a huge call prior to the Liverpool match in replacing Maguire with Raphael Varane, and it is likely that the pairing will now be given a run in the side to strengthen their partnership.

There were plenty of positives to see against Liverpool, a game in which the Red Devils kept one of the most formidable attacks relatively quiet until Mohamed Salah's 81st-minute consolation, and also against Southampton, when keeping just a second clean sheet in 15 league outings.

FINDING A BETTER BALANCE

But are United a better side without Maguire in their back-line? In the 12 league matches they have started without him since the start of last season, they have won just four for a win percentage of 33.3 per cent, compared to 46.7 per cent with him in the side across 30 games.

In terms of goals against, however, United concede 1.6 compared to 1.3 with and without Maguire respectively. Ten Hag would not just have been looking at the goals conceded column when electing to leave Maguire out of his side, of course, with plenty of other factors to take into equation.

One of the reasons Martinez was signed is because of his ability on the ball, reflected in his 92.5 passes per 90 minutes in Eredivisie last season, with an 89 per cent pass-accuracy rate.

By comparison, Maguire averaged 56 passes a match in the Premier League and found his target 86 per cent of the time. It is not entirely fair to compare figures across divisions, though Maguire also lagged behind team-mate Varane (88 per cent) in terms of passing accuracy. 

NO GUARANTEES GIVEN BY TEN HAG

Ironically, the timing of Maguire being dropped coincides with the team finally signing the defensive midfielder they have been crying out for in recent years, with Casemiro bringing ample experience from his time at Real Madrid.

Ultimately, Ten Hag has to find the right balance and has landed on Varane and Martinez to help keep out the opposition and build from the back, with Casemiro operating just in front of the defence.

Just two months on from confirming Maguire would remain skipper, the Dutchman has suggested the former Leicester man will have to bide his time before being called upon again.

"It doesn't mean when you are captain you are established to always play," he said. "Especially when you also have Varane in your squad. We have options. Varane: his stature is immense and in pre-season we took a decision to build him physically so he had a bit of a slow start.

"He was fit in the first games but in the first period of pre-season he wasn't always so we are happy we built him in that way."

If Ten Hag's arrival was supposed to provide Maguire with an opportunity to kickstart his Old Trafford career and return to the previous form shown with United and England, instead it has left him at something of a crossroads amid talk of a possible move away.

Back at the ground where he truly made a name for himself, Maguire must watch on and wonder when – or if – he will get another chance to prove he has what it takes to play a part under Ten Hag.

Chelsea continued their frustrating start to the Premier League season with a disappointing loss at Southampton – which had previously been a happy hunting ground.

The Blues took an early lead but could not hold off a Southampton comeback, leaving Thomas Tuchel's side with just two wins from their opening five league games.

Brighton and Hove Albion's unbeaten start came to an end against Fulham at Craven Cottage, Crystal Palace conceded a late equaliser against Brentford, while Leeds United and Everton shared the spoils in a fiery 1-1 draw at Elland Road.

Here, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data from Tuesday's fixtures in the English top flight.

Southampton 2-1 Chelsea: Sterling delivers but Saints finally sink Blues at home

Romeo Lavia and Adam Armstrong cancelled out Raheem Sterling's opener as Southampton beat Chelsea at home in the Premier League for the first time since March 2013.

Saints were winless in nine games at St Mary's against Chelsea in the competition and would have feared a familiar fate after Sterling poked home in the 23rd minute.

That marked the forward's 169th goal involvement (112 goals, 57 assists) in the top flight, a tally bettered by only Harry Kane (230) Sergio Aguero (209 and Jamie Vardy (175) since Sterling made his debut in March 2012.

But Lavia soon hit back as he became the fourth youngest Southampton player to score in the Premier League, with the recent arrival aged just 18 years and 236 days.

A smart Armstrong finish then inflicted consecutive top-flight away defeats on Chelsea for the first time under Tuchel, who may have reasons for concern after an underwhelming start to the new campaign.

Indeed, Chelsea (W2 D1 L2) have lost two or more of their first five games in a Premier League season for just the second time this century. The last time it happened, they finished 10th in 2015-16 after opening with three losses in five games.

Fulham 2-1 Brighton and Hove Albion: Mitrovic ends Seagulls' flying start

Brighton headed to Craven Cottage unbeaten in nine league games, winning six of those, but were undone by Aleksandar Mitrovic and a Lewis Dunk own goal.

Mitrovic continued his fine form in front of goal for his 48th-minute opener, scoring for a fourth time in the Premier League against the Seagulls, more than he has managed against any other side in the competition.

The Serbian's strike also marked his 100th league goal in Fulham colours before Dunk turned into his own net – his sixth Premier League own goal, more than any other player since the start of the 2016-17 season.

Richard Dunne (10), Martin Skrtel (7), Phil Jagielka (7) and Jamie Carragher (7) are the only players to find their own net more in Premier League history than Dunk, who endured a night to forget.

Alexis Mac Allister offered brief hope of sparing Dunk's blushes with a penalty, but Fulham held on to reach eight points from five games, their best start to a top-flight season since the 2012-13 term (nine points).

Crystal Palace 1-1 Brentford: Zaha-reliant Eagles suffer more London derby frustration

Wilfried Zaha continued to carry the hopes of Selhurst Park on his shoulders, but his curling effort was not enough to see Palace to a rare London derby victory.

The Ivory Coast international found the top-right corner in the 59th minute to open the scoring, his 13th goal in 20 appearances in the Premier League in 2022, as many as he managed in his previous 45 games in the competition.

Zaha has also scored six of Palace’s last seven home league goals, but the Eagles could not hold out for what would have been just a third win in their last 20 top-flight London derbies.

Yoane Wissa denied Palace in the 88th minute with a fourth league goal in his last eight games on the road.

Brentford have now avoided defeat in five of their last eight Premier League games where they conceded first (W2 D3 L3), while Palace have won just one of their last five when opening the scoring in the league.

Leeds 1-1 Everton: Lampard's men let another lead slip

Everton remain winless this season in the Premier League (D3 L2), despite taking the lead at Elland Road through Anthony Gordon. Expecting Everton to hold a lead has become a fool's game.

Luis Sinisterra's leveller means that since Frank Lampard's first league game in charge of Everton in February, only Leicester (16) and Wolves (14) have dropped more points from winning positions than the Toffees (13).

Leeds would have seen this as an opportunity to put three more points on the board, but at least their unbeaten run at home continues. They have earned eight points from their last four league games at Elland Road (W2 D2), which is as many as they had mustered from their previous 11 (W2 D2 L7).

Will Gordon stay with Everton beyond Thursday's transfer deadline, or could the links to Chelsea see him move on? He has now scored two goals in his last two Premier League games, having netted just four in his first 52 appearances. His last two strikes have been away from home, with each of his first four coming at Goodison Park.

Every team after every single draft believes they nailed it with their class of rookies. Yet the percentage of draftees who go on to have a transformative impact in their first NFL season is a small one.

Those players who do hit the ground running as rookies can completely change the direction of their franchise. That was the case in 2021, as fifth overall pick Ja'Marr Chase exploded onto the scene and helped propel the Cincinnati Bengals to within minutes of a Super Bowl victory.

Last season also saw Micah Parsons, the first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, establish himself as one of the most fearsome defensive players in the league.

Both Chase and Parsons earned individual honours as they won the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards respectively.

The 2022 NFL Draft was not of the same standard as the 2021 class, but this group of rookies still features several players who could replicate the rise to stardom Chase and Parsons enjoyed in their maiden campaign.

Aidan Hutchinson - Edge Rusher, Detroit Lions

No edge defender in the NFL draft comes into the league as well-rounded as Hutchinson, who has already flashed his tremendous potential in the preseason for the Lions.

With flexibility, power, quickness and a wide array of pass-rush moves in his arsenal, Hutchinson’s pressure rate of 30.8 per cent was the second best of all edge prospects in this year's class.

The tools that saw him amass 14 sacks in his final season with Michigan should translate excellently to the pros and significantly boost a Lions defense that ranked 27th in pass rush win rate last season.

After a 2021 campaign in which they went 3-13-1 but lost six games by one score, the Lions are viewed by many as a team on the rise.

They are unlikely to compete for the playoffs this year but Hutchinson's floor is high enough for him to quickly blossom into a household name with a standout season for a team that should at least take another step forward on the path to contention.

Chris Olave - Wide Receiver, New Orleans Saints

Olave had to wait to hear his name called after former Ohio State team-mate Garrett Wilson, but he is in a better position to immediately succeed at the highest level.

A smooth and detailed route-runner with the speed to test defenses deep, Olave figures to mesh perfectly with a typically aggressive quarterback in the form of Jameis Winston.

The former Buckeye was sixth in burn rate among wide receivers in this class in 2021, winning his matchup with a defender on 69.9 per cent of his targets. He was tied third in burn yards per target (14.08) while recording the second-highest average depth of target (14.3).

With the health of Michael Thomas still a concern, Olave could quickly become the top target in the Saints' offense. Given his proclivity for gaining separation downfield, such an opportunity has the chance to result in substantial production for Olave, provided Winston's encouraging pre-injury form of 2021 does not prove a false omen.

If they get serviceable quarterback play, the Saints have the roster to contend for a return to the postseason and Olave will have a strong chance of following in Chase's footsteps by winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year if he is a key factor in a campaign that ends in a playoff berth for New Orleans.

James Cook - Running Back, Buffalo Bills

For the past four years, the Bills have not had a player eclipse 870 rushing yards in a season, so it made sense to take a swing on Cook in the second round.

Despite none of their backs coming close to the 1,000-yard mark of late, the Bills are one of only six teams to average at least 150 rushing yards per game across the past three seasons, reaping the benefits of quarterback Josh Allen's dual-threat skill set.

Cook, the younger brother of Minnesota Vikings star running back Dalvin Cook, was a star during his time at Georgia, averaging 6.5 yards per carry for his career with the Bulldogs and finishing his final season with 1,012 scrimmage yards on 140 touches, ranking fifth among Power 5 backs with 7.2 scrimmage yards per touch. He had seven touchdowns on the ground and four through the air as Georgia rode him to their first National Championship since the 1980s.

Cook thrived because of his burst to the second level and his long speed, which could heighten the big-play threat of a running game that racked up 60 runs of 10 yards or more in 2021, the seventh most in the NFL.

And, even when not afforded a huge advantage, Cook can be effective. He was fifth in the NCAA in yards per carry on plays where there was a run disruption.

His recieving skills saw him record 11 receptions of at least 10 yards, tied for 12th among Power 5 backs, last season. Playing in an offense that consistently has defenes fearing the deep ball from Allen, Cook has the potential to become a dynamic short-game weapon who can take advantage of the underneath space he will often be afforded.

Not since LeSean McCoy have the Bills had a back with the all-round ability Cook possesses. Their offense could be borderline unstoppable should the Bills immediately harness his talents and put Cook in position to ascend to his brother's level of stardom as a rookie.

George Karlaftis - Edge Rusher, Kansas City Chiefs

When the Chiefs selected the Purdue edge rusher with the 30th pick of this year’s NFL Draft, it was the highest draft pick they had committed to the position since taking Dee Ford with the 23rd pick back in 2014.

The Chiefs ranked 19th in the league in sacks in 2020, before plummeting to 29th in that category in 2021, illustrating their inability to take care of arguably the defense's most important job – hitting the quarterback.

This past season, the Chiefs blitzed at the eighth-highest rate in the league (28.1%) and were credited with 278 quarterback pressures. Only nine teams produced more in the regular season. But the league's best quarterbacks thrive against the blitz, and a more sustainable formula for defensive success is to create consistent pressure by sending only four rushers.

That is where Karlaftis can thrive.

In his 26 games at Purdue, Karlaftis totaled 29 tackles for loss and 14 sacks, and his pressure rate of 21.9 per cent was the sixth-best among all edge rushers in this draft class.

Set to play alongside Chris Jones, arguably the premier defensive tackle in the NFL not named Aaron Donald, on the Chiefs' front, Karlaftis could become an immediate difference-maker for a Chiefs' team eyeing another Super Bowl push if his monstrous physical traits translate to the NFL as many expect.

Christian Watson - Wide Receiver, Green Bay Packers

The Packers have one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the sport, coming off back-to-back league MVP awards – but it remains to be seen if Aaron Rodgers' weapons are up to the task.

Only Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp received more targets in 2021 than Davante Adams, Rodgers' favourite target since 2016 who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason. Watson was one of the men picked to help fill the void, selected 34th overall this year’s draft out of North Dakota State.

Standing 6ft 5in tall, Watson is a height-weight-speed receiver who ran a 4.36 40-yard dash and has the versatility to do damage as a receiver and out of the backfield. He carried the ball 49 times for his career in Fargo, averaging eight yards per rush and racked up over 20 yards per reception as a pass catcher.

However, he played against weaker competition in the FCS, and has seemingly been usurped on the depth chart this preseason by fellow rookie Romeo Doubs, who was selected in the fourth round. Doubs is younger, has been producing since his true freshman season and may, at this point, be a better football player, but the Packers will need more than one receiving threat to emerge this season and Watson's athletic gifts, duplicity and big-play upside give him the highest ceiling of any receiver on their roster.

If he establishes a rapport with Rodgers, Watson could play a massive role in finally getting the Packers over the top.

Kaiir Elam - Cornerback, Buffalo Bills

The Bills already have one All-Pro cornerback in Tre'Davious White and hope they have found another after using their first-round pick on Elam.

Elam rose up the draft board following an impressive final season with Florida in which he more than held his own against some of the SEC's best.

His performance against Jameson Williams in the Gators' clash with Alabama was one that drew effusive praise and Elam finished the year 10th among all corners in the draft in burn yards per target allowed, giving up 8.52.

Elam's success in providing tight coverage was on display in his preseason debut against the Indianapolis Colts, offering further encouragement he can enjoy a smooth and swift transition to the pros.

A physical and aggressive corner with the speed to stay in lockstep with blazers like Williams, Elam's man coverage skills may allow a Bills defense that was 22nd in blitz rate (22.9%) last year to throw a more diverse array of pressure packages at opponents as they bid to get over the hump and win a first Super Bowl.

Playing across from a corner of White's reputation, Elam will be tested continually. His own profile will grow rapidly should he pass those tests.

Leeds United host Everton on Tuesday, but both sides are learning to adapt to life without two star Brazilians.

Raphinha and Richarlison were instant hits after joining the clubs in 2020 and 2018 respectively.

While Raphinha was a relatively under-the-radar arrival from Rennes for a reported £17million, eyebrows were raised when Everton spent an initial £40m to bring in Richarlison from Watford. 

A double on his Everton debut swiftly endeared Richarlison to Evertonians, and he went on to score 53 goals across all competitions in his four seasons at Goodison Park.

Neither player will be involved at Elland Road on Tuesday. Raphinha is at Barcelona, and Richarlison will be preparing for Tottenham's match against West Ham.

But who has been the biggest miss so far, and what strides have Leeds and Everton taken towards attempting to replace them?

What are they missing?

Across his two seasons in the Premier League, Raphinha directly contributed to 29 goals, scoring 17 times and providing 12 assists, at least one more than any team-mates.

The variety of his strikes was hugely impressive, with seven of his league goals for Leeds coming from outside the area. Only one player – Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse – could boast a better total (nine) in the same time frame. That quality was on show when he planted a wonderful strike into the top-right corner for Barca against Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly in the United States.

He has started well at Barca, with only three players in LaLiga creating more goalscoring opportunities so far than the 25-year-old (eight).

Raphinha's 11 league goals last season marked his best performance since the 15 he netted in the 2017-18 campaign, when he played for Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal. He did not score as freely for Sporting CP, and only managed seven goals during his sole full season with Rennes in France, but in Marcelo Bielsa's system, he thrived.

One of the hardest-working wide players in the Premier League, Richarlison provides flair to go with the graft and snide that endears him to his fans. He played at least 30 league games in each of his seasons on Merseyside, operating all across the front line and even as a number 10 at times under Rafael Benitez.

While not as creative as Raphinha, whose tally of 129 chances created in the league for Leeds betters the total managed by Richarlison in his four years at Everton (109), Richarlison's knack of finding space in behind defences and between the lines mean he is often in the right place at the right time to apply a finishing touch.

Meanwhile, his tenacity off the ball was demonstrated perfectly by his assist for Harry Kane's second goal for Spurs against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Having chased what looked like a lost cause, Richarlison picked out Kane with a sublime outside-of-the-boot cross, supplying Tottenham's talisman with a simple header into a gaping net.

The replacements

Raphinha was not the only big player to leave Leeds, with Kalvin Phillips having been sold to Manchester City. 

Leeds, eager to back Jesse Marsch, moved quick to reinvest those funds into the squad. Luis Sinisterra was drafted in from Feyenoord as Raphinha's de-facto replacement.

More comfortable playing on the left, but also capable of featuring from the opposite flank, Sinisterra has pace and skill in abundance. A hamstring injury in pre-season was cause for concern but he returned in time to make his debut as a substitute against Southampton on August 13.

A wonderful strike on his full debut – in an EFL Cup win over Barnsley last week – demonstrated what the Colombia international, who scored 23 goals for Feyenoord last term, is all about.

Brenden Aaronson, Marcsh's compatriot, is an attacking midfielder who shone for Salzburg and has made a bright start to life in England and will help plug the gap, too.

Matters have been more complicated for Everton when it comes to replacing Richarlison. 

While he has so far had to settle for cameo roles at Spurs, Richarlison was Everton's attacking hub. With Dominic Calvert-Lewin injured for so much of last season, it was his 10 goals, with six of those coming from April onwards, that were crucial to keeping Frank Lampard's team up. He was involved in 10 of Everton's 11 league wins in 2021-22.

With Richarlison sold at least in part to appease the Premier League's profit and loss regulations, Everton have not been able to use the initial £50m they received from Spurs as freely as they would have liked.

Dwight McNeil has been brought in but is not a goalscorer, putting extra onus on Demarai Gray and Anthony Gordon, who is drawing the interest of Chelsea. Neal Maupay arrived last week to ease some of the strain, but with Calvert-Lewin injured again, Everton's attack looks blunt.

Who is coping better?

At the time of writing, Leeds look better equipped to make up for the loss of Raphinha than Everton do Richarlison.

That could change in the coming days, with Everton linked with moves for Ben Brereton Diaz (Blackburn Rovers), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolves) and PSV star Cody Gakpo, with the latter two also said to interest Leeds, and the Whites' own Daniel James. That being said, those moves might hinge on Gordon's future.

Leeds have taken seven points from their opening four fixtures, whereas Everton have just two to their name. While they were defeated by Brighton on Saturday, they have already scored seven goals. With striker Rodrigo in form, the Whites have slightly outperformed their expected goals (xG - 6.8)

Everton, on the other hand, have underperformed theirs, scoring three times from an xG of 4.8, suggesting the finishing abilities of Richarlison – and, in fairness, Calvert-Lewin – have been missed. Golden opportunities missed by Gordon and Gray in draws against Nottingham Forest and Brentford are glaring examples of where a forward of Richarlison's prowess would likely have done better.

It is a long season, and Tuesday's match between the sides that finished 17th and 16th respectively last season should not be taken as a sure indicator of where these teams will end up. But as for the two absent Brazilians, it is Leeds who are adapting quicker.

Liverpool equalled the Premier League record for the biggest win after putting Bournemouth to the sword with a 9-0 victory at Anfield – becoming only the fourth side to score nine goals in a game in the competition after Manchester United, Leicester City and Tottenham.

Striker Roberto Firmino opened his account for the season with a brace to hit a landmark 100 goals for Liverpool, while elsewhere in England's north west Manchester City won a Premier League game after being 2-0 behind at the break for the first time, beating Crystal Palace 3-2.

Manchester United secured a second win in a week with a 1-0 win against Southampton, ending a run of seven-consecutive away defeats in the Premier League, and 10-man Chelsea beat Leicester City 2-1 – which saw back-to-back dismissals for the Blues, the first time since under Jose Mourinho in 2014.

Elsewhere, Brighton maintained their fine start to the season with a 1-0 win against Leeds United, Brentford held Everton to a 1-1 draw and Arsenal came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1.

Stats Perform has taken a dive into Opta's data pool to present a number-led review on the best of the day's Premier League action.

Liverpool 9-0 Bournemouth: Reds run riot to equal Premier League record

Jurgen Klopp's men saw plenty of records fall their way as they picked up a first Premier League victory of the season at the fourth time of asking, equalling a club record for their biggest margin of league victory – when beating Crystal Palace 9-0 in 1989 and Rotherham Town 10-1 in 1896.

A first-half blitz saw the Reds score five in the first half of a Premier League game for the first time, while it was the first occasion they had scored five in the first half of a top-flight match since October 1927 against Portsmouth.

Firmino was undoubtedly the star of the show, becoming the first Liverpool player to be directly involved in four goals in the first half of a single Premier League match (one goal, three assists), and a second goal after the break saw the Brazilian become just the third Liverpool player to have a hand in five goals in a single Premier League match after Mohamed Salah against Watford in March 2018 and Luis Suarez versus Norwich in December 2013.

It was also a day for the next generation, with goals from Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho, both 19, seeing Liverpool have two different teenagers score in the same Premier League game for the first time in their history.

For Bournemouth, the loss hands Scott Parker's side an unwanted record having conceded 16 goals in the first four games in the Premier League, more than any other side, while their aggregate score against Liverpool in the past seven Premier League matches stands at 28-1 against.

Manchester City 4-2 Crystal Palace: Haaland hits hat-trick as champions break tradition

Falling 2-0 down in the first half, it appeared City were set for another surprising home defeat to Crystal Palace, but a valiant response after the break saw Pep Guardiola's side break tradition – coming back from a two-goal deficit at the break to win a Premier League match for the first time ever, having drawn two and lost 51 of the previous 53 occasions.

Performances will be concerning, however, with City falling two goals behind in four of their past six Premier League matches, as many as in their previous 84 matches combined.

Both goals came after 21 minutes, marking the earliest City have been two behind at home in the Premier League since December 2010 against Everton (2-0 down after 19 minutes).

City have been formidable when falling behind, though, and a quick start for Haaland to life at City will be extremely encouraging, netting his fourth hat-trick in Europe's big five leagues and becoming just the fourth player to score six-or-more goals in their first four Premier League appearances after Diego Costa, Sergio Aguero and Mick Quinn.

Palace can at least be encouraged by the performance of Eberechi Eze, who is just the third player to provide an assist in three consecutive away appearances for the Eagles after John Salako in 1992 and Christian Benteke in 2018.

Arsenal 2-1 Fulham: Gunners grind out result to maintain 100 per cent record

For only the third time in Premier League history, Arsenal have won each of their opening four matches in a season. The Gunners have not managed that feat since 2004-05, when they went on to finish runners-up, and in 2003-04, when they won the title.

Mikel Arteta's side showed they were made of sterner stuff, conceding first in the second half and going on to win for the first time since Boxing Day 2013 against West Ham. It marked the manager's 100th league match in style, with Arteta picking up 100 points in his second 50 games (W32 D4 L14) after accruing 75 in his first 50 (W21 D12 L17).

Gabriel's winning goal was his eighth strike in the Premier League since the start of 2020-21, more than any other central defender, while Martin Odegaard scored his third in three matches, as many as he netted in his previous 24.

For Fulham, a poor record in London derbies was maintained as the Cottagers have won just one of their past 26 in the Premier League, drawing five and losing 20, though Aleksandar Mitrovic netted his 100th goal for the club in all competitions – only Mohamed Salah (133), Harry Kane (121) and Ivan Toney (106) have scored more in England's top four tiers in that time.

Crisis, what crisis?

After a winless three-game start to the season, Liverpool responded in style against Bournemouth at Anfield by equalling the record for the biggest win in Premier League history.

It saw them join Manchester United, Leicester City and Tottenham as the only clubs to have scored nine in a match in the competition.

The win also marked the first time Liverpool had hit the nine-goal tally since a 9-0 victory against Crystal Palace in December 1989 in the old First Division.

Here, we look back at times when one-sided encounters in England's top flight have spun wildly out of control.

Liverpool 9-0 Bournemouth - August 27, 2022

Roberto Firmino was star of the show as a thrilling performance saw the Brazilian secure a hat-trick of assists in the first half, setting up Luis Diaz, Harvey Elliott and Trent Alexander-Arnold before adding his own name to the scoresheet. Virgil van Dijk made it 5-0 before the break and the woes for Cherries boss Scott Parker continued, Chris Mepham putting the ball into his own net just a minute into the second half. Firmino got a second after the hour mark and the hosts did not rest on their laurels, Fabio Carvalho and Diaz on the scoresheet in the final 10 minutes.

Manchester United 9-0 Southampton - February 2, 2021

After Alexandre Jankewitz was dismissed for a shocking studs-up lunge on Scott McTominay, Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl perhaps should have checked the date and feared the worst. February 2 is Groundhog Day and Southampton had been here before. Aaron Wan-Bissaka got United off and running in the 18th minute, with Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani more familiar sights on the scoresheet either side of a Jan Bednarek own goal. Anthony Martial came on at half-time, but even after he scored in the 69th minute and McTominay did shortly afterwards, the game could have meandered towards a conclusion. Instead, the roof fell in on Southampton as they crumpled entirely under late strikes from Martial and Dan James after a Bruno Fernandes penalty and a red card for Bednarek.

Southampton 0-9 Leicester City – October 25, 2019

Ryan Bertrand – one of seven Southampton players to feature in both 9-0s – was the Jankewitz of the piece as he was sent off for a challenge in the build-up to Ben Chilwell's 10th-minute opener. Youri Tielemans was granted ample room to double the lead, then Ayoze Perez began romping towards a hat-trick that he completed a minute before Jamie Vardy's headed second made it 7-0 in the 58th minute. A James Maddison free-kick and a Vardy penalty took this defeat into uncharted territory for a home side in the Premier League.

Manchester United 9-0 Ipswich Town – March 4, 1995

For nearly a quarter of a century, Alex Ferguson's United were out there on their own. Andy Cole scored five after Roy Keane began this rout in the 15th minute. Mark Hughes hit a quickfire second-half double and Paul Ince also got in on the act. Peter Schmeichel watched it all unfold from the other end, just as his son Kasper did in goal for Leicester at St Mary's all those years later.

Tottenham 9-1 Wigan Athletic – November 22, 2009

Wigan had a slither of hope when Paul Scharner pulled a goal back to make it 3-1 before the hour at White Hart Lane. Ultimately, the only significance of that strike was to keep them off the top of this list. Jermain Defoe did his best Cole impression, rattling in five goals from the 51st minute onwards, while Aaron Lennon, David Bentley and Nico Kranjcar piled on the pain. Remarkably, Peter Crouch's ninth-minute header was the only goal of the 10 scored before half-time.

That same season, Wigan lost 8-0 at Chelsea, who beat Aston Villa by the same margin at Stamford Bridge two and a half years later. Newcastle United claimed the Premier League's first 8-0 win at the expense of Sheffield Wednesday in 1999, with Alan Shearer scoring five.