EPL

Premier League data dive: Liverpool continue hold over Palace, Chelsea make London derby history

By Sports Desk January 23, 2022

Chelsea once again downed Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in the headline clash of the weekend's Premier League fixtures.

Fellow title hopefuls Liverpool, who still have a game in hand, closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to nine points with victory over Crystal Palace in south London.

Staying in the capital, Arsenal were held to a goalless draw by lowly Burnley as they lost ground in the race for the top four, while Leicester City shared the points with Brighton and Hove Albion.

With the action all over for a couple of weeks, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data from Sunday's fixtures.

Crystal Palace 1-3 Liverpool: Reds down Eagles again as Robertson delivers

Liverpool reduced Manchester City's advantage at the top to nine points after a 3-1 victory over Palace, who have lost each of their last 10 league meetings with the Reds.

Virgil van Dijk placed Jurgen Klopp's side in control after just eight minutes at Selhurst Park with his 10th headed goal in the competition – only Sami Hyypia (17) has scored more headers for the Reds in the Premier League.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain added a second after the half-hour mark as he scored in back-to-back top-flight matches for the first time since February 2020.

Both of those goals were created by Andrew Robertson, who now sits joint-second with team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold (both 43) for the most assists in the league since the start of the 2017-18 season, with only Kevin De Bruyne boasting more (52).

Odsonne Edouard halved the deficit in the second half, but Fabinho secured three points with Liverpool's 169th Premier League spot-kick – the joint-most awarded to a team in the competition's history along with Manchester United.

Arsenal 0-0 Burnley: Gunners fail to fire against Clarets

Arsenal have failed to win any of their opening five games of a calendar year for the first time since 1995 after being held to a 0-0 draw by Burnley.

Nick Pope was in excellent form, while Alexandre Lacazette spurned a glorious open-goal opportunity, as the Clarets conceded 20 shots – the most they have faced in the Premier League without conceding since May 2021 (21 versus Fulham).

Lacazette's profligacy meant the Gunners have failed to score in four consecutive matches across all competitions for the first time since December 2005.

Arsenal will be desperate to improve upon their torrid run of form to challenge for the top four, with this stalemate being the first time the Gunners have failed to beat the team starting the day bottom of the table at home for the first time since October 2008.

Leicester City 1-1 Brighton and Hove Albion: Foxes tamed by away specialists

Leicester remained unbeaten at home to Brighton in the Premier League, though Brendan Rodgers may feel they should have claimed victory after a 1-1 draw.

Patson Daka broke the deadlock as he became just the second Foxes player to score in each of his first three home starts in the competition, after Leonardo Ulloa in the 2014-15 season.

The Zambia striker found the net just 26 seconds after the interval, the quickest goal scored in the second half of a top-flight game since February 2020.

However, Danny Welbeck levelled things up as he scored his fourth goal against Leicester in the Premier League, only bettering that haul in games with Aston Villa (five).

Neither side could find a late winner, ensuring the Foxes remain unbeaten at home to the Seagulls in the top flight since December 1980, while Graham Potter's side have only lost one of their last 11 away leagues games – a joint-low with Manchester City.

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: Blues make London derby history  

Chelsea registered their fourth win in all competitions this season – and third in January alone – over London rivals Tottenham with a 2-0 triumph at Stamford Bridge.

Harry Kane thought he had struck first before the break but a slight push on Thiago Silva saw his finish ruled out before Hakim Ziyech expertly curled in his fifth league goal for Chelsea – all five of those having come at different venues.

Silva added a second soon after as he became the oldest player (37 years, 123 days) to score in the Premier League since February 2013 to condemn Antonio Conte to his first top-flight defeat as Spurs head coach.

The defender's header was set up by a free-kick from Mason Mount, who provided his 20th assist since the start of the 2019-20 campaign – the most by any Chelsea player across all competitions in that period.

Spurs were unable to breach the Blues' goal, meaning they have now gone six matches across all competitions since last scoring against Chelsea, who became the first side to collect 500 points in Premier League London derby matches (501 points from 272 derbies).

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    Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid were not dominant enough to deserve their 2-0 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday.

    After a tight first half, which saw Los Blancos manage just two shots on target, they secured all three points thanks to second-half penalties from Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe.

    They were far from their best though, accumulating just 0.6 expected goals from 16 shots (six on target), while they just edged possession with 52%.

    However, Ancelotti praised his players' resilience and was proud of how they were able to endure the home side's pressure.

    "It was a complicated match. We didn't deserve to win, because Real Sociedad pushed us really hard," he told a press conference.

    "We held on and suffered, showed character and a lot of commitment. I value that a lot because it's not easy to find commitment in a team with so much talent and quality, and today we did it.

    "I leave very satisfied, and then we have to be self-critical in order to improve. It's a great opportunity for us to assess what we didn't do well but with three more points in the table."

    Madrid are second on 11 points, one behind Barcelona who visit fifth-placed Girona on Sunday.

    Ancelotti acknowledged his side were struggling with fatigue and poor form, but said it was to be expected due to a busy calendar, coming off the back of the international break.

    The Italian said he saw improvement in Mbappe's performance as the France captain settles in at his new club, having scored his third goal for Madrid on Saturday.

    "We can talk about all the problems in the world with this match, but the important thing was to get out with a win," added Ancelotti, who was without midfielders Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos and Aurelien Tchouameni.

    "We have to take into account that we are not at 100%. It's normal, we don't have four midfielders who are injured. I value a lot the work of those who have played.

    "I see Mbappe fresher, more active. He's very dangerous and combines well with Vinicius and the other forwards. He is improving a lot. I liked his game a lot."

    Madrid now turn their attention to their Champions League title defence which starts on Tuesday against Stuttgart.

  • Real Sociedad 0-2 Real Madrid: Vinicius, Mbappe penalties close gap on Barca Real Sociedad 0-2 Real Madrid: Vinicius, Mbappe penalties close gap on Barca

    Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe both scored penalties as Real Madrid saw off Real Sociedad 2-0 at the Reale Arena.

    Carlo Ancelotti's side moved to within a point of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who visit fifth-place Girona on Sunday.

    Already without the likes of Jude Bellingham, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni, Madrid suffered another injury blow in the 24th minute when Brahim Diaz was forced off with a muscular issue.

    After a goalless first half, the visitors broke through 13 minutes after the restart with Vinicius slotting home from 12 yards after Sergio Gomez handled Arda Guler's shot.

    Vinicus was then felled for Madrid's second penalty, which was awarded following a VAR review, with Mbappe making no mistake in sealing all three points.

    Data Debrief: Madrid extend unbeaten streak

    Extending their unbeaten LaLiga streak to 37 matches, Madrid have now won four successive away league games against Basque opposition for the first time since a run of four such victories between 2011 and 2013.

    By contrast, Sociedad have now suffered four straight home defeats in the Spanish top flight for the first time since 2007.

  • Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea: Late Nkunku strike snatches victory for Blues Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea: Late Nkunku strike snatches victory for Blues

    Christopher Nkunku proved Chelsea's hero as his late strike secured a narrow 1-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League.
     
    The forward climbed off the bench to strike the winner five minutes from time at the Vitality Stadium, where Robert Sanchez kept out Evanilson's first-half penalty.

    Bournemouth looked the more likely to take all three points in the contest, with Marcus Tavernier's long-range thunderbolt rattling the crossbar early on.

    Sanchez then came to rescue on 38 minutes by denying Evanilson from 12 yards, albeit after he had conceded the spot-kick for a foul on the Brazilian.

    The woodwork denied the Cherries again after the break, with Ryan Christie seeing his precise low effort hit the outside of Sanchez's right post.

    However, it was Chelsea who snatched the points with five minutes remaining. Receiving the ball from Jadon Sancho, Nkunku cleverly skipped away from a couple of challenges before slotting past Mark Travers in the Bournemouth net.

    Data Debrief: More happy travels for super sub Nkunku

    Nkunku's piece of individual brilliance settled the contest. All four of his Premier League goals for Chelsea have come away from home as a substitute.

    The Blues held out at the other end to claim their first away league clean sheet in 18 attempts, while winning four straight matches on the road for the first time since 2022.

    Meanwhile, history was made at the Vitality Stadium with the referee showing a total of 14 yellow cards; the highest amount issued in a single Premier League game.

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