EPL

Premier League data dive: Ronaldo hat-trick helps Man Utd overcome Norwich, Tottenham and Arsenal slip up

By Sports Desk April 16, 2022

With Manchester City and Liverpool facing off in the FA Cup on Saturday, the Premier League's attention turned to the race for a top-four spot.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Manchester United beat Norwich City 3-2, with the Red Devils taking full advantage of 1-0 defeats for Tottenham and Arsenal against Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton respectively.

Elsewhere, Watford's slim survival hopes were dealt a blow as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Brentford.  

Stats Perform takes a look at some key Opta facts from the day's games.

Manchester United 3-2 Norwich City: Ronaldo racks up yet another treble

Ralf Rangnick's side delivered another disjointed performance at Old Trafford, yet they did enough to secure a 13th win in their past 16 Premier League games against the Canaries.

Ronaldo was the star of the show, the Portuguese superstar plundering the 60th hat-trick of his professional career for club and country.

The 37-year-old has now scored 20 or more goals across all competitions in each of his past 16 seasons at club level – a run that started in the 2006-07 campaign during his first spell at United.

His first goal was teed up by Anthony Elanga, who is 17 years and 81 days younger than Ronaldo. It is the greatest age gap between a United goalscorer and the player who assisted him in Premier League history.

Teemu Pukki had given Norwich hope of a memorable result when he pulled the visitors level at 2-2 from 2-0 down, the Finland international becoming the first Canaries player to score 10 or more goals in two different Premier League campaigns (11 in 2019-20 and 10 in 2021-22).

As is so often the way, though, Ronaldo had the last word.

Tottenham 0-1 Brighton and Hove Albion: Seagulls leave it late to edge out blunt hosts

Spurs missed the chance to strengthen their grip on fourth position as they suffered a third home defeat in their past six home Premier League games – as many as in their previous 14 on home soil.

Despite starting with the in-from trio of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski in attack, Spurs did not manage a single shot on target. It was the first time they had failed to do so in 21 Premier League games, since November last year against Everton.

Brighton's winner came in the 90th minute through Leandro Trossard, who has now scored six goals in the top flight this season – his best-ever season return in the competition.

Graham Potter's side have now won consecutive away league games for the first time since September 2021 and are unbeaten in three Premier League games, winning the last two, after losing each of the six before that.

Southampton 1-0 Arsenal: Wasteful Gunners punished by Saints

Arsenal missed the chance to pull level on points with Tottenham after a third consecutive Premier League defeat, having lost just two of their previous 13.

The Gunners dominated at St Mary's, taking 23 shots and enjoying 76 per cent possession. There have been 11 instances of a team failing to score having taken 20 or more shots in a Premier League match this season, with Arsenal responsible for three of those.

They were undone by Jan Bednarek's goal on the stroke of half-time, the first they have conceded from a corner situation in the top flight this season.

Bednarek has now scored four goals in 27 Premier League games this season, which is one more than he scored in his previous four campaigns combined (three in 100 appearances).

Watford 1-2 Brentford: Hornets' miserable home run continues

Pontus Jansson's 95th-minute winner for Brentford meant Watford became only the third team to lose 10 consecutive top-flight home games in a row, after Birmingham City in February 1986 and Sunderland in August 2005.

Alongside Birmingham, they are only the second to do so within a single season.

That run means Hornets boss Roy Hodgson is the first manager to lose his first five home Premier League games in charge of a club since Chris Ramsey with QPR in 2015.

Brentford, meanwhile, have won five of their last six Premier League games (L1) and have won three top-flight games in a row for the first time since September 1946.

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    Vakoun Bayo scored the only goal of the match in the 54th minute after he turned in the rebound of his own saved shot.

    It is the fifth goal he has scored in three games, having also netted four times in the Hornets' 6-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

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    The three points lift Watford up to fourth in the Championship table ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures, and Cleverley was pleased with the marked improvement he saw in the second 45 minutes.

    "I thought the second-half performance was really good until the last five minutes really," he told Sky Sports.

    "I thought we didn't manage the game as well as we could do and a few refereeing decisions - dubious one that went against us - meant they could get the ball in our box.

    "So, it felt a bit hands to the pump at the end, but I thought for the first 35 minutes of the second half, we were absolutely fantastic and were unlucky not to make it two, three.

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    "But I thought our second-half performance in the main deserved the three points and our supporters helped us through."

    Meanwhile, Oxford remain 16th and have now won just one of their last 10 matches in the Championship.

    They failed to register a single shot on target in the first half, and are yet to win a game when conceding the opening goal in the league this season, with this the fifth such match they have gone behind.

    It was Oxford's sixth defeat of the season and while manager Des Buckingham said there were positives to take, he was left frustrated by their lack of a clinical edge.

    "I'm extremely proud but extremely frustrated," he said.

    "I'm disappointed we haven't come away with something. I felt we created enough, we just haven't taken them. If we keep playing that way, we will be fine.

    "We speak about being a together group. We did well, but Watford took their chance."

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