Premier League Round Up: Eight numbers that summed up the weekend
Swansea players celebrate their goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. (Source: AP)
It was perhaps the most surprising weekend of the Premier League so far with the lesser ranked sides hogging the spotlight. A fair amount of history was made, reputations dented and records shattered. Which is why we thought that it was best to let the numbers do the talking for the fourth EPL weekend:
13 – Yes, that’s the place at which defending champions – and this season’s overwhelming favourites – Chelsea find themselves a month into their title defence. It is the worst start they have had under Mourinho and the worst start by any defending champion since Blackburn Rovers’ stuttered defence of their 1994-95 title. Mourinho would have expected some fight from Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace, but the odds of a defeat at Stamford Bridge (where Chelsea have lost only once in the EPL under Mourinho) were very long indeed. Small wonder the Chelsea manager was furious with some of his players after Palace had pulled off a stunning 2-1 win.
52 – 
It was 52 years ago when West Ham had last beaten Liverpool at their home fortress of Anfield. So not too many gave Slaven Bilic and his men much of a chance when they trooped into Liverpool. The Anfield Reds had had a good start to the season – unbeaten in three matches with three clean sheets to boot. Ninety minutes later, the home fans were in a state of shock, having been hammered (pun intended) 3-0 by the London side, with a superb performance in particular from Manuel Lanzini, who assisted one goal and scored another. Even Mark Noble’s sending off could not dull the celebratory mood in the West Ham camp.
6 – ‘twas the weekend that saw EPL players see – and referees show – red. Literally. Ten matches, and six red cards. Were the referees being too harsh, or the players too feisty? The debate will continue for long (especially as many of those cards are being appealed against by the clubs), but five different teams ended up understaffed this weekend – Stoke lost two players, while Liverpool, Norwich, Newcastle, and West Ham lost one each. Perhaps the worst offender was Norwich’s Steve Whittaker who picked two two yellow cards in less than four minutes!
0 – 
That’s the number of points dropped and goals conceded by Manchester City so far. Even as their rivals stumbled, Pellegrini’s men finished another clinical weekend, dispatching newcomers Watford 2-0 at home. They have ten goals in four matches, twelves points and no one has beaten Joe Hart in goal yet. All of which make Man City the team with the most goals scored and the least goals conceded one month into the season. Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United must be already feeling worried.
Zero is also the number of wins by the five teams that are at the very bottom of the league table – Tottenham Hotspur (yes!), Watford, Stoke City, Newcastle and Sunderland. These five teams together have as many points as Manchester City alone does (12). Not the best of times for them indeed.
4 – That’s the number of goals scored by the top goal scorers this season. And no, their names are not Costa, Kane, Falcao or Benteke, and neither do they come from any of the high-profile, high-profile clubs. Topping the goal scoring charts so far this season with four goals apiece are Bafetimbi Gomis (Swansea), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City), and Callum Wilson (Bournemouth). Gomis’ tally deserves special mention because he has scored in each match played by his club this season – four consecutive goals!
3 –
That’s the number of times Swansea have beaten Manchester United in a row in the league so far. The Swans did the double over van Gaal’s men last season and while United seemed set to change that when they went ahead by a Juan Mata goal. However, the tide turned and goals from Ayew and Gomis saw Swansea win yet again. This is one team the Manchester Reds would love to hate.
Incidentally, three is also the number of teams with an unbeaten record in the EPL so far this season – Manchester City, Leicester City and Swansea City.
9 – The number of times the team playing at home has won so far this Premiership season. Yes, just nine matches out of the forty that have been played thus far have ended with victory for the home team.
Arsenal began the season by being stunned at the Emirates by West Ham and this weekend saw Liverpool and Chelsea too suffer surprising home defeats. Whatever happened to home advantage? Just for the record, the home team won 45 per cent of the matches last season – double the current percentage of 22.5!
2 – That’s the place where Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace find themselves in four weeks into the league. Their stunning 2-1 victory against United put Palace a point above the equally surprising top four occupants, Swansea and Leicester, and just three points behind the rampant Manchester City.
Occupying places five to seven are the more familiar faces of Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
No, we are not saying that it will last (we won’t complain if it does, mind you), but the first month of the EPL has certainly seen the meek inherit most of the top places in the league table.
