With the Premier League season nearly half over, this current lull in matches is the perfect time to look back at the campaign so far.
We've all been following the matches and have a general idea about where each team sits in the league table, so the next logical step is to dive deeper into the analytical side of the Premier League and examine the expected goals league table.
A fifth-minute penalty from Patrick Bamford was enough to give Leeds United a 1-0 win over Burnley at Elland Road in the Premier League on Sunday, but Sean Dyche's side were left furious after an Ashley Barnes effort was ruled out.
Bamford, who spent a spell on loan at Burnley earlier in his career, drilled home the early spot kick after referee Robert Jones ruled that Burnley keeper Nick Pope had brought down the Leeds forward. It was the Leeds man's 10th league goal of the season.
Barcelona found accommodating opponents on Tuesday in relegation-threatened Valladolid, allowing Ronald Koeman to experiment with his formation and personnel and Lionel Messi to overtake Pelé for the most goals ever for a single club.
Leading 2-0 in the 65th-minute, Pedri produced a gorgeous ball for Messi to score his 644th goal Barça. Pelé scored 643 for Brazil’s Santos.
Emphasis on the assist from the 18-year-old Spaniard.
The frantic finish to the 2019-20 season, the rejiggered smorgasbord of the new campaign and nine months of quarantine have combined to create an unceasing storm of football on our televisions. In many ways it’s been a godsend; in many ways it’s been an obscene bit of servility to broadcast dollars. What are these absurdly sterile performances — played out in soulless grounds across the world — if not momentary benediction for the promise of better times ahead?
2020 has been a rollercoaster year for many teams, but few clubs have experienced as many ups and downs this past year as Arsenal.
Last season's FA Cup champions are currently winless in their last seven matches and sitting 15th in the Premier League, which would be the worst finish since 1975-76 for the North London club.
The Gunners have five losses and two draws in their last seven matches, putting Mikel Arteta's status as Arsenal manager under heavy scrutiny. Arteta's response to this criticism was, while interesting, not entirely logical.
Clocking in at just 6.2 seconds, AC Milan’s Rafael Leão has recorded the fastest goal in Serie A’s 122-year history.
Traveling to Sassuolo’s Mapei Stadium on Sunday, Milan went straight at the home side after kickoff with Hakan Çalhanoğlu carrying the ball forward. The Rossoneri No. 10 delivered a perfectly weighted pass for Leão, and the 21-year-old Portuguese forward put his name in the history books.
2020 has been a tough year financially both for clubs and for players.
The economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen transfer values deflate, with the value of many players decreasing independent of their form on the pitch by 10-20 percent.
For clubs this means their assets are worth less to go with a sharp decrease in revenue caused by matches without fans. For players, this means their skills are worth less as well as a decrease in salaries.
It's no secret that penalties kicks are being awarded more often in the Premier League this year — Bruno Fernandes has already converted 13 of them during his brief time in Manchester, while Raheem Sterling recently became the first Premier Leaguer to win 20 penalties. A variety of factors are likely at play: the incompetence of VAR, players attackin
Much like the NBA sixth man who comes off the bench and drops straight buckets, Luis Muriel doesn't often find himself in the starting XI; but bring him off the bench in the second half and he can't help but score goals.
Muriel started just 10 Serie A matches last season yet was still Atalanta's joint-leading scorer. The Colombian striker scored 11 of his 18 goals after coming off the bench, averaging goal at an astonishing rate of once every 69 minutes.