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A plethora of mouth-watering clashes resulted in interesting stats galore as European football resumed after the international break.
In England, Manchester City piled more misery on Liverpool to keep their hopes of catching Arsenal alive. However, the Gunners responded emphatically to register a 4-1 win of their own against relegation-threatened Leeds. Elsewhere, Newcastle United reminded Erik ten Hag of the job still to be done at Old Trafford despite progress under the Dutchman.
Chelsea finally parted ways with Graham Potter after the Blues were condemned to a chastening defeat against Aston Villa. Their London rivals Tottenham again conceded late and dropped two crucial points against Everton in the race for a top-four finish.
In Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid both registered emphatic wins, while Atletico Madrid rolled on with yet another 1-0 victory to solidify their hold on third spot in the league.
In Germany, Borussia Dortmund received a reality check against reigning-champions Bayern Munich, who took control of the title race with yet another win over their arch-rivals at the Allianz Arena. Union Berlin maintained their resurgence at the top with a win over Stuttgart, while RB Leipzig dropped more points and remained in fifth place.
In France, PSG saw their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 standings cut to six points after losing at home to Lyon. With both Lens and Marseille hot on their heels, the Parisians need to get their mojo back to keep their rivals at bay.
So, without further ado, here are the best stats from this weekend's European Footballing action:
Best Stats from this weekend's European footballing action (league-wise)
Premier League
- Liverpool have lost eight away games this season - it's their most in a single season since 2014-15. Astonishingly, they only lost eight away games in their previous three PL campaigns.
- Manchester City have won 100 home games under Pep Guardiola in 128 matches, making him the fastest manager to reach the landmark of 100 home wins in the Premier League. Previously, Arsene Wenger held the record, who took 139 games to reach the landmark.
- After the departure of Brendan Rodgers and Graham Potter, the Premier League has seen the departure of 13 managers in a single season, more than any other season in the Premier League. Astonishing stats indeed.
- Arsenal have won three consecutive games by a margin of three plus goals for the first time since October 2015.
- Chelsea have lost and failed to score in four Premier League home games this season, their joint-most in a single season along with 1994-95 & 2019-20.
La Liga
- Karim Benzema has scored 233 goals for Real Madrid in La Liga. He is only one goal away from equalling Hugo Sanchez's record for fourth most in the league.
- Barcelona have accumulated 20 clean sheets in 27 games this season, the most accumulated by a side after 27 games. The Blaugrana are rolling and the stats are reflecting the same.
- Karim Benzema has scored 20+ goals in five consecutive seasons for Real Madrid. Benzema also became the only player to score 20+ goals in a season for Real Madrid 11 times.
- Atletico Madrid have won seven games this season with a 1-0 scoreline. Only Barcelona (9) and Juventus (8) have won more such games in Europe's top five leagues.
Serie A
- Since Stefano Pioli's arrival, AC Milan have managed to defeat the top-placed side of the league five times!
- The 0-4 loss against AC Milan was Napoli's worst at home since losing to Bologna in October 2000.
- Juventus are unbeaten in 32 home games against Verona in Serie A. Inter too are undefeated against Verona in 32 home games in Serie A. Stats suggest the revival of Bianconeri and they are likely to finish in top-four places despite the 15 point penalty.
- Inter have lost three consecutive Serie A games in a row for the first time since April-May 2017.
Bundesliga
- Bayern Munich have scored 26 goals inside the first 30 mins of Bundesliga games this season, the most for any team in Europe's top five leagues. PSG closely follow the Bavarians with 21 goals in the first 30 mins of league games.
- Bayern have scored at least once in 53 consecutive home league games. The last time Bavarians failed to score in the Allianz Arena was in February 2020 against RB Leipzig.
- Borussia Dortmund have failed to win at the home of record champions Bayern in their last 10 league attempts. Moreover, they have lost their last nine games away to Bayern. Terrible stats for Dortmund supporters indeed.
- Thomas Muller has scored three braces against Borussia Dortmund. Only Robert Lewandowski (8) and Gerd Muller (4) have more braces in this fixture than the German.
Ligue 1
- PSG have lost six games against Lyon since 2011-12. Under Qatari ownership, they have only fared worse against Rennes (losing seven).
- PSG have lost eight games in 2023 in all competitions. This is their highest tally of defeats after 18 games at the beginning of a calendar year since 2001.
- Laurent Blanc has the highest winning rate as a manager against PSG among those who have played more than five games against the Parisians. He has defeated PSG five times in seven games against them.
Stats: ESPN & WhoScored
