Breaking up play, making interceptions and dominating midfields are just some of the well-documented qualities of Christian Norgaard, but there's a unique Premier League record the Danish international holds.
Our new number 16 enjoyed his best output in front of goal in 2024/25, netting five league goals to help Brentford to a top-half finish, and in doing so, he took his tally of Premier League goals to 11.
Nine of those efforts have come from set pieces, which means that 81.8% of Christian's goals have come from dead-ball situations, the highest of any midfielder in the competition's history with more than 10 goals to their name:
Goals from set piece % by PL midfielders
Name
Goals
Set Piece Goals (excl pens)
Percentage
Christian Norgaard
11
9
81.8%
Vinnie Jones
13
8
61.5%
Graham Hyde
11
6
54.4%
David Platt
13
7
53.8%
Ivan Campo
13
7
53.8%
While his threat from a set-piece is evident, Christian also adds plenty of protection when it comes to defending them too. In 2024/25, no midfielder made more first contacts with corners for the defending team than he did, leading the way with 20 ahead of Wilfried Ndidi (14), Ryan Christie, Casemiro and Tomas Soucek, all with 11. Meanwhile, his overall aerial duel success rate of 61.9% last season was the 11th highest of all Premier League midfielders.
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Christian helped Brentford to promotion back to the top flight in 2020/21 and announced his arrival in the Premier League with a goal against us in a 2-0 victory for the Bees on the opening day of the season.
Following that night, the Danish international has been a key cog in the west London club's success. Since 2021/22, no player across England's top-flight has made more interceptions than Christian, with a remarkable 201 stoppages in that time. The next closest to our new No. 16 is James Tarkowski, who has 196, with the Dane's new teammate Declan Rice in third.
Most PL interceptions since 2021/22
Christian Norgaard
201
James Tarkowski
196
Declan Rice
195
Antonee Robinson
195
Jan Bednarek
179
On top of that, Christian's numbers are also impressive when it comes to winning back possession for his team. Having made 120 starts since the beginning of the 2021/22 season, a number only bettered by two of our players in Rice and Martin Odegaard, Christian has won possession 844 times:
Possession won since 2021/22
Declan Rice
954
Christian Norgaard
844
Rodri
835
Bruno Fernandes
816
Tyrick Mitchell
799
Of those 844 times he's won possession back, an impressive 484 of those coming within the midfield third. This crucial area of the pitch has been commanded by Christian for all four seasons Brentford have been back in the top flight:
Possession won in midfield third since 2021/22
Declan Rice
497
Rodri
493
Christian Norgaard
484
Moises Caicedo
395
Alexis MacAllister
388
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As well as breaking up play with interceptions and winning back possession, the art of a well-timed tackle is another facet to Christian's game that he'll be bringing to N5. Since his debut in the Premier League, the midfielder ranks third in tackles with 321 in that time. Only Tyrick Mitchell (371) and Alexis MacAllister (329) have made more.
Christian has proven to be an ever-reliable across his four seasons in the Premier League, and has featured in the top 10 for interceptions and possessions won in both 23/24 and 24/25 across the division.
He was only beaten by Chelsea's Moises Caicedo last season for possession won in the midfield third, dispossessing his opponents on 112 occasions. Adding that stat to his output in front of goal means Norgaard was a force to be reckoned with.
Reflecting on 24/25's goalscoring spree, he said: "[My game has] developed a little bit over the years. I started as a more offensive player and now I'm a bit more of a holding midfielder.
"It's important for me that a team has a good defensive structure and hopefully I can contribute to that. Then coming off a season where I've had a lot of goal involvements, it's something I really hope I can take into this season as well."
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