Stat, Viz, Quiz is the Opta Analyst football newsletter. This week’s edition looks at Erling Haaland, Burnley’s block, and xG.
We don’t know about you but we’re already whistling the Champions League theme on pretty much an hourly basis.
Yes, it is the return of the UEFA Champions League this week, with the 36-team league phase getting under way tonight, followed by more games on Wednesday and Thursday.
We could also see a record broken in the next few days, and it may not be too surprising to learn that Erling Haaland is in line to be the man responsible. In this week’s SVQ, we’ll explore what the goal-obsessed Norwegian could achieve when Manchester City host Napoli on Matchday 1.
There was agony for Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday, with Scott Parker’s side conceding a late penalty to lose 1-0 to Liverpool after a solid effort of low blocking to keep the champions out until that point. We’ll also look at just how stubbornly parked that bus was at Turf Moor.
Our Ask Opta question queries early-season expected goal values, and our quiz tests your Premier League knowledge after MD4.
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STAT – Fastest to Fifty?
Erling Haaland scores goals, and lots of them. We know you primarily subscribe to SVQ for outrageous hot takes like that.
Fresh off banging in five goals for Norway against Moldova during the international break, Haaland kept going as he scored two more in Manchester City’s 3-0 derby win over Manchester United on Sunday.
Two goals from the 25-year-old in the second half at the Etihad Stadium took the game away from United and took him to five goals in just four league games this season. We outlined in this week’s Knee-Jerk Reactions just how much Haaland is outperforming all other strikers in the Premier League in the early weeks of 2025-26.
And now he has the Champions League to focus on as City prepare to welcome Napoli on Thursday in their first game of the league phase.
After he’s shaken the hand of old friend Kevin De Bruyne, Haaland will look to give the goal nets another good hammering as often as possible.
Should he score in the game, Haaland will reach 50 goals in the competition, making him comfortably the fastest player to reach that landmark as it will be just his 49th Champions League game.
The record currently belongs to former PSV, Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who reached a half century in 62 games, so Haaland has plenty of time to get one more goal.
Other Champions League icons follow in Lionel Messi (66 games), Robert Lewandowksi (77 games) and Kylian Mbappé (79 games).
Fastest players to 50 UCL goals
Viz by Jonathan Manuel
We’ll cover the accomplishment in greater detail on the Opta Analyst website once Haaland reaches the magic number, so keep an eye out for that, possibly as soon as this week.
Wherever your allegiances lie, it is remarkable to see someone make the toughest competition in European club football look relatively easy to score in.
Apologies in advance City fans, because if that doesn’t jinx him, we don’t know what will.
You can follow all the best data from the UEFA Champions League this season with our competition stats hub.
UEFA Champions League Stats Opta
VIZ – The Big Burnley Bus
Unless you’re a Liverpool or a Blackburn Rovers fan, your heart had to bleed for Burnley on Sunday.
For 93 minutes of staunch defending, they kept at bay a team who had scored in each of their previous 37 Premier League games and happened to be reigning champions with a perfect record to start the new campaign.
Just as that precious point was within touching distance at Turf Moor, Hannibal Mejbri accidentally reached out and touched the ball.
An errant arm was enough to hand Mohamed Salah the chance to win it for Liverpool, which he duly took with an emphatic spot-kick to keep Arne Slot’s Reds top of the league with a three-point lead after four games.
There were promising signs for Burnley, though, who defended superbly for 99% of the game.
They did so with the lowest of blocks, and it very nearly worked.
The Clarets only conceded 16 goals in the Championship last season, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that they set up defensively and that it worked so well, but the extent to which they sat back is stark looking at some of Opta’s new team phase graphics.
Burnley v Liverpool phases of play 2025-26
Liverpool spent 966 seconds of the game in build-ups against Burnley’s low block. That is the longest time any team has faced a low block in their build-up in the Premier League this season by a significant margin. Notably, Sunderland’s 466 seconds spent in build-up against Burnley’s low block at Turf Moor on MD2 is second longest, so it isn’t just when the champions come to town that Parker’s team set up in this way.
Build up against low block total duration PL 2025-26 after MD4
In total, Liverpool spent 38% of the game in build-up against a low block, with Sunderland’s 2-0 loss at Burnley in third place (21.1%).
Percentage of time in build up vs low block PL 2025-26 after MD4
It is not too surprising therefore that Burnley comfortably lead the way for percentage of time spent using a low block in the Premier League this season (31%); that is 10 percentage points more than any other team. In fairness, they have played Tottenham, Manchester United, a strong Sunderland and Liverpool, so that could even out a bit when the fixture list gets kinder.
Premier League blocks used after MD4 2025-26
Parker’s men put their bodies on the line, to say the least. Burnley blocked 12 Liverpool shots in the game, the most blocks by any team in a Premier League game this season.
It is not the most ever in a Premier League game, though that is a record jointly held by Burnley (data available since 2003-04). They blocked 19 shots in their 0-0 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 2016, as did QPR in their late 3-2 defeat to Manchester City on the dramatic final day of the 2011-12 season.
Burnley were expected to lose against Liverpool, so they shouldn’t feel too downhearted. What will be interesting to see is if they can do the same to other strong opponents and perhaps complete the job next time.
QUIZ – Cozy at Home, Unbeatable Palace, and Red Clarets
It was back to the Premier League following the first international break of the season, and this week’s quiz uses Matchday 4 as inspiration. Answers at the bottom of the page.
1. Viktor Gyökeres is just the third Arsenal player to score in both of his first two Premier League home games. Name either of the other two.
2. Following their 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland, how many games are Crystal Palace currently unbeaten in the Premier League?
3. Perhaps one for our older subscribers, but Lucas Bergvall (19y 223d) became the second youngest Tottenham player to score and assist in a Premier League game during Saturday’s win at West Ham, after who did so for Spurs against Nottingham Forest in December 1992 at 18 years and 321 days old?
4. Since the start of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign, no side have received more red cards in the competition than Burnley (8), despite the Clarets spending last season in the Championship. Who are the other two teams to have received eight red cards in that time?
5. In the Manchester derby, Erling Haaland scored his 50th home goal in his 50th home Premier League game. In the competition’s history, who is the only player to have reached a half-century of goals on home soil in fewer appearances?
Ask Opta
This week’s question comes from Lewis B, who asks: “Which team have been unluckiest xG-wise this season?”
Do you have a stat-based question you’d like Opta to answer in a future edition of SVQ? Email us at editors@theanalyst.com or message us on X @OptaAnalyst with #AskOpta and we’ll pick the best one.
Answer:
It depends on your definition of ‘unlucky’. Underperforming against your xG can often be due to poor finishing, or bad defending/goalkeeping when it comes to xG against, but equally you can sometimes just come up against an amazing goalkeeper performance or an opposition striker who keeps finding the top corner.
However, to answer the question, in the Premier League, Manchester United have scored just four goals from 8.29 xG; their underperformance of -4.29 is the second most in Europe’s top five leagues after only Borussia Mönchengladbach (-4.41). It should also be noted that two of United’s four goals were own goals, which do not carry an xG value, so technically it’s two goals from 8.29 xG, and one of those was a penalty.
Man Utd xG for 2025-26 after MD4
In terms of goals conceded, West Ham have allowed 11 goals against from just 5.52 xG against. That’s an underperformance of 5.48 goals, more than anyone else in Europe’s top five leagues.
West Ham xG against 2025-26 after MD4
Quiz Answers
1. Viktor Gyökeres is just the third Arsenal player to score in both of his first two Premier League home games. Name either of the other two.
Marouane Chamakh (September 2010) and Alexandre Lacazette (December 2017)
2. Following their 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland, how many games are Crystal Palace currently unbeaten in the Premier League?
10 (W3 D7), their longest run in the top-flight since October 1990 (12 games)
3. Perhaps one for our older subscribers, but Lucas Bergvall (19y 223d) became the second youngest Tottenham player to both score and assist in a Premier League game, after who did so against Nottingham Forest in December 1992 at 18 years and 321 days old?
Nick Barmby
4. Since the start of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign, no side have received more red cards in the competition than Burnley (8), despite the Clarets spending last season in the Championship. Who are the other two teams to have received eight red cards in that time?
Arsenal and Liverpool
5. In the Manchester derby, Erling Haaland scored his 50th goal in his 50th home Premier League game. In the competition’s history, who is the only player to have reached a half-century of goals in fewer home appearances?
Alan Shearer (47 games)
Before You Go…
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