Stat, Viz, Quiz is the Opta Analyst football newsletter. This week’s edition looks at Barcelona, Martin Ødegaard, and metres run per touch.
There were two epic clashes between traditional rivals at the weekend.
Barcelona and Real Madrid met once again, this time in the Supercopa de España, and it was the Catalans who enjoyed their time in Saudi Arabia more than their opponents. In this week’s SVQ we look at another big Clásico win for Barça.
Earlier on Sunday, Arsenal and Manchester United played out an enthralling FA Cup third round tie, with 10-man United coming out on top via penalties. That was despite a very creative day at the office for a frustrated Martin Ødegaard. We’ll try and figure out how the Norwegian managed not to record a goal involvement.
This week’s Ask Opta question looks at hard-working runners, while our quiz will have you either scratching your head in confusion or running around with a celebratory arm in the air.
Let’s get going.
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STAT – El Clásico = El-ectric Barça
Another Clásico, another Barcelona masterclass.
In late October, Hansi Flick’s side tore Real Madrid apart at the Santiago Bernabéu in their La Liga clash, winning 4-0. All four goals came in a frantic second half.
Robert Lewandowski (2), Lamine Yamal and Raphinha scored that day, and the two rivals met again on Sunday at King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia in the final of the Supercopa de España.
This time it was the first half that saw Barça run rampant, scoring four again as they went in at the break with a 4-1 lead, ultimately winning 5-2.
Kylian Mbappé gave Real Madrid an early advantage, only for goals from Yamal, Lewandowski (pen), Raphinha and Alejandro Balde to turn things on their head. Raphinha added a fifth early in the second half, with Rodrygo pulling one back for Carlo Ancelotti’s side on the hour.
It was the first time ever that Barcelona have scored 4+ goals in back-to-back meetings with Real Madrid.
It also wasn’t just a fluke that all their shots happened to go in. Barça were all over Los Blancos in both games.
In the second half of their league fixture, Flick’s side amassed nine shots, with five on target and an expected goals total of 2.21. In the first half of the Supercopa, they had 13 shots, with seven on target and 2.41 xG.
That means adding those two halves together, in a 90-minute period (plus stoppage time), Barcelona scored eight goals from 22 shots, 12 on target and an xG of 4.62. Not too shabby against anyone, let alone the reigning European champions.
Their scoring slowed down in the second half on Sunday, mainly due to the red card issued to goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny just before the hour mark.
They still won comfortably, though, and will no doubt be looking forward to hosting Madrid in La Liga in May, when there could still be the destination of the league title riding on it.
VIZ – Ødegaard the Creative
Martin Ødegaard is a vital player for Arsenal. That is no secret.
His absence earlier in the season through injury clearly had an impact on Mikel Arteta’s side, and his return was like a breath of fresh air.
Ødegaard could open a tin of sardines with his left foot (probably), and his ingenuity and precise passing can turn around even the tightest of defences.
That was true again on Sunday as Arsenal hosted Manchester United in the FA Cup third round. Ødegaard created 10 chances at the Emirates Stadium, the most by a Premier League player in a game across all competitions this season. The caveat is that included 30 minutes of extra-time, but it was also eight more than any other player in the game.
The problem for the Norwegian and his manager was that none of those chances were converted by teammates. The only time Arsenal found the net was via the familiar figure of Gabriel Magalhães, which wasn’t assisted as he turned the ball in after United made a mess of clearing Gabriel Martinelli’s cross.
Things didn’t get any better for Ødegaard, who later saw a penalty saved just when it felt as though Arsenal would finish off their opponents after Diogo Dalot was sent off for the visitors.
It was an ominous sign of things to come for Arsenal. Including shootouts, Ødegaard had scored all six of the penalties he had taken for the club before seeing that spot-kick stopped by Altay Bayindir.
He somewhat made up for it by scoring his penalty in the shootout, but it wasn’t enough as Ruben Amorim’s men sealed a 5-3 win on penalties to advance to the fourth round, leaving Arsenal exiting the FA Cup at the first hurdle for a second consecutive year, having lost at home in the third round to Liverpool last season.
If Arteta’s men are to salvage their season in other competitions, and in the absence of the injured Bukayo Saka for the foreseeable future, they will need Ødegaard to keep up his creative performances, while hoping others start to take advantage of his generosity.
QUIZ – Up for the Cup
Five FA Cup third round questions to be tackled like a striker bearing down on goal. Will you win the ball, or receive your marching orders? Answers at the bottom of the page.
1. Zian Flemming’s brace for Burnley at Reading made him the first Dutch player to score 2+ goals in an FA Cup game since who did so for Arsenal against Aston Villa in January 2012?
2. James McAtee became the first English player to score a hat-trick for Manchester City in the FA Cup since who did so against Scunthorpe United in the third round in January 2006?
3. Tottenham were only the fourth Premier League side (from 1992-93) to be taken to extra-time in an FA Cup game against a non-league club, after Leicester City vs Hereford United in 1999-00, Charlton Athletic vs Dagenham and Redbridge in 2000-01, and which team who eventually got past Kidderminster Harriers in 2021-22?
4. Newcastle United have won eight consecutive games in all competitions as a Premier League side for the first time since February/March 2005. Who was the manager back then?
5. Crystal Palace have progressed from nine of their last 10 FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division. Who was the last lower-league team (now in the Championship) to beat them, doing so at the third-round stage in January 2020?
Ask Opta
This week’s question comes from Rolf Westly, who asks: “Which player has had the fewest touches compared to the number of kilometres run? I would guess Solanke.”
Do you have a stats-based football question you want to Ask Opta? If so, send it to [email protected] and we’ll do our best to provide you with the answer in a future edition of SVQ.
Answer:
Good question, Rolf. This is a metric that features plenty of strikers, who do all kinds of running at the top of the pitch either pressing defenders or trying to get into space for teammates to find them.
However, Dominic Solanke is not at the top of the list this season. Despite his tireless running, he touches the ball more often than some other strikers. The Tottenham man has averaged a touch every 341.4 metres covered in the Premier League this season. Thirteen players average more metres per touch (minimum 300 minutes played).
Top of the tree, at the ripe age of 38, is Jamie Vardy. The Leicester City man runs 460.9 metres for every touch he gets. If we ran almost 461 metres, we’d personally be too knackered to take a touch of any kind. The ball would just have to ricochet off us as we lay panting on the floor.
Second, to the surprise of few, is Erling Haaland. The Man City hotshot touches the ball on average every 427.0 metres covered. In fact, no striker in the Premier League has run as much as Haaland’s 192.1 kilometres this season, showing that the Norwegian is still putting the work in.
Next on the list are Wolves’ Jørgen Strand Larsen (a touch every 409.4m), Southampton’s Cameron Archer (408.6m) and Nottingham Forest’s in-form striker Chris Wood (402.9m).
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Quiz Answers
1. Zian Flemming’s brace for Burnley at Reading made him the first Dutch player to score 2+ goals in an FA Cup game since who did so for Arsenal against Aston Villa in January 2012?
Robin van Persie
2. James McAtee became the first English player to score a hat-trick for Manchester City in the FA Cup since who did so against Scunthorpe United in the third round in January 2006?
Robbie Fowler
3. Tottenham were only the fourth Premier League side (from 1992-93) to be taken to extra-time in an FA Cup game against a non-league club, after Leicester City vs Hereford United in 1999-00, Charlton Athletic vs Dagenham and Redbridge in 2000-01, and which team who eventually got past Kidderminster Harriers in 2021-22?
West Ham
4. Newcastle United have won eight consecutive games in all competitions as a Premier League side for the first time since February/March 2005. Who was the manager back then?
Graeme Souness
5. Crystal Palace have progressed from nine of their last 10 FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division. Who was the last lower-league team (now in the Championship) to beat them, doing so at the third-round stage in January 2020?
Derby County
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