Premier League data dive: Man City and Liverpool maintain title pace, Burnley comeback sends Norwich down

Jurgen
Klopp’s
men
downed
in-form
Newcastle
United
thanks
to
Naby
Keita’s
first-half
strike,
before
City
responded
by
cruising
to
a
4-0
thrashing
of
Leeds
United
at
Elland
Road.

At
the
other
end
of
the
table,
Norwich
City
were
condemned
to
a
record
sixth
Premier
League
relegation
at
Aston
Villa,
and
Watford
look
destined
to
join
them
after
Burnley
continued
their
incredible
upturn
in
form
at
Vicarage
Road.

Results
|

Fixtures

After
another
frantic
day
of
action,
Stats
Perform
looks
at
some
of
the
key
Opta
facts
from
Saturday’s
contests.

Newcastle
United
0-1
Liverpool:
Keita
continues
Reds’ run

Liverpool’s
bid
for
a
remarkable
quadruple
faced
a
tough
test
when
they
travelled
to
Eddie
Howe’s
in-form
Newcastle
in
the
first
clash
of
the
day.

However,
Naby
Keita’s
19th-minute
goal
proved
the
difference
in
a
competitive
encounter,
and
was
Liverpool’s
earliest
winning
goal
in
a
1-0
Premier
League
victory
since
December
2016,
when
Georginio
Wijnaldum
netted
after
eight
minutes
against
Manchester
City.

Klopp’s
side
had
chances
to
extend
their
lead,
with
home
goalkeeper
Martin
Dubravka
making
nine
saves,
his
highest
tally
in
a
single
Premier
League
match.
Since
2003-04,
when
Opta
data
began,
the
only
Newcastle
goalkeepers
to
make
more
saves
in
a
Premier
League
game
are
Tim
Krul
(14
against
Tottenham
in
November
2013)
and
Karl
Darlow
(11
against
Tottenham
in
September
2020).

However,
a
21st
clean
sheet
of
Liverpool’s
league
campaign
was
enough
to
move
them
to
the
top
of
the
table
–
only
in
2005-06
(22)
have
the
Reds
kept
more
shutouts
in
a
single
Premier
League
campaign.

Liverpool
have
now
picked
up
40
points
from
the
last
42
on
offer
in
the
competition,
and
the
win
turned
up
the
pressure
on
City
ahead
of
their
trip
to
Leeds
later
on
Saturday.

42
–
Liverpool
have
won
42
matches
in
all
competitions
this
season;
only
three
English
top-flight
clubs
have
ever
won
more
in
a
single
season:
Everton
(43
in
1984-85),
Man
City
(44
in
2017-18,
47
in
2020-21,
50
in
2018-19)
and
Man
Utd
(44
in
2008-09).
Juggernaut.

pic.twitter.com/RaHVjK7KJP

—
OptaJoe
(@OptaJoe)

April
30,
2022

Leeds
United
0-4
Manchester
City:
Visitors
draw
on
set-peice
prowess
to
reclaim
top
spot

The
Reds
were
not
top
of
the
table
for
long,
however,
as
City
claimed
a
4-0
win
over
relegation-threatened
Leeds
at
Elland
Road.
Goals
from
Rodri
and
Nathan
Ake
both
came
from
set
pieces,
meaning
City
have
now
scored
18
set-piece
goals
(excluding
penalties)
this
season,
their
most
in
a
Premier
League
campaign
since
2013-14
(22).

Pep
Guardiola’s
men
have
also
kept
five
consecutive
away
league
clean
sheets,
the
best
such
sequence
in
the
club’s
history.

5
–
Man
City
have
kept
a
clean
sheet
in
each
of
their
last
five
away
Premier
League
games
–
their
longest
ever
run
of
consecutive
away
clean
sheets
in
their
league
history.
Impervious.

pic.twitter.com/qcBTUB0Lm1

—
OptaJoe
(@OptaJoe)

April
30,
2022

After
Gabriel
Jesus
had
made
the
points
safe,
Fernandinho
stuck
a
superb
fourth
goal
late
on,
becoming
the
club’s
oldest
ever
Premier
League
goalscorer
at
36
years
and
361
days
old,
overtaking
Frank
Lampard
in
2015
(36
years
and
338
days
old).

Leeds,
meanwhile,
are
looking
over
their
shoulders
after
another
heavy
defeat.
They
have
conceded
a
remarkable
20
league
goals
against
the
two
Manchester
clubs
this
season
(11
against
City,
nine
against
Manchester
United)
–
a
new
top-flight
record
for
goals
conceded
against
the
duo
in
a
single
season.

Watford
1-2
Burnley:
Clarets’ revival
continues
after
Cork
ends
barren
run

Elsewhere,
Burnley
continued
their
incredible
revival
by
coming
from
behind
to
defeat
Watford,
making
Mike
Jackson
the
first
Clarets
boss
to
win
three
of
his
first
four
league
games
in
charge
since
Jimmy
Mullen
won
his
first
four
in
1991.

After
James
Tarkowski’s
own-goal
put
Watford
ahead,
Jack
Cork
ended
his
run
of
84
Premier
League
games
without
a
goal
with
his
first
strike
since
December
2018
(against
Liverpool),
before
Josh
Brownhill
scored
a
late
winner.

The
Clarets
are
now
five
points
above
the
bottom
three
after
winning
three
consecutive
Premier
League
games
for
the
first
time
since
April
2019,
having
won
just
three
of
their
previous
21
games.

Roy
Hodgson’s
Watford,
meanwhile,
look
destined
for
relegation
after
becoming
the
first
side
in
English
top-flight
history
to
lose
11
consecutive
home
league
matches.

Aston
Villa
2-0
Norwich
City:
Canaries
suffer
another
relegation
at
Villa
Park

Burnley’s
win
had
other
ramifications,
contributing
to
Norwich
suffering
their
sixth
relegation
from
the
Premier
League
–
the
most
of
any
club
in
the
competition’s
history
–
after
the
Canaries
were
beaten
at
Villa
Park.

Remarkably,
Norwich
have
been
relegated
in
each
of
their
last
four
Premier
League
seasons
(2013-14,
2015-16,
2019-20
and
2021-22).
They
are
only
the
second
side
in
English
league
history
to
suffer
relegation
in
four
consecutive
campaigns
in
the
top-flight,
after
Crystal
Palace
(1992-93,
1994-95,
1997-98
and
2004-05).

Dean
Smith’s
men
saw
their
fate
sealed
after
becoming
the
first
team
to
concede
70
Premier
League
goals
this
season
after
just
34
games,
representing
the
earliest
point
in
any
league
campaign
they
have
reached
70
concessions
since
1956-57
(in
their
34th
game
in
the
old
Third
Division
South).

Ollie
Watkins
set
the
tone
for
Villa’s
win
with
his
first-half
strike,
and
he
has
now
scored
at
least
11
more
goals
than
any
other
Villa
player
since
his
September
2020
debut
(25
goals
in
all
competitions).