Stat, Viz, Quiz is the Opta Analyst football newsletter. This week’s edition is a special look back at the highs and lows of 2024.
To some it seems like every year goes by quicker and quicker.
Fans of certain football clubs probably can’t wait to see the back of 2024, while everyone is allowed to dream of what fortunes 2025 will bring for their team.
We recently looked at some of the Premier League’s calendar year records, and in our final SVQ of the year, we’ll be letting you know which teams have particularly thrived, or otherwise, in 2024.
We’ll also take a look at one particularly poor-performing individual in front of goal with our final viz of 2024.
So, before we ring in the new year and sing Auld Lang Syne badly, let’s take one last look back at 2024 and all the magic it brought us as far as football is concerned.
We hope you all have a very happy New Year.
If you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe below for free to receive SVQ every Tuesday.
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On 1 January 2024, Liverpool were top of the Premier League, while the bottom three was made up of the previous season’s trio of promoted teams. Feels like we’re watching a repeat, right?
Well, not quite. Nottingham Forest were languishing in 15th place with just five wins from their 20 games this time last year – they already have more than twice that many victories having played one game fewer and sit in second spot heading into 2025.
Chelsea will also be happier with their lot, as they were in 10th place at the turn of the year 12 months ago. There has been a slight wobble recently under Enzo Maresca, but the Blues are still in a much better place now. Fourth place, in fact.
Which teams have had the best calendar year in 2024, though?
They’ll be painfully reminded that no trophies are awarded for calendar year achievements, but Arsenal have recorded the joint-most victories in the Premier League in 2024, winning 26 of their 36 games, and losing just three times (D7). Mikel Arteta’s men also scored the second-most goals with 89 and conceded the fewest with 25.
Liverpool also won 26 Premier League games despite their enforced managerial change halfway through the year, though played one more than Arsenal (37). Arne Slot has stepped seamlessly into Jürgen Klopp’s shoes and will be hopeful of continuing Liverpool’s form in order to secure a title they are now heavy favourites for. Two other metrics Liverpool led for in 2024 were goals (92) and expected goals, with their 93.5 xG at least 14.5 xG more than any other team.
Manchester City were on course to dominate another calendar year until their form dropped off a cliff in the last two months of the year. Pep Guardiola’s men have won just two of their last 10 league games (D2 L6), and so recorded 25 wins from 38 games in 2024. Their 323 shots faced was the fewest of any ever-present Premier League team across the year, though, at least 25 shots fewer than anyone else.
As for the worst performers, Wolves suffered the most losses in 2024, with their 21 at least four more than any other team, while West Ham conceded the most goals (79). The Hammers’ 73.3 xG against was the worst in England’s top flight, though, while no-one faced as many as the 661 shots they did.
From a disciplinary perspective, Chelsea were the naughtiest team in 2024 when it came to yellow cards, receiving 100 in total across the year, while West Ham’s four was the most red cards shown to any team in the Premier League.
What will 2025 bring? We’ll soon find out.
BONUS STAT – Opta Power Rankings
The end of the year is as good a time as any to see how the top 10 of the men’s Opta Power Rankings look compared to 12 months ago.
On 1 January 2024, Manchester City led the way by some distance, 2.4 points ahead of Real Madrid, while Bayern Munich, Inter and Liverpool made up the rest of the top five.
Now, on 31 December 2024, their recent poor form has seen City slip to fifth place, swapping places with rivals Liverpool who sit atop the standings at the end of the year.
Inter have moved up to second, while Arsenal sit in third ahead of Real Madrid, who have dropped two places despite winning the Champions League last season.
Bayern Munich have slipped from third to 10th, largely due to their first failure to win the Bundesliga in over a decade, though champions Bayer Leverkusen have stayed put in ninth, albeit now ahead of Bayern despite Vincent Kompany’s men being comfortably ahead of Leverkusen in the table this season.
Europa League winners and Serie A leaders Atalanta have entered the top 10, as have Barcelona, replacing Atlético Madrid and RB Leipzig.
Will your team make it into the top 10 in 2025? You can keep up with the latest rankings here.
VIZ – 2024 Wasn’t Chris Ramos’ Year
This was a year to forget for many people, and Cádiz forward Chris Ramos is one of them.
He started off 2023-24 in decent goalscoring form. Going into that campaign having hit just one goal in his 16 La Liga appearances to date, he sprang a surprise by scoring five goals from 34 shots totalling 4.6 xG before the end of 2023.
Then things somewhat took a dip for him.
After the turn of the year, Ramos failed to score with any of his 42 shots as Cádiz were relegated from La Liga, meaning he ends 2024 without a top-flight goal. His 5.5 xG is by some distance the highest for any ...
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