Stat, Viz, Quiz: Champions League Semi-Finalists’ Good and Bad ...Middle East

Stat, Viz, Quiz is the Opta Analyst football newsletter. This week’s edition looks at Liverpool’s title win, the Champions League semi-finals, and card-collecting around the world.

The sun is staying up later, the temperatures are getting more shorts-friendly, and Easter eggs have long since been demolished. That must mean it’s time for the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

The first legs take place this week as Arsenal host Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday before Inter travel to Barcelona for Wednesday’s other semi.

Our trusty Opta supercomputer has the Gunners as the favourites to go all the way, but only marginally in what looks like a fairly even final four. We’ll play a game of ‘good stat, bad stat’ to see why each team could, but might not, make it through to the final in Munich.

Speaking of champions, Liverpool sealed the 2024-25 Premier League title on Sunday with their 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. It brings them level with old rivals Manchester United for top-flight title victories, and we’ll look at the battle to be the best in England.

There’s also a special quiz on the Reds’ achievement, while our Ask Opta question looks at red cards from around the world.

If you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe below for free to receive SVQ every Tuesday.

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STAT – Good Stat, Bad Stat: Champions League Semi-Finals

As promised, here’s a game of ‘good stat, bad stat’ to get you in the mood for the Champions League semi-finals. We start with the two teams to have competed in the European Cup/Champions League the most times without ever winning it, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. The victor of this clash will have a great chance to remedy that.

Arsenal

Good – The Gunners are favourites with the Opta supercomputer to win it all (31.3%) and go into their semi-final with PSG unbeaten in their last eight games in the Champions League (W7 D1). This is their second-longest run without defeat within a single edition, following a 12-game streak in 2005-06 (W8 D4), when they achieved their only appearance in the final (finishing as runners-up to Barcelona).

Bad – Arsenal have won seven of their last 15 games in all competitions (D6 L2), while PSG have won 11 of their last 15 (D1 L3) and Mikel Arteta’s side have drawn each of their last two home matches (vs Brentford and Crystal Palace), throwing away a lead in both games.

Paris Saint-Germain

Good – Luis Enrique’s side have one of the form players in the world in Ousmane Dembélé, who has been directly involved in 10 goals in the Champions League this season (seven goals, three assists), and could equal the record for most goal involvements by a PSG player in a single edition, currently held by Kylian Mbappé (11 in 2020-21 – eight goals, three assists).

Bad – PSG have lost five of their last six away matches against English teams in the Champions League (W1), losing against four different opponents in this run (Manchester City x2, Arsenal, Newcastle, and Aston Villa). They also saw their unbeaten league run end at the weekend with a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Nice.

Barcelona

Good – With the first leg against Inter at home, Barcelona will be confident of taking a lead to Milan. The Blaugrana haven’t lost any of their six home matches in the Champions League this season (W5 D1), scoring 21 goals in the process. Only in 1999-2000 have they ever found the net more often at home in a single European Cup/Champions League campaign (29).

Bad –Barça will be without injured top scorer Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 40 goals in 48 games this season, including 11 in the Champions League.

Inter

Good – Simone Inzaghi’s side have only been trailing for 1% of their game-time in the Champions League this season, the lowest of any team in the competition (Arsenal next with 6%). In fact, they have only been behind against German teams, conceding a 90th-minute goal versus Bayer Leverkusen in a 1-0 loss in the league phase, and trailing for just six minutes in the second leg of their quarter-final victory against Bayern Munich.

Bad – Inter’s form has taken a downward turn in recent weeks. The Nerazzurri have been beaten in their last three games in all competitions, losing to rivals AC Milan in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and falling three points behind Napoli in the race for the Scudetto after back-to-back Serie A losses to Bologna and Roma. Inter have lost three games in a row without scoring for the first time since February 2012 (five in a row).

VIZ – Liverpool 20-20 Manchester United

Viz by Jonathan Manuel

Who are the most successful English team? There are so many caveats thrown in by people that you might as well ask “how long is a piece of string?”

Purely taking top-flight league titles into account, though, things are level for the first time since Manchester United won their 19th crown in the 2010-11 season.

Liverpool pulled themselves back onto their perch with their record-equalling 20th title on Sunday, sealing things with a 5-1 victory over Spurs at Anfield, which was soon bathed in red joy and red smoke on the final whistle.

It has been an interesting journey to 20 for both Liverpool and Man Utd.

The Merseyside club won their first English top-flight title in 1900-01, and had two to their name before United won their first in 1907-08. Liverpool led by three after their fifth title in 1946-47, but after United’s success in 1966-67, the pair were tied at 7-7.

Then Liverpool took over. Under Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish, the Reds won 11 unanswered titles between 1972 and 1990.

Of course, Alex Ferguson’s United hit back emphatically once the Premier League arrived, winning 13 titles between 1992 and 2013 during a drought for their rivals that saw the Red Devils go 20-18 ahead of them.

Liverpool have come back to the table in recent years though, winning the 2019-20 title to get within one, before Sunday’s success brought them level at 20 apiece.

Both clubs are still well clear of anyone else, with Arsenal third on 13 titles, Manchester City behind them on 10, and no other team having reached double figures.

Who will get to 21 first, though? Defending champions Liverpool will be fancied to go again next season, while it looks like 14th-place Manchester United have a long way to go to get back into the title picture, but then football is a crazy game.

As David Mitchell’s popular comedy sketch pointed out, football never ends anyway, so is it even all that important?

Manchester United and Liverpool fans: “Yes, it is!!!”

QUIZ – Liverpool Special

This week’s quiz is all about the 2024-25 Premier League champions. How much do you know about Liverpool’s 20th title win? Answers at the bottom of the page.

1. Arne Slot is the fifth manager to win the Premier League in their first season in England. Name the other four.

2. Liverpool won the league with four games to go. Apart from the Reds in 2019-20 (seven games), name the only other two teams to seal the Premier League title with more than four games remaining.

3. Who are the only two managers to have won the Premier League at a younger age than Slot (46 years, 222 days)?

4. Dutch pair Slot and Virgil van Dijk became the first manager and captain of the same nationality to win the Premier League since who?

5. Mohamed Salah goal versus Spurs saw him go level with Wayne Rooney (183 for Man Utd) for most goals scored for a single club in the Premier League. Who are the only two players to have score more PL goals for one team?

Ask Opta

This week’s question comes from Mats Schultze, who asks: “It feels like Brazilian players get a lot of red cards in Premier League this season. Can you find a stat that shows which nationality is the most sent off and cautioned?”

Do you have a stats-based football question you want to Ask Opta? If so, send it to editors@theanalyst.com and we’ll do our best to provide you with the answer in a future edition of SVQ.

Answer:

Three Brazilians have been shown a red card this season in the Premier League; João Gomes (vs Arsenal), João Pedro (vs Brentford) and Evanilson (vs Man Utd), while Brazilian players have totalled 88 yellow cards between the 35 of them.

That is not the most red cards from one nationality, though. It might seem predictable but that would be English players, who have 18 reds between them, and 412 yellows.

Three Scottish players (Tom Cairney vs Spurs, Andrew Robertson vs Fulham, and Ryan Fraser vs Leicester City) have been shown red cards this season, meaning 21.4% of the 14 Scottish players to have featured in the Premier League this season have been sent off.

Three of the 19 Danish players to have played in the 2024-25 campaign also have a sending off each (Joachim Andersen vs Aston Villa, Christian Nørgaard vs Everton, and Patrick Dorgu vs Ipswich Town).

No other nationality has seen more than one red card. The sole Dutch sending off came via Jan Paul van Hecke (vs Crystal Palace), though Netherlands players have a total of 71 yellow cards between them.

William Saliba is the only French player to have been given his marching orders this season (vs Bournemouth), with an additional 64 yellow cards dished out to Frenchmen.

No Argentine players have been sent off yet in 2024-25, but have accumulated 50 yellow cards between them, while Belgians have one red card (Leandro Trossard vs Man City) and 27 yellow cards in total.

Only 13 German players have featured in the Premier League this season, amassing 18 yellow cards between them. The 10 Italian players in the competition have 27 cautions in total.

Our Opta data hubs have detailed team and player stats, predictions, expected league tables and much more. Click below to start your own data investigations.

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Quiz Answers

1. Arne Slot is the fifth manager to win the Premier League in their first season in England. Name the other four.

José Mourinho (2004-05 with Chelsea), Carlo Ancelotti (2009-10 with Chelsea), Manuel Pellegrini (2013-14 with Man City) and Antonio Conte (2016-17 with Chelsea)

2. Liverpool won the league with four games to go. Apart from the Reds in 2019-20 (seven games), name the only other two teams to seal the Premier League title with more than four games remaining.

Man Utd (2000-01) and Man City (2017-18)

3. Who are the only two managers to have won the Premier League at a younger age than Slot (46 years, 222 days)?

José Mourinho (twice, 42y 94d in 2004-05 and 43y 93d in 2005-06), and Kenny Dalglish (44y 71d in 1994-95)

4. Dutch pair Slot and Virgil van Dijk became the first manager and captain of the same nationality to win the Premier League since who?

French head coach Arsène Wenger and captain Patrick Vieira for Arsenal in 2003-04

Harry Kane (213 for Spurs) and Sergio Agüero (184 for Manchester City)

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