Midfielders shine as Premier League sides return with caution
Statistics from the first weekend of Premier League action suggest that deep defences are making life hard for strikers with midfielders scoring the majority of goals.
Phil Foden’s Man of the Match performance against Burnley on Monday night took his goal tally to three from two appearances since the restart. He replaced Kevin de Bruyne in the Manchester City midfield, the Belgian having impressed in a goal-scoring start against Arsenal last week.
For the red half of Manchester, United’s Bruno Fernandes scored the only goal against Tottenham Hotspur as forwards Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Daniel James failed to make an impact against Spurs’ deep-lying defence. Fernandes’ goal came from a penalty won by Paul Pogba, who also drew plaudits in his return to the United midfield.
Across the Premier League teams were anxious to avoid leaving themselves exposed at the back, possibly fearing that they were not yet up to full fitness after three months without competitive football. Teams tended to sit back, particularly when playing against a better side, and left little space for forwards to exploit.
In third-place Leicester City’s trip to relegation-threatened Watford, Jamie Vardy made just three passes in the first half and cut a frustrated figure for much of the second. The Premier League’s top scorer was rarely given the opportunity to run in behind the defence and he was one of many strikers who struggled against the cautious tactics. Of the 13 goals scored by top-half teams in the first round of fixtures, only three were scored by strikers.
Defences on top as Premier League restarts
Although Manchester City blew Arsenal and Burnley away with eight goals in their first two matches, the general trend across the league was of a reduction in goals in the first 12 fixtures. Pre-lockdown, the Premier League had averaged 2.72 goals per games in the 2019/20 season but that number has fallen to 2.33 since the restart. The number of shots taken per match and the number of shots on target were also down across the weekend’s fixtures.
A combination of more cautious tactics and strikers lacking match sharpness is the likely cause and we should see these numbers returning to pre-lockdown levels in the coming weeks. With teams needing points to secure European qualification or Premier League survival in the remaining fixtures they will be forced to take more risks and leave room for opposition forwards to exploit.
Phil Foden’s Man of the Match performance against Burnley on Monday night took his goal tally to three from two appearances since the restart. He replaced Kevin de Bruyne in the Manchester City midfield, the Belgian having impressed in a goal-scoring start against Arsenal last week.
For the red half of Manchester, United’s Bruno Fernandes scored the only goal against Tottenham Hotspur as forwards Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Daniel James failed to make an impact against Spurs’ deep-lying defence. Fernandes’ goal came from a penalty won by Paul Pogba, who also drew plaudits in his return to the United midfield.
Across the Premier League teams were anxious to avoid leaving themselves exposed at the back, possibly fearing that they were not yet up to full fitness after three months without competitive football. Teams tended to sit back, particularly when playing against a better side, and left little space for forwards to exploit.
In third-place Leicester City’s trip to relegation-threatened Watford, Jamie Vardy made just three passes in the first half and cut a frustrated figure for much of the second. The Premier League’s top scorer was rarely given the opportunity to run in behind the defence and he was one of many strikers who struggled against the cautious tactics. Of the 13 goals scored by top-half teams in the first round of fixtures, only three were scored by strikers.
Defences on top as Premier League restarts
Although Manchester City blew Arsenal and Burnley away with eight goals in their first two matches, the general trend across the league was of a reduction in goals in the first 12 fixtures. Pre-lockdown, the Premier League had averaged 2.72 goals per games in the 2019/20 season but that number has fallen to 2.33 since the restart. The number of shots taken per match and the number of shots on target were also down across the weekend’s fixtures.
A combination of more cautious tactics and strikers lacking match sharpness is the likely cause and we should see these numbers returning to pre-lockdown levels in the coming weeks. With teams needing points to secure European qualification or Premier League survival in the remaining fixtures they will be forced to take more risks and leave room for opposition forwards to exploit.
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