Star strikers and late drama - THE WEEK IN NUMBERS
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| AFP |
In FIFA.com’s latest stats review, the scoring feats of Aritz Aduriz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang feature alongside late goals in England, invincibility in Thailand and a thumping win in Ukraine.
94 minutes and 45 seconds had been played at Bournemouth on Saturday when Ross Barkley put Everton 3-2 up with the latest goal of the Premier League season. His record, though, was not to last long, and nor was his goal to prove a match-winner, as the hosts’ Junior Stanislas struck again after 97 minutes and 13 seconds. Dramatic as these were, the goal that captured headlines in England was Jamie Vardy’s record-breaking effort in Leicester City’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United. It ensured that the 28-year-old, who was playing in England’s sixth tier just four years ago, broke United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record by becoming the first player to score in 11 successive Premier League matches. Vardy has also already broken his club’s single-season scoring record in the Premier League, surpassing before the end of November Tony Cottee’s 1999/2000 tally of 13.
54 seconds were on the clock at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday when Aritz Aduriz scored the fastest goal of the Liga season. The Athletic Bilbao striker did so en route to another landmark hat-trick, becoming at 34 years and 291 days the oldest player to net a Spanish top-flight treble in over 12 years. It was also the first ‘perfect’ hat-trick of the Liga season, with Aduriz finding the net at Rayo with his right foot, left foot and head. It took the veteran striker on to 20 goals this season in all competitions, making him the first Spanish player this century to reach this landmark before December. No-one else in Spain can currently match that tally, although Lionel Messi may hope to vie with Aduriz before the campaign is out. The Barcelona talisman made his 600th career appearance on Saturday and, typically, marked the occasion with a goal as Real Sociedad were beaten 4-0. A couple of days later, Messi once again made the three-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or, ensuring the Argentinian a podium finish for a record ninth successive year.
31 games without defeat is the run that has taken Buriram United to a third successive Thai Premier League title. Alexandre Gama’s side, who have won 23 and drawn eight of their matches this season, have just three games remaining in which to emulate their 2013 feat of surviving an entire campaign unbeaten. The Buriram outfit also boast the league’s best attack (86 goals scored) and meanest defence (22 conceded). This latest championship strengthened their status as the Premier League’s record champions, with the club having won the title five times – two more than nearest rivals Muang Thong United. Their unbeaten streak is not, however, the longest active run in world football, a distinction that belongs instead to Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli, who have avoided defeat in their last 42 league matches.
17 goals in 14 appearances is the tally that has given Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a new record haul for a Bundesliga season. This personal best, set before November was out, beats the 16 goals scored by the Borussia Dortmund forward last season, having played 19 matches more. No-one across Europe’s top five leagues can match Aubameyang in 2015/16, with his second goal against Stuttgart on Sunday the 39th competitive strike he has registered over the course of this year. His prolific strike-rate also helped ensure that Stuttgart conceded four goals for the third consecutive Bundesliga match - a fate that has never before befallen the five-time champions. Yet even Dortmund are struggling to keep pace with Bayern Munich, who scored their 2300th Bundesliga home goal on Saturday en route to moving on to 40 points – a record at this stage of the season – with a 2-0 win over Hertha Berlin.
9 goals and four penalties were conceded by Ukraine’s Metalurh Zaporizhzhya en route to a humbling 9-1 defeat by Volyn Lutsk on Sunday. The top flight’s bottom side were 3-0 down inside seven minutes and six behind at half-time, at which point Metalurh’s coach substituted goalkeeper Maksym Babiichuk. Vyacheslav Sharpar, without a goal since August, helped himself to a hat-trick, and the margin of victory could have been even greater but for one of the four penalties being missed. The defeat was nonetheless Metalurh’s heaviest of a miserable season that, after 15 matches, has yet to yield a single win.