Which minute of the 90 has witnessed the most Premier League goals? Martin Tyler has the answer...
Martin's back with some fascinating stats...
Martin Tyler's stats and facts column is here!
Every week he will be here on skysports.com to answer your questions and to offer you statistical gems from what he's seen as he tours the world commentating for Sky Sports.
Sky Sports' voice of football and his back-up team of experts want your queries on all things statistical and historical from the beautiful game.
So if you have spotted something from a game or have been stumped by a pub quiz question, simply email skysportsclub@bskyb.com and he will do his best to help.
Tyler's teaser
But as usual we'll kick off with a question for YOU. Click play to see this week's Tyler's Teaser.
Martin's starting stat
I was at Stamford Bridge to see John Terry score his 50th goal in 558 appearances for Chelsea and his first in 33 games against Liverpool. He may have to wait a while for a chance to add to that after being taken off injured. Juan Mata made Terry's goal, which was his sixth assist in his last six Premier League games - and he's scored four goals in that time as well.
Luis Suarez scored his 11th goal in 16 games for Liverpool this season and his 8th in 11 in the Premier League. He's also provided two assists and so has contributed directly to 10 of their 14 Premier League goals. He also forced a Leighton Baines own goal in that period and had a perfectly legitimate goal ruled out against Everton. He's now scored in four consecutive away games (including a hat-trick at Norwich) so it's Super Suarez, really.
Liverpool are now unbeaten in their last six Premier League games, their best run of 2012 and Jamie Carragher produced his first Premier League assist since 2009 in his first Premier League start of the season.
Finally, Fernando Torres avoided defeat for the first time in five appearances against Liverpool. He's still waiting for his first goal against them, however.
WINLESS WONDERS
Hi Martin, Love the column! Being a West Ham fan, I am fairly used to going on winless runs from a couple of seasons ago, and remember we had a shocking start to our relegation season. QPR and Reading have a combined 21 league games without a win for both clubs. Surely nearing a record? I would like to know what the worst winless record is for two teams together from the start of a Premier League season, and what date they eventually picked up three points between them? Thanks, Chris Bowen
MARTIN SAYS: We have never reached this stage of a Premier League season with two clubs still to win. In fact, we have never previously gone past the eighth game of the season without at least 19 of the 20 (or 21 of the 22 in the first three seasons) having a win under their belts. As you can see from the table below, in the 2008/09 season, every team except Tottenham had won by the end of the third round of matches.
| Season |
Last 2 sides to win a game |
Games played each without win |
End of run |
| 1992/93 |
C Palace and Wimbledon |
6 |
Wimbledon won 7th game |
| 1993/94 |
Swindon and Sheff Wed |
7 |
Sheff Wed won 8th game |
| 1994/95 |
C Palace and Everton |
7 |
C Palace won 8th game |
| 1995/96 |
West Ham and Man City |
6 |
West Ham won 7th game |
| 1996/97 |
Blackburn and Southampton |
7 |
Southampton won 8th game |
| 1997/98 |
Aston Villa, Sheff Weds and Wimbledon |
4 |
All won their 5th game |
| 1998/99 |
Southampton and Newcastle |
4 |
Newcastle won 5th game |
| 1999/00 |
Newcastle and Sheff Weds |
7 |
Newcastle won 8th game |
| 2000/01 |
Derby and West Ham |
6 |
West Ham won 7th game |
| 2001/02 |
West Ham, Leicester, Southampton, Middlesbrough |
3 |
West Ham, Leicester, Southampton won 4th game |
| 2002/03 |
West Ham and Southampton |
4 |
Southampton won 5th game |
| 2003/04 |
Newcastle and Wolves |
6 |
Newcastle won 7th game |
| 2004/05 |
West Brom, Norwich and C Palace |
7 |
West Brom and C Palace won 8th game |
| 2005/06 |
Sunderland and Newcastle |
5 |
Newcastle won 6th game |
| 2006/07 |
Watford and Sheff Utd |
6 |
Sheff Utd won 7th game |
| 2007/08 |
Man Utd, Birmingham, Bolton, Derby |
3 |
Man Utd, Birmingham, Bolton won 4th game |
| 2008/09 |
Portsmouth, Wigan, West Brom, Tottenham |
2 |
Portsmouth, Wigan, West Brom won 3rd game |
| 2009/10 |
Bolton, Blackburn and Portsmouth |
3 |
Bolton and Blackburn won 4th game |
| 2010/11 |
Everton and West Ham |
5 |
West Ham won 6th game |
| 2011/12 |
Sunderland, Norwich, Swansea, Blackburn, Fulham |
4 |
Sunderland, Norwich, Swansea, Blackburn won 5th game |
| 2012/13 |
QPR and Reading |
10 |
TBC |
So QPR and Reading have set a new record in terms of two teams being without a win, but they are yet to match the record for the longest winless run from the start of a season. That record is held by Swindon Town, who failed to win any of their first 15 games (W0 D6 L9) before eventually picking up three points with a 1-0 win at home to QPR on November 24.
Longest winless runs in Premier League history:
15 GAMES: Swindon Town (1993/94)
13 GAMES: Derby (2000/01), Norwich (2004/05)
12 GAMES: Everton (1994/95)
11 GAMES: Man City (1995/96), Blackburn (1996/97), QPR (2012/13)*
10 GAMES: Watford (2006/07), Reading (2012/13)*
*ongoing
However, the good news for QPR and Reading fans is that a winless start to the season doesn't necessarily result in relegation at the end of it. Of the seven clubs to have gone 10 games without a win at the start of a season before this one, three survived.
Everton did not win until their 13th fixture of 1994/95, but still finished 15th of 22 teams; Blackburn didn't win until their 12th game of 1996/97, but finished 13th that year and in 2000/01 Derby didn't record a win until their 14th game and managed to survive, finishing in 17th place.
SUB STANDARDS
How many players have scored a Premier League hat-trick after coming on as a second half sub? Give me names and occasions. So far I have Solskjaer? Jungle Skank
MARTIN SAYS: We assume this question was inspired by Manchester United's Javier Hernandez, who walked off the Villa Park pitch with the match ball on Saturday, but according to Opta has only been credited with two goals because his second has gone down as a Ron Vlaar own goal.
Unless the dubious goals panel award him the goal (which I don't think they should because the original shot was off target), there are still only four players in Premier League history to have scored hat-tricks as substitutes - and all of them were introduced at half-time or later.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Manchester United v Nottingham Forest (06/02/1999)
The first - and perhaps most famous - substitute hat-trick scorer in the Premier League was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who came on with 19 minutes left of Manchester United's game at Nottingham Forest in February 1999 and scored not three, but four goals in the last 10 minutes as the away side claimed an 8-1 win. I was there that day and it was a fabulous achievement.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for Chelsea v Wolves (27/03/2004)
The second man to achieve the feat was Chelsea's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who came on with 30 minutes left when his side were 2-1 down at home to Wolves. Frank Lampard equalised and then Hasselbaink scored three times in the final 13 minutes to secure a 5-2 home win.
Robert Earnshaw for West Brom v Charlton (19/03/2005)
West Brom's were drawing 1-1 with Charlton in March 2005 when Robert Earnshaw was brought on with 26 minutes to go. The Welshman scored three times in the final 17 minutes to secure a 4-1 success for his side at The Valley.
Emmanuel Adebayor for Arsenal v Derby (28/04/2008)
The most recent player to have scored a Premier League hat-trick as a substitute is Emmanuel Adebayor who came on at half-time for Arsenal at Derby in April 2008. He netted three times as the Gunners ran out 6-2 winners and it was especially painful for the home side who'd also conceded an Adebayor hat-trick in a 5-0 defeat at Arsenal earlier in the same season!
OWN NO!
Dear Martin. I am writing to you after watching the Aston Villa v Man Utd game in which yet another Premier League own goal was scored. By my reckoning there has now been 14 own goals in the EPL after just 11 games which seems like an awful lot. I was wondering how does this compare to other seasons? Many thanks, Jonny Harding (Newcastle United fan)
MARTIN SAYS: According to Opta, there have actually been 15 own goals in the 109 games played in the Premier League so far this season. They are as follows:
| Date |
Player |
Team Benefiting |
Team Conceding |
| 25 Aug |
Vidic |
Fulham |
Man Utd |
| 15 Sep |
Hooiveld |
Arsenal |
Southampton |
| 15 Sep |
Clyne |
Arsenal |
Southampton |
| 23 Sep |
Faurlin |
Tottenham |
QPR |
| 29 Sep |
Barnett |
Liverpool |
Norwich |
| 29 Sep |
Evans |
Tottenham |
Man Utd |
| 07 Oct |
Hooiveld |
Fulham |
Southampton |
| 20 Oct |
Rooney |
Stoke |
Man Utd |
| 21 Oct |
Ba |
Sunderland |
Newcastle |
| 21 Oct |
Julio Cesar |
Everton |
QPR |
| 28 Oct |
Baines |
Liverpool |
Everton |
| 28 Oct |
Luiz |
Man Utd |
Chelsea |
| 03 Nov |
Howard |
Fulham |
Everton |
| 10 Nov |
Caldwell |
West Brom |
Wigan |
| 10 Nov |
Vlaar |
Man Utd |
Aston Villa |
That means that statistically we have seen an own goal in one in every 7.26 games this season (13.8 per cent of games), which is a much higher ratio than any of the previous 20 complete Premier League campaigns. Almost 5 per cent of the 307 goals scored so far have been own goals.
There has definitely been an increase in the number of goals recorded as own goals in recent seasons; there were 41 own goals last term and a record 43 own goals in 2009/10. In contrast, only 19 own goals were scored in the entire 1995/96 and 1999/98 seasons. At the current rate we will match that tally by Christmas!
Own goals recorded in each Premier League season:
| Season |
Own goals |
Games played |
Own goal% |
| 2012/2013 |
15 |
109 |
13.8% |
| 2009/2010 |
43 |
380 |
11.3% |
| 2011/2012 |
41 |
380 |
10.8% |
| 2006/2007 |
40 |
380 |
10.5% |
| 1999/2000 |
39 |
380 |
10.3% |
| 2010/2011 |
39 |
380 |
10.3% |
| 2007/2008 |
37 |
380 |
9.7% |
| 2003/2004 |
37 |
380 |
9.7% |
| 2008/2009 |
37 |
380 |
9.7% |
| 2002/2003 |
37 |
380 |
9.7% |
| 2004/2005 |
36 |
380 |
9.5% |
| 2000/2001 |
32 |
380 |
8.4% |
| 1994/1995 |
37 |
462 |
8.0% |
| 2005/2006 |
30 |
380 |
7.9% |
| 1993/1994 |
33 |
462 |
7.1% |
| 1996/1997 |
26 |
380 |
6.8% |
| 2001/2002 |
24 |
380 |
6.3% |
| 1992/1993 |
27 |
462 |
5.8% |
| 1997/1998 |
20 |
380 |
5.3% |
| 1998/1999 |
19 |
380 |
5.0% |
| 1995/1996 |
19 |
380 |
5.0% |
ONE-NIL TO THE ERR... CHELSEA?
Arsenal were always labelled as the club that always used to win "1-0", could you tell us which club actually has the most 1-0 victories since the Premier League started? Rizwaan Ali (Arsenal fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Only Manchester United (500 wins) have won more matches than Arsenal (419) in Premier League history, but neither of those sides boast the record for the most 1-0 wins since the Premier League began. That accolade belongs to Chelsea who have won 102 of their 783 matches 1-0. Chelsea have won 408 games since the Premier League began and precisely 25 per cent of those victories have been by the 1-0 scoreline.
As you'll see from the table below, Arsenal (85) have recorded the third highest number of 1-0 wins behind Chelsea (102) and Manchester United (100). Surprisingly, Everton have recorded just seven fewer 1-0 victories than Arsenal even though they have won 142 fewer games overall. More than 28 per cent of their victories have been by the 1-0 scoreline compared to 205 for Arsenal.
| Team |
1-0 wins |
Total wins |
%wins that are 1-0 |
| Chelsea |
102 |
408 |
25.0% |
| Man Utd |
100 |
509 |
19.6% |
| Arsenal |
85 |
419 |
20.2% |
| Everton |
78 |
277 |
28.2% |
| Aston Villa |
75 |
285 |
26.3% |
| Liverpool |
70 |
382 |
18.3% |
| Blackburn |
69 |
262 |
26.3% |
| Tottenham |
67 |
299 |
22.4% |
| West Ham |
57 |
207 |
27.5% |
| Newcastle |
56 |
280 |
20.0% |
Every team that has played in the Premier League has won at least one match by the 1-0 scoreline. Swindon and Blackpool recorded just one victory by that scoreline in their single seasons in the division.
Teams to have recorded less than twenty 1-0 wins in Premier League history:
ONE: Swindon, Blackpool
TWO: Swansea, Burnley
FOUR: Bradford, Hull
FIVE: Oldham
SIX: Watford
NINE: Wolves
THIRTEEN: Crystal Palace
FIFTEEN: West Brom
SIXTEEN: Ipswich, QPR, Stoke
SEVENTEEN: Norwich
EIGHTEEN: Portsmouth
So far Norwich and West Ham are the only sides to have won 1-0 more than once this season.
MINUTE DETAILS
I've been playing a lot of FIFA recently and realised that I score an unhealthy amount of goals in the 72nd minute, I was wondering if there is any minute that has seen more goals than any other during the seasons of the Premier League? Matt, Liverpool fan
MARTIN SAYS: We have asked Opta to tell us how many Premier League goals have been scored in each minute of the 90 since the Premier League began, however the results are slightly skewed. This is because any goal scored in first-half injury time or second-half injury time are recorded as the 45th and 90th minute respectively, even though they might have been scored in the 45+2 minute or the 90+7 minute.
So it's no surprise to see the 90th minute and the 45th minute as the most popular minutes for goals because these are effectively "longer" than the other minutes in the match. Looking beyond that we can clearly see that more goals are scored at the end of games than the start. The best pure 60 seconds for goals is the 89th minute (322 goals) and the rest of the top 10 is made up of minutes in the second half:
Most common minutes for Premier League goals:
| MINUTE |
GOALS |
| 90* |
1013 |
| 45* |
564 |
| 89 |
322 |
| 67 |
290 |
| 80 |
274 |
| 85 |
271 |
| 63 |
264 |
| 88 |
263 |
| 87 |
260 |
| 81 |
258 |
* Includes all goals scored in added time.
The least likely minute to see a goal in the Premier League is the first. Only 99 of the 21,082 Premier League goals scored to date have come in the first 60 seconds. The 10 least common minutes for goals all fall in the first-half except minute 46, the first minute after the interval!
Least common minutes for Premier League goals:
| MINUTE |
GOALS |
| 1 |
99 |
| 2 |
150 |
| 6 |
155 |
| 46 |
163 |
| 5 |
167 |
| 3 |
174 |
| 13 |
174 |
| 19 |
176 |
| 11 |
178 |
| 9 |
185 |
We won't break down every minute for you, but we will show you the likelihood of goals being scored in certain periods of the game. This will help you decide when to go for that all-important toilet break or to go and put the kettle on when watching Sky Sports this weekend!
First-half:
Minutes 1-5: 793 goals
Minutes: 6-10: 954 goals
Minutes: 11-15: 945 goals
Minutes: 16-20: 999 goals
Minutes: 21-25: 989 goals
Minutes 26-30: 1,024 goals
Minutes 31-35: 1,029 goals
Minutes 36-40: 1,244 goals
Minutes 40-half-time: 1,434 goals
Total: 9,411 goals in the first-half
Second-half:
Minutes 46-50: 1,036 goals
Minutes 51-55: 1,224 goals
Minutes 56-60: 1,187 goals
Minutes 61-65: 1,215 goals
Minutes 66-70: 1,220 goals
Minutes 71-75: 1,158 goals
Minutes 76-80: 1,248 goals
Minutes 81-85: 1,289 goals
Minutes 86-end: 2,094 goals
Total: 11,671 goals in the second half
