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Martin Tyler's stats: Hat-trick heroes and miserable run-ins

Martin Tyler

This week, Martin Tyler's column looks at headed hat-tricks, woeful run-ins and the leagues key creators...

How to send your questions to Martin:

1: Email your posers to skysportsclub@bskyb.com

2. Tweet @SkyFootball using the hashtag #TylersTeasers.

Martin's Starting Stat

Chelsea’s last seven wins have been by a single goal in the Premier League, including their only four 1-0’s in the Premier League this season.

They have gone 1-0 up 26 times in their 32 games so far and have conceded the first goal on just five occasions (Burnley away, Swansea at home, Liverpool away, Southampton away and Newcastle away).

They have scored first in all 20 games they’ve played in all competitions in 2015, winning 12 but losing after leading at Spurs and at home to Bradford City.

Sunday was the first Chelsea win over a Manchester club this season (the previous games all ended 1-1). Manchester United haven’t won any of their last eight meetings with Chelsea in all competitions

Didier Drogba made his 250th Premier League appearance on Sunday and it was only his fifth Premier League start this season – but two of those were against Manchester United.

A hat-trick of headers

Granted iconic status during his first spell, DUNCAN FERGUSON returned to EVERTON - to the dismay of defenders and referees - for another successful period

My son got a hat-trick by heading the ball each time – have many footballers done this? (Lynn Seymour)

MARTIN SAYS: First of all, congratulations to your son on the hat-trick! Such a feat, as it happens, has only been achieved once in the Premier League era. According to our friends at Opta, Duncan Ferguson scored three headers for Everton as they beat Bolton 3-2 in December 1997.

Even more impressively a childhood memory of mine is Eddie Reynolds heading all four of Wimbledon’s goals in their 4-2 FA Amateur Cup win over Sutton United at Wembley in May 1963. He was the scourge of my team Woking in those days, always scoring against them.

As for the fabled “perfect” hat-trick – one with the left foot, one with the right and one header – we’ve seen that achieved 31 times. Robbie Fowler managed it three times in his Liverpool career, while the only other player to do it more than once is Yakubu, who fired perfect trebles for Everton and Blackburn.

The most recent perfect hat-trick came this season courtesy of Stoke man Jonathan Walters, who netted all three in the Potters’ 3-1 win over QPR in January.

Calamitous closers

Moussa Sissoko of Newcastle United leaves the pitch after  being shown a red card

Things are looking pretty miserable for Newcastle and I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost every game until the end of the season. Would it be the worst run-in by any Premier League side? (Jimmy R)

MARTIN SAYS: If Newcastle lose all their remaining games that would be 11 successive defeats for John Carver’s side. But here’s something that might cheer you up – Sunderland hold the Premier League record for the worst finish to a season after they lost their last 15 games of the 2002/03 campaign.

In fact, they lost 18 of their final 19 games, picking up just one point as they finished bottom of the league with just 19 points. That point came in a 0-0 draw against Blackburn at home on January 11. Their final win over the season was a 2-1 success over Liverpool on December 15, which I commentated on.

After that, we drop down to six defeats, which was the number suffered by Derby County in 2007/08, then five by Bolton in 2010/11. So 11 for Newcastle would comfortably put them second on that list. There’s still a long way to go this season, though, and they have plenty of chances to end their losing run.  Their remaining fixtures are Swansea (h), Leicester (a), West Brom (h), QPR (a) and West Ham (h).

Take a chance on me

West Ham United's English midfielder Stewart Downing celebrates scoring their third goal

What’s the most created chances by a player in terms of percentage of a team’s total chances? (Clayton Green)

MARTIN SAYS: Eden Hazard certainly has been a key figure in Jose Mourinho’s side this season, and he’s created 88 of Chelsea’s 361 chances this season (24.38 per cent) to go with his 13 Premier League goals so far.

But the Belgian isn’t the biggest influence on a team in terms of percentage. That honour goes to West Ham’s Stewart Downing. He’s created fewer openings (78), but as a proportion of the Hammers’ 309 chances he’s been more influential with 25.24%.

Making up the top five in Opta's list are Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson (23.64%), Crystal Palace’s Jason Puncheon (22.85%) and Sebastian Larsson, who has created 22.03% of Sunderland’s 227 chances this season.

This has thrown up some interesting names. I guess a manager would be happier if the creating of chances was spread around as many parts of the team as possible.

Ball hogs

Rooney believes it was their best performance of the season

Manchester United were all over Chelsea in terms of possession but still lost. Is that the highest possession stat of a losing team this season? (Jack, Surrey)

MARTIN SAYS: I commentated on the game at Stamford Bridge and it was certainly one-sided in terms of possession as the visitors had 70.39 per cent, but five teams have seen more of the ball in defeats than Manchester United did against Chelsea.

Top of the list is Everton’s 76.12% against Crystal Palace at Goodison Park, when Palace came from behind to win 3-2 back in September. Liverpool, meanwhile, saw 74.66% of the ball against Aston Villa but lost to Gabriel Agbonlahor’s early strike at Anfield.

Manchester City have had more than 70% of the possession in three of their defeats this season – 74.05% at Crystal Palace, 72.88% at home to Stoke and 70.29% away to Burnley. Stoke, incidentally, are the only other team to have had more possession (72.74%) than United did, when they lost 2-1 to Burnley in November after a Danny Ings double.

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