theScore picks out the best stats and facts to surface following a goal-fest on the first Saturday of the new Premier League season.
0: Patrick Vieira didn’t lose a Premier League match to Chelsea during his playing days for Arsenal and Manchester City. His stint in charge of Crystal Palace started with a 3-0 defeat to the Blues.
4: Watford’s Emmanuel Dennis is the fourth Nigerian to score on his Premier League debut. John Utaka, Peter Odemwingie, and Odion Ighalo beat him to it.
? Mohamed Salah has scored on the opening weekend for a 5th successive PL season, the 1st player to do so
17-18 v Watford ??
18-19 v West Ham ??
19-20 v Norwich ??
20-21 v Leeds ??????
21-22 v Norwich ?? pic.twitter.com/V73IyTNejn— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) August 14, 2021
6: Burnley’s Johann Berg Gudmundsson completed six dribbles against Brighton & Hove Albion. It was Saturday’s second-highest number in that category after Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Adama Traore (10) and twice the total mustered by the whole Brighton team.
7: Paul Pogba became the seventh player to record four assists in a Premier League match in the 5-1 demolition of Leeds United. The Manchester United midfielder has already surpassed his tally of three from last season.
8: Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has racked up seven goals on the opening weekend of Premier League campaigns. He’s one behind the record of eight, which is shared by Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, and Alan Shearer.
9: Shane Duffy appeared to shake off last season’s error-strewn loan spell at Celtic on his return to action with Brighton. In addition to winning a game-high nine headers, he led the fixture with 10 clearances and completed two tackles and two interceptions.
10: Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes was the 10th player to score a hat-trick on the first weekend of a Premier League term. Coventry City’s Mick Quinn was the first to achieve this feat in 1993.
11: Number of consecutive top-flight defeats for Norwich City. Their last Premier League campaign ended with a horrid run of 10 losses, and that number grew in the Canaries’ season opener against Liverpool.
15: Winger Andros Townsend and left-back Lucas Digne were often trying to pick out Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin when they attempted a total of 15 crosses against Southampton. In the end, it was Richarlison who teed up the Englishman.
16: Ex-Blackburn Rovers forward Adam Armstrong has contributed 14 goals and two assists in league matches in 2021 following his debut strike for Southampton.
James Milner plays in the Premier League for a 20th season. Only Ryan Giggs (22) and Gareth Barry (21) have played in more.
— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) August 14, 2021
22: Trevoh Chalobah (22 years and 40 days) is the second-youngest player to score on his Premier League debut for Chelsea. The youngest is Paul Hughes who was 20 years and 274 days when he found the net in 1997.
301: Number of days Liverpool center-back Virgil van Dijk had to wait for a Premier League start after suffering a serious knee injury in the Merseyside derby in October 2020.
3,736: Days between Ashley Young’s last two Premier League starts for Aston Villa. Before Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Watford, Young made his last Villa appearance alongside the likes of Brad Friedel and Stiliyan Petrov in a 1-0 win over Liverpool.
