Salah the Old Trafford Tormentor, Haaland’s Race to 100, and Double Yellow Lines

Stat, Viz, Quiz is the Opta Analyst football newsletter. This week’s edition includes numbers on Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, and second yellow cards.

The first burst of club football in 2024-25 is done already and we’re heading into an international break. It does somewhat feel like going to a party and being asked to move your car just as the music’s getting good.

Sunday saw Liverpool have their own party at Old Trafford as they beat bitter rivals Manchester United to make it three wins from three for Arne Slot. Mohamed Salah enjoys playing there, and in this week’s SVQ we’ll be reviewing just how impressive his record at United’s famous stadium is.

We’ll also discuss the latest achievements from Manchester City’s relentless forward Erling Haaland, and we even promise not to crowbar any laboured Oasis references in there.

Our Ask Opta question looks at the topical conversation of players receiving two yellow cards, and there’s of course a quiz to get your teeth into.

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STAT – Salah’s Old Trafford Record

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah rose to the occasion again on Sunday as Arne Slot’s Liverpool beat Manchester United 3-0, with the ‘Egyptian King’ getting two assists for Luis Díaz before finding the net himself to complete the scoring.

For Salah’s goal, Alexis Mac Allister won the ball from Kobbie Mainoo and released Dominik Szoboszlai, who in turn found Salah for a first-time finish inside André Onana’s near post.

That made it 15 goals for Salah against United in all competitions, and 12 in the Premier League, extending his lead as the player to score the most goals against the Red Devils in the competition ahead of Alan Shearer (10).

Travelling to Manchester seems to send Salah up another level, though. He has 10 goals in nine Liverpool appearances at Old Trafford in all competitions, making him only the second player to score 10+ goals at a single away ground for a Premier League team since 1992-93, after Shearer’s 10 at Leeds United’s Elland Road.

To put Salah’s record at United’s home into context, since 24 January 2021, only four Man Utd players have scored more goals at Old Trafford in all competitions than Salah. The Egyptian has 10 goals to his name in seven games at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ in that time, the same total as Anthony Martial (10 in 39 games).

In fact, you may have seen Opta’s own Michael Reid post on X at the weekend that Salah now has more goals at Old Trafford than Antony (7), Alejandro Garnacho (7), Rasmus Højlund (7), Edinson Cavani (7), Jadon Sancho (6), Memphis Depay (4) and Alexis Sánchez (3).

Mo Salah has more goals for #LFC at Old Trafford (10) than Antony (7), Alejandro Garnacho (7), Rasmus Højlund (7), Edinson Cavani (7), Jadon Sancho (6), Memphis Depay (4) and Alexis Sánchez (3) have there for Man Utd.
— Michael Reid (@michael_reid11) September 1, 2024

Salah also went to the top of the table for assists against Man Utd at Old Trafford in the Premier League with six, overtaking Eyal Berkovic and Bernardo Silva (5 each).

The 32-year-old is in the last year of his contract at Liverpool and hinted that it could be his last. If so, few will be happier to see the back of Salah than United.

VIZ – Haaland’s Hunt for 100

Viz by Jonathan Manuel

OK Erling, we’re all very impressed but come on. This is just getting silly now.

Yes, the big Norwegian goal-getter was at it again at London Stadium on Saturday, scoring his second hat-trick in as many weeks and making it seven Premier League goals already after just three games.

Haaland followed up his opening-matchday goal at Chelsea and his treble against Ipswich Town with all three in Man City’s 3-1 victory at West Ham, and is now already sitting (presumably cross-legged) four goals ahead of Salah, Luis Díaz, Noni Madueke and Bryan Mbeumo (3 each) in the Premier League scoring charts.

At the start of the season, we surmised that it was technically possible that Haaland could reach 100 Premier League goals by the end of just his third campaign in England. Suddenly, it’s starting to look quite plausible that he’ll get the 37 goals necessary this season to do so.

We don’t expect the 24-year-old to carry on at his current rate of 2.33 goals per game, otherwise he’ll end the season with almost 90 league goals, but at the same time there is always a slight reluctance to doubt him achieving anything.

As you can see from this week’s viz, Haaland is well on course to beat Alan Shearer’s record as the fastest to 100 Premier League goals. The former Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle striker took just 124 games to net his century in the competition. As things stand, Haaland has 70 goals in 69 games, so has another 54 appearances to score his next 30. On his current trajectory, he’ll get to 100 goals before he reaches 100 games.

This was Haaland’s eighth Premier League hat-trick, meaning he is just four shy of City legend Sergio Agüero’s record tally of 12. He has averaged a hat-trick every 8.6 appearances in the competition, and his total has already seen him go level with Premier League legends Thierry Henry, Harry Kane and Michael Owen.

With his second hat-trick of the campaign already under his belt, Haaland also became the first player to score a treble in two of his team’s first three league games of a season in England’s top four tiers since Paul Jewell did so for Bradford City in Division Two (the third tier) in 1994-95.

Have all the goals and medals you want, that stat will no doubt be framed and hung on a Haaland family wall somewhere.

The question is, can anyone stop him (Haaland, not Jewell)? Brentford will be the next to have a go after the international break, and we’re arguably at a point where limiting him to two goals in a game could be considered something of a success for the opposition.

QUIZ – Premier League Matchday 3

After so much action in England’s top flight again at the weekend, we’ve found five trivia questions to see how much you know about it. Answers at the bottom of the page.

1. Amadou Onana became just the third player to score in each of his first two away Premier League appearances for Aston Villa. One of the other two did so only last season, who was it?

2. Bournemouth’s remarkable late 3-2 comeback win at Everton on Saturday was just the second time the Cherries have won despite being 2+ goals down in a Premier League away game (W2 L55), following a 3-2 victory against whom in September 2022?

3. How many own goals has Rúben Dias scored in the Premier League since arriving at Man City in 2020?

4. Eberechi Eze’s goal at Chelsea was his fifth from outside in the box in the Premier League in 2024, the joint-most of any player in the competition in that time along with which Man City player?

5. Liverpool’s Arne Slot became just the third manager/head coach to win each of his first three Premier League games without conceding. Name either of the other two.

Ask Opta

This week’s question comes from Silvestar Bistrović, who asks: “Given the ridiculous [Declan] Rice red card, can you give us some interesting numbers on two yellow cards vs direct red cards?”

Do you have a stats-based football question you want to Ask Opta? If so, send it to editors@theanalyst.com and we’ll do our best to provide you with the answer in a future edition of SVQ.

Answer:

It was the key talking point of the weekend when Declan Rice was sent off for two yellow cards in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. We’re not here to debate whether he should have seen red or not, but we can indeed provide some interesting numbers on two yellows vs straight reds in Premier League history.

Rice’s dismissal on Saturday was the 32nd time an Arsenal player has been sent off for two bookable offences in a Premier League game on record (since 2000-01), the most of any team by at least three.

As far as straight red cards go, Everton have received the most with 79, ahead of Newcastle and Arsenal, on 72 each.

When it comes to individual players, three have been given their marching orders for two yellow cards on four separate occasions; Lee Cattermole, Nemanja Vidic and Steven Pienaar.

The man with the most straight red cards might not be much of a surprise. Duncan Ferguson received eight straight reds in his Premier League career, ahead of Roy Keane, Vinnie Jones and Richard Dunne, with seven each.

A shout out to Christian Negouai, whose red-cards-per-minute rate will surely never be beaten. The French midfielder was sent off with a straight red just three minutes into his one and only Premier League appearance for Manchester City away at Everton in December 2004.