Top Opta Stats From Valentine’s Day’s FA Cup Clashes
We kick this Valentine’s Day Opta Stats list off with two worthy stats occurring, of course, on the day of love itself.
It takes a real gentleman to net not once but twice on Valentine’s Day, and Benito Carbone was just the man for the job. Netting one goal is impressive, but Michael Owen and Matt Le Tissier are the only two payers to net a Premier League hattrick on Valentines Day.
Owen not only netted 3 for Liverpool against Sheffield United on this day of love, but was just 18 years old when he did it, making him the youngest hattrick scorer in the Premier League.
As irony would have it, Le Tissier routed Liverpool with his hattrick for Southampton, shinning a dim light on a new start for Liverpool under Roy Evans. Love hurts…
Speaking of Liverpool, on Saturday night the Reds paid a visit to Crystal Palace in an FA Cup clash that brought to the surface a rather surprising Opta stat. It is hard to outshine Steven Gerrard on a team that essentially is synonymic with his name, but vice-captain Jordan Henderson is surely making a run for it.
Henderson added yet another assist to his account in Liverpool’s 2-1victory, coming from behind to beat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, putting him four ahead of his closest teammate.
But Liverpool’s number 14 isn’t the only one making waves in the statistics world. Daniel Sturridge added another goal to his count this season (thanks to Henderson’s assist), putting his side on the board after being 1-0 down to Crystal Palace. Light was shed on Liverpool’s goal scorers, but also on their inability to keep a clean sheet, as Joe has emphasised that clean sheets are a rare occurrence for Brendan Rodgers’ side.West Brom also had stats worthy of Valentines Day, as their 4-0 FA Cup win over West Ham would mark the first time in 36 years that they have netted four goals against a top tier side.In contrast, Stoke’s 4-1 loss to Blackburn Rovers marked the first time they have conceded four goals in an FA Cup clash in 80, yes 80 years. Yikes…To round off this lovely (how punny) Valentines Day FA Cup edition of Opta stats, we leave you with the filth that filled this FA Cup 5th round off.
Cheers to hoping round six keeps it clean and classy.
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