Clocking in at just 6.2 seconds, AC Milan’s Rafael Leão has recorded the fastest goal in Serie A’s 122-year history.
Traveling to Sassuolo’s Mapei Stadium on Sunday, Milan went straight at the home side after kickoff with Hakan Çalhanoğlu carrying the ball forward. The Rossoneri No. 10 delivered a perfectly weighted pass for Leão, and the 21-year-old Portuguese forward put his name in the history books.
WILD!
2020 has been a tough year financially both for clubs and for players.
The economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen transfer values deflate, with the value of many players decreasing independent of their form on the pitch by 10-20 percent.
For clubs this means their assets are worth less to go with a sharp decrease in revenue caused by matches without fans. For players, this means their skills are worth less as well as a decrease in salaries.
It's no secret that penalties kicks are being awarded more often in the Premier League this year — Bruno Fernandes has already converted 13 of them during his brief time in Manchester, while Raheem Sterling recently became the first Premier Leaguer to win 20 penalties. A variety of factors are likely at play: the incompetence of VAR, players attackin
Much like the NBA sixth man who comes off the bench and drops straight buckets, Luis Muriel doesn't often find himself in the starting XI; but bring him off the bench in the second half and he can't help but score goals.
Muriel started just 10 Serie A matches last season yet was still Atalanta's joint-leading scorer. The Colombian striker scored 11 of his 18 goals after coming off the bench, averaging goal at an astonishing rate of once every 69 minutes.
Modern football is dominated by attacking players.
There are the creators. Mo Salah, Timo Werner, Richarlison. Guys who can generate something from nothing but are average finishers that need a lot of the ball to score.
Then there are the finishers. Romelu Lukaku, Aleksandar Mitrović, Chris Wood. They aren't productive 40 yards from goal but give them one chance inside the 18 and they'll take it.
It was a massive week in U.S. soccer viewership with everyone taking time off for Thanksgiving and hunkering down to watch to incessant onslaught of the Premier League, the start of the MLS Cup playoffs and the business end of the Liga MX Apertura liguilla.
In terms of English-language broadcasts, the highest-rated event between Nov. 23 and Nov. 29 was last Sunday’s dire 0-0 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. An audience of 744,000 tuned in on NBCSN to have their spirits crushed by José Mourinho.
When Kevin Davies took the field for Bolton Wanderers, the action on the pitch often resembled a barroom brawl rather than a soccer match.
Under manager Sam Allardyce, Davies consistently led the league in both fouls committed and fouls received, setting multiple records along the way.
Everton's in-form striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin netted a brace and midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure scored his first goal for the club as they beat Fulham 3-2 to return to winning ways in the Premier League on Sunday.
Brazilian forward Richarlison, returning from a three-match ban, picked up a loose ball and ran wide to cross for Calvert-Lewin who tapped in his ninth league goal of the campaign 42 seconds into the contest.
It is fair to say that money controls the Premier League. Money is the reason Manchester City and Liverpool are title contenders, while Brighton and West Brom languish near the bottom of the table.
Soccernomics co-authors Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski calculated that 90 percent of variation in league position in the Premier League is determined by a club's wage bill.