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How many shots have Manchester United had in a Premier League game without winning and which substitute has scored the quickest goal? Read on for the answers…
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Pep Guardiola’s 11-game unbeaten start at Manchester City came to an end live on Sky Sports on Sunday against Tottenham. Pep missed the chance to beat Carlo Ancelotti’s record when he won his first six Premier League games at Chelsea. Ancelotti lost his seventh at Wigan in 2009, but his side went on to win the league.
Spurs have only conceded three goals in the Premier League this season - all to Englishmen from set pieces (Ross Barkley’s free-kick for Everton, James Milner’s penalty for Liverpool and Ben Gibson’s header from a free-kick for Middlesbrough).
This is Tottenham’s best start since 1960/61 when they won their first 11 games and went on to win the double. The first game they didn’t win in 1960 was the home fixture with Man City (a 1-1 draw in their 12th game).
Hugo Lloris enjoyed his first shutout against Man City in eight attempts. Dele Alli improved his record against Manchester City to played three, won three, while Nicolas Otamendi has three defeats from three starts against Spurs.
Aleksandar Kolarov made his Manchester City debut at White Hart Lane in August 2010 and sustained a knee injury - and he made an unhappy return with an own goal on Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino enjoyed his second win over Guardiola in 10 meetings. He also won away as Espanyol boss against Barcelona in February 2009. His overall record is now: P10 W2 D3 L5.
Spurs now have four consecutive away games after the international break against West Brom, Bayer Leverkusen, Bournemouth and Liverpool in the EFL Cup, live on Sky Sports. Their next home game is against Leicester on October 29 - but at least they have happy memories for the 27 days between home games.
Have Manchester United ever had as many shots as they did against Stoke without winning in the PL? Lawrence C
MARTIN SAYS: Manchester United had 24 shots on Sunday (but only nine on target) and failed to win thanks to Joe Allen’s late equaliser for Stoke, but they have had far more shots in a game than 24 without managing to win.
In April 2006, United registered an almighty 36 shots against Sunderland at Old Trafford, but failed to even score a goal as they drew 0-0.
A year earlier in May 2005, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side managed 33 shots against West Brom but were held to a 1-1 draw, and they managed 31 in a 1-1 draw under David Moyes against Fulham in 2014.
In May 2007, United managed 30 shots against West Ham as they were beaten 1-0 on the final day of the season in that famous game which saw Carlos Tevez score the winner and keep his side in the Premier League, while in November 2011 the Red Devils managed 28 shots at home against Newcastle but could only draw 1-1.
Stoke and Sunderland have failed to win any of their opening seven games. Has any team ever done the same (or gone longer) and stayed up in the Premier League? Ike Jones
MARTIN SAYS: Yes! Derby have the record in this respect for a 20-team Premier League season. In 2000/01, they failed to win any of their opening 13 games of the season (drew seven, lost six), but somehow managed to recover to keep themselves in the Premier League (by the skin of their teeth, finishing 17th).
Blackburn drew four and lost seven of their first 11 games in 1996/97 but recovered to finish 13th and Southampton got just two points from their first nine games in 1998/99 but still managed to finish the campaign in 17th.
Sunderland have become experts in recent years at recovering from dismal starts to survive in the Premier League. Last season the Black Cats failed to win any of their first nine, and in 2013/14 they failed to win any of their first eight games.
Southampton (1996/97), Newcastle (1999/00 and 2014/15), West Brom (2004/05) and Norwich (2012/13) have all failed to win in their first seven games but still avoided relegation.
So the omens are not too bad for fans of Stoke and Sunderland, especially as Blackburn (11 games) and Southampton (seven games) both managed to do it in the same season in 1996/97.
Victor Moses started against Hull on Saturday and his last Premier League start for Chelsea was in 2013. Is that the longest gap in between starts for one club? Oliver B
MARTIN SAYS: The boffins at Opta have told us that Victor Moses’ previous start in the Premier League for Chelsea came 1,239 days ago in a 2-1 win away at Aston Villa.
However, they’ve also told us that’s only the 46th longest wait between starts for one Premier League club.
The longest wait was almost a decade and belongs to Joe Cole. He started for West Ham in a 2-2 draw away at Birmingham on May 11, 2003 and they were relegated that day. His next Premier League start for the club came 3,534 days later on January 12, 2013 in a 3-0 defeat at Sunderland. In between he played for Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League (Moses played for Liverpool, Stoke and West Ham).
Goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek went 3,349 days between starts for Newcastle between 1997 and 2006, while Julian Speroni waited 3,256 days between Premier League appearances for Crystal Palace without leaving the club.
The goalkeeper started a 2-1 defeat against Manchester City on September 18, 2004 but Palace were relegated at the end of that season. His next appearance came 3,256 days later against Tottenham on August 18, 2013 when they returned to the top flight.
Most days between Premier League starts for a single club:
Has there ever been a faster goal by a substitute than Josh King’s? Abdullah
MARTIN SAYS: While King’s goal off the bench for Bournemouth against Watford came in remarkably speedy fashion in 44 seconds, it’s just the 25th fastest goal by a substitute in the Premier League since Opta’s records started in 2006/07.
Sammy Ameobi currently holds the record, and it’s one will take an awful lot to be beaten, having netted just eight seconds after coming off the bench for Newcastle in October 2014.
The winger was introduced at half-time at Tottenham, and stuck home an equaliser within mere moments of the restart as they came from behind to win 2-1 at White Hart Lane.
Antoine Sibierski tucked one away in a far more pedestrian 15 seconds after coming off the bench for Wigan against Derby in January 2008, while Andy Johnson scored just 17 seconds after entering the fray for Fulham against Wolves in April 2011.
It was great for Eddie Howe to make a change and reap the dividends so quickly - and I’m sure Alan Pardew would have felt the same when Ameobi scored. He did well to get out for the second half quickly enough to see it.
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