Haaland and De Bruyne untouchable – the numbers behind Man City’s season so far
All in all, Manchester City have enjoyed a pretty good start to the season.
Pep Guardiola’s side find themselves in second place in the Premier League table with 32 points, having won 10 games, drawn two and lost two. Although City find themselves five points behind table toppers Arsenal, after 14 games they have exactly the same record as they did last season, a campaign that ended with them winning their fourth league title in five years.
With City not in action for another five-and-a-half weeks thanks to the mid-season break for World Cup, now seems an appropriate time to dig a little into the numbers of City’s season so far.
City have scored more goals than any other team in the Premier League, despite Pep Guardiola’s side playing one game fewer than most.
City have scored 40 goals in 14 games, giving an average of 2.86 goals per game. It’s an impressive return given their xG per game stands at 1.97.
18 – or 45 per cent – of those have been scored by Erling Haaland, including three consecutive home hat-tricks against Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Manchester United. Haaland’s xG rating is 11.1, highlighting just how clinical he has been.
The 22-year-old is unsurprisingly leading the Premier League Golden Boot race, with Harry Kane currently his closest challenger with 12 goals. City’s second-highest scorer is Phil Foden with seven.
Kevin de Bruyne leads the way in terms of assists, having created nine goals already this season. The Belgian midfielder now has 95 Premier League assists in 224 matches; Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas and Frank Lampard are the only players to have ever surpassed 100.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, City have completed more passes and had more touches of the ball than any other Premier League team this season.
The Blues have completed 9,550 passes in 14 games, more than 1,000 more than next best side Liverpool. Rodri leads the charts in terms of touches with 1,345, while Joao Cancelo is third with 1,259. Rodri has made 1,203 passes, more than any other player.
City have conceded 14 goals in 14 games, meaning they have the third-best defence in the division. Only Arsenal and Newcastle – City’s two title challengers – have conceded fewer with 11.
Ederson has claimed six clean sheets so far this term, again only bettered by Arsenal and Newcastle.
