Bavarian R&R, English dough, a Dutch home boy, Egyptian impregnability and the duck of all ducks feature in FIFA.com’slatest stats review.
25,128
minutes is what Arnold Kruiswijk has played without scoring in the Dutch Eredivisie – more than anybody in history. The 32-year-old left-back relieved the unwanted record from John Veldman, a defender in the Netherlands’ UEFA EURO 1996 squad, who played one minute fewer without breaking his duck. Kruiswijk, who previously represented Groningen, Roda JC and Heerenveen, made his 302nd appearance in the competition for Vitesse in a 2-1 win over AZ on Sunday. Pascal Bosschaart played an unprecedented 327 Eredivisie games without scoring, but 505 minutes less than Kruiswijk.
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million euros made the English Premier League the biggest-spending top-flight championship in January – despite the fact the Chinese Super League (€219m) had its most expensive purchase (Oscar) and the French Ligue 1 (€151m) had three of its top five (Julien Draxler, Goncalo Guedes and Dmitri Payet). The German Bundesliga (€99m) and the Italian Serie A (€96m) came fourth and fifth, while the English Championship (€49m) – its second tier – was next. Mexico's Liga MX was surprisingly seventh.
33
matches without a draw was the Serie A record Juventus established on Sunday. It broke the 32 games Como had gone without a stalemate in the early 1950s. Juve have not finished all square in the league since a 0-0 draw away to Bologna in February 2016. Their 2-0 win at Sassuolo on Sunday was aided by a Gonzalo Higuain goal. The 29-year-old Argentina striker duly became the first Juventus player to score in six successive rounds since David Trezeguet in 2005. Juve did lose a couple of Serie A season bests a few days later – in their 2-1 victory at Pescara, Fiorentina recorded the highest passing accuracy (93 per cent) and highest possession (77 per cent) this term.
24
matches unbeaten in the CAF Africa Cup of Nations is the astonishing, unprecedented run Egypt will take into Sunday’s final. Since a 2-1 loss to arch-enemies Algeria, which was behind their first-phase exit in 2004, the Pharaohs won three successive Cup of Nations titles and failed to qualify for the next three before returning to the fold this year. Mohamed Salah put Hector Cuper’s side ahead in their semi-final, but Burkina Faso's Aristide Bance ended Egypt’s run without conceding in the competition at 11 hours and 16 minutes to take the contest into extra time. Herve Koffi saved the Pharaohs’ first penalty to help Les Etalons take the lead, before hero turned villain. The 20-year-old goalkeeper, indeed, had his spot-kick repelled by the man extending his record as the tournament’s oldest-ever player – 44-year-old Essam El-Hadary made his international debut before Koffi was born – as Egypt came from behind to win the penalty shoot-out 4-3.
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straight victories over Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga is what now belongs to Bayern Munich – the most any club has recorded over another in succession. Arjen Robben scored from a Franck Ribery assist for the first time in two years to break the deadlock. It was the 15th time Ribery set up a Robben goal in the German top tier, extending the Frenchman’s record as the Dutchman’s top supplier. David Alaba doubled the lead, and although Max Kruse did end Bremen’s goal drought against Bayern in all competitions at ten hours and 47 minutes, 2-1 is how it finished.
Quick hits 100 per cent of Georginio Wijnaldum’s 14 Premier League goals – his latest earned Liverpool a point against Chelsea – have been scored at home. Curiously, the 26-year-old Dutchman scored in his last three away Eredivisie games before moving to England, initially with Newcastle United.
100 Premier League goals is what Peter Crouch became the 26th and, at 36 years and two days, oldest player to reach on Wednesday.
27 years after Cologne hit six goals in a Bundesliga game – a crushing of Waldhof Mannheim inspired by Pierre Littbarski, Falko Gotz and Ralf Sturm – The Billy Goats repeated the feat away to Darmstadt.
22 years had passed since Saint-Etienne had scored two penalties in a Ligue 1 game. Nolan Roux got them both in a 3-0 win at Toulouse on Sunday; Laurent Blanc did the same in a 3-3 draw at home to Lille in 1995.