Friday 15 September 2017, 06:45

The Week in Numbers

  • Extraordinary goalscoring among Asia's elite clubs

  • Citizen Aguero hits new heights as City flourish

  • A German referee crashes through glass ceiling

174

appearances in European competitions is what Iker Casillas reached to break Xavi’s record. The Porto goalkeeper also equalled Ryan Giggs’ record of playing in 19 UEFA Champions League campaigns in a 3-1 defeat to Besiktas.

93

years after Preston North End became the last English top-flight side to lose their opening four games of a season without scoring, Crystal Palace followed suit. It prompted Palace to sack Frank de Boer after just four matches – a record low for a permanent Premier League manager – and make Roy Hodgson, who turned 70 last month, the oldest man to be appointed a permanent boss in the competition.

80

years since Manchester City beat Liverpool by a five-goal margin, braces from Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane helped them copy the accomplishment. Sergio Aguero’s opener was his 124th in the Premier League, taking him past Dwight Yorke (123) and making him the highest-scoring non-European in its history.

75

places is what Northern Ireland have rocketed up the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking in merely three years to reach a personal best of 20th. In August 2014, Michael O'Neill’s side were behind the likes of Botswana, Angola and Togo, who are now over 100 places beneath them in 146th, 137th and 121st respectively.

50

goals for Bayern Munich under Carlo Ancelotti is what Robert Lewandowski took just 53 appearances to reach. Bayern’s second-most prolific player under the Italian is Arjen Robben on 16.

45

years after Mighty Jets became the last team from the city of Jos to be crowned Nigerian champions, Plateau United became the second. The trophy had gone to 13 cities in between.

16

successive shoot-out spot-kicks, from 15 different players including goalkeeper Yan Junling, is what Shanghai SIPG have scored. Andre Villas-Boas’s side successfully converted their last 11 penalties to outlast Suzhou Dongwu 15-14 in the Chinese FA Cup fourth round, and all five in their quarter-final with Guangzhou Evergrande in the AFC Champions League. Shanghai relinquished a 4-0 first-leg lead, then an extra-time advantage against Guangzhou, but spared their blushes in the shoot-out, following an extraordinary 5-5 aggregate scoreline.

7

goals without reply is what Atlanta United scored on Wednesday to record the joint-biggest all-time victory in the MLS. Their victims, New England Revolution, became the first team in history to fail to register a shot in an MLS game. ‘The Five Stripes’ have now won both games at their new home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, scoring ten and conceding zero.

7

goals in five games is what Ciro Immobile has scored for Lazio this season. The 27-year-old’s hat-trick in a 4-1 win on Sunday helped the Rome outfit net four goals against AC Milan for the first time since they did so thanks to Diego Simeone, Juan Sebastian Veron and Marcelo Salas (two) efforts in 1999.

0

women had officiated a match in one of Europe’s ‘big five’ men’s leagues until Bibiana Steinhaus broke ground. The 38-year-old police officer, who had already taken charge of FIFA Women’s World Cup™, Women’s Olympic Football Tournament and UEFA Women’s Champions League finals, did a sterling job overseeing Hertha Berlin’s 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen.