The five teams with the worst defensive records in Premier League history

It’s said that a good attack can win you a game, but a good defence can win you a title.

Someone should really have told this lot…

The greatest teams are built on solid foundations, though we’re not sure any side on this list could quite be called that.

The Premier League has seen some truly dodgy defences, and we’ve decided to compile a list of the very worst. Here are the five leakiest defences of the Premier League era.

The 5 teams with the worst defensive records in Premier League history, according to iSports API football data.

5. Wolves – 2011/12 – 82 goals

A miserable campaign for the Midlands club, who finished bottom of the Premier League having won just five league games all season.

They actually scored more goals than both Stoke City and Aston Villa who survived the drop, but a leaky backline which shipped 82 goals saw them relegated to the second tier.

Manager Mick McCarthy was sacked in February and replaced by Terry Connor, though neither manager had a solution to their defensive troubles.

4. Burnley – 2009/10 – 82 goals

Now an established top division side, the Burnley of a decade ago were a different outfit to the current team.

The Clarets arrived in the Premier League for the 2009/10 for the very first time, full of excitement for their first top-flight season in 33 years.

Their excitement didn’t last long…

A league-high 82 goals conceded saw the Lancashire side swiftly return to the second tier, finishing 18th in the division. Their 6-1 defeat to Manchester City the equal highest home loss of the season.

3. Fulham – 2013/14 – 85 goals

The 2013/14 season was the first time two sides (Manchester City & Liverpool) had scored a century of league goals.

In a high scoring season, it seemed Fulham also wanted in on the act.

Sadly, for the West London club, the vast amount of goals in their fixtures were at the wrong end as a poor defence cost them their Premier League status.

The Cottagers shipped 85 league goals, seeing them relegated after a 13-year stay in the top flight.

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2. Derby County – 2007/08 – 89 goals

No team in Premier League history has perhaps been as out of their depth as Derby County in 2007/08.

A record-breaking season for all the wrong reasons, the Midlands side set a whole host of unwanted records, including the lowest ever points total with a paltry 11.

The Rams conceded 89 goals on route to their relegation, a record for a 38 game season, with the low point of a season featuring a 32-game winless run a 6-0 hammering at home to Aston Villa.

They have not been seen in the top flight since.

1. Swindon Town – 1993/94 – 100 goals

For younger readers, the thought of Swindon Town as a Premier League club may be too hard to grasp, but rewind back to 1993 and the Robins reached the promised land after 73 years of trying.

Their stay lasted just the one season, with Swindon finishing bottom of the then 22-team division having conceded a whopping 100 goals.

Yes, a century of goals conceded.

The lowlight was perhaps a 7-1 thrashing at Newcastle, with Peter Beardsley, Rob Lee and Steve Watson all scoring braces.

In fairness, their record comes from the now-defunct 42 game season, but that’s about as much credit as we’ll give them for a truly woeful record.

For more information, please click iSports API.

Top ten most saves by a goalkeeper in a single Premier League match

Where does Paulo Gazzaniga’s performance against Liverpool rank in the list of greatest save makers in a single Premier League match?

Tottenham Hotspur‘s poor start to the 2019/20 campaign continued this past weekend when they lost 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield. It was their 4th league defeat thus far and their 17th since the beginning of last season, whereas the Reds have only lost once over the same period, according to iSportsapi.com.

While the Merseyside outfit are embarking on their best start ever, Spurs are having their worst under manager Mauricio Pochettino, having gained just 12 points from 10 games. The visitors did have the better start though, as Harry Kane opened the scoring inside the first minute. The England striker capitalised on the rebound from Heung-min Son’s long-range effort to give them the lead.

In an effort to restore parity in the scoreline, the hosts peppered the goal with shots, ending the game with 21 in total. The only reason Spurs went in at half-time with their lead and a clean sheet still intact was their goalkeeper.

Paulo Gazzaniga was in exceptional form on Sunday, keeping Liverpool’s deadly trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah at bay as they chased an equaliser. There were too many saves to pick out just one, as several of them were spectacular. Ultimately he was let down by his defence; firstly Danny Rose, who failed to track Jordan Henderson’s run in the 52nd minute, and then Serge Aurier, who clumsily kicked the back of Mane’s leg.

Without Salah’s penalty with 15 minutes to go, the North London outfit may well have come away with a draw. The Argentine netminder did not look like conceding for much of the game, making an incredible 12 saves. Only nine players have made more saves in a Premier Leaguefixture since Opta began tracking those statistics.

The record currently stands at 14, which was first achieved by Tim Krul when he lined out for Newcastle United against Spurs in 2013, and most recently equalled by David de Gea in 2017. That was in the infamous game between Manchester United and Arsenal, who lost 3-1 despite having 15 shots on target. Then-United boss Jose Mourinho said it was a “world’s best” goalkeeping performance.

Gazzaniga was not quite on that level on Sunday, but he has proved himself to be a more than capable deputy to Hugo Lloris, who is out for the rest of 2019 due to injury. Now if only Spurs could sort the rest of their team out…

Most saves in a single Premier League match, as per iSports API data:

=10. Paulo Gazzaniga – 12 (Liverpool vs Spurs, 27 Oct 2019)

=10. Edwin van der Sar – 12 (Arsenal vs Fulham, 30th Nov 2003)

=4. Vito Mannone – 13 (Sunderland vs Chelsea, 19 Apr 2014)

=4. Lukasz Fabianski – 13 (Spurs vs Swansea, 28 Feb 2016)

=4. Boaz Myhill – 13 (Man City vs West Brom, 21 Mar 2015)

=4. David James – 13 Man City (Spurs vs Man City, 8 Apr 2006)

=4. Mark Crossley – 13 (Newcastle vs Fulham, 7 Nov 2004)

=1. David de Gea – 14 (Arsenal vs Man United, 2 Dec 2017)

=1. Vito Mannone – 14 (Liverpool vs Sunderland, 19 Apr 2014)

=1. Tim Krul – 14 (Spurs vs Newcastle, 10 Nov 2013)

PSG announce new long-term deal for Marco Verratti.

Midfielder Marco Verratti has signed a new contract at Paris Saint-Germain, tying him to the club until 2024.

The popular Italian’s previous deal had been set to expire in two years, as per iSports API data.

But PSG have avoided losing him on a lower fee by tying Verratti down to a new five-year extension.

Still just 26, Verratti has been at the club since 2012, having arrived from hometown club Pescara that year.

He has since made almost 300 appearances for the Parisian club and won every major domestic honour available, according to iSports API.

Footballing siblings who played together for the same Premier League club

Matthew Longstaff made his dream debut for Newcastle United by putting in a top performance and scoring the winning goal against Manchester United – and he did it while playing alongside his older brother, Sean.

The pair are not the first brothers to play on the same team together, and they probably won’t be the last. Given the promising start both youngsters have made to their careers, they could be anchoring the Magpies midfield for years to come.

Only time will tell, and then we can judge the pair up against the very best siblings to have teamed up.

Brothers who played on the same Premier League team together, all data collects from iSports API.



Kolo and Yaya Touré – Man City & Cote d’Ivoire

The Ivorian duo probably have a strong claim to being the most talented brothers to ever play with each other, although one can imagine Danish legends Brian and Michael Laudrup would have a lot to say about that.

The Touré’s played together for three years at Manchester City, where they helped the club capture their first Premier League title in 2012. They were also teammates on the Cote d’Ivoire national team, with whom they won the African Cup of Nations in 2015, but their greatest contribution to football has to be the Yaya Kolo song that City fans used to belt out.



Rafael and Fabio Da Silva – Man United & Brazil

Identical twins are extremely rare in professional football, but the Da Silva brothers were both snapped up by Man United in 2008 when they were just teenagers at Fluminense.

Fabio made a decidedly lesser impact with the Red Devils than his sibling though, making just 22 league appearances (and taking one title winner’s medal) before leaving the club in 2014. Rafael, on the other hand, played 109 times in the top flight for United, winning five major honours along the way as well as playing in the 2011 Uefa Champions League final.

They both have two caps for the Brazil senior national team, although they didn’t overlap with each other, but they did play together in the youth ranks all the way up to U17 level. Both men currently play in France, Fabio for Nantes and Rafael for Lyon.

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Shola and Sammy Ameobi – Newcastle

Both of the Ameobi brothers came through the academy at Newcastle and spent the majority of their careers at the club. Their time in the senior team overlapped for four years until Shola was transferred to Turkish outfit Gaziantep in 2014.

Sammy is currently playing for Notts Forest, while his elder brother is back on Tyneside as the club’s loan player coordinator, despite never officially retiring. Their brother Tomi is also a professional footballer.

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Shaun and Bradley Wright-Phillips – Man City

Both of the Wright-Phillips brothers came through the academy at Man City and spent a brief time together as part of the senior setup. It was Shaun, adopted son of Ian Wright, who had the more successful Premier League career, while Bradley, biological son of the Arsenal legend, has carved out a name for himself in north America.

The former Southampton forward moved to MLS outfit the New York Red Bulls in 2013 and has since won the league’s Golden boot award on two occasions. Shaun reunited with his brother when he made the same transatlantic move in 2015, playing together for two seasons.

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Andre and Jordan Ayew – Swansea City & Ghana

The Ayew brothers have been in English football since 2015, but have only played together at club level for six months. In January of 2018 Andre rejoined Swansea City, where his brother Jordan was already playing.

The latter had moved to Wales the previous summer from Aston Villa, who had just been relegated, and the Swans suffered the same fate that season. Jordan is now at Crystal Palace, while Andre remains at Swansea in their bid to gain promotion from the Championship. They also play together for the Ghanaian national team.



Gary and Phil Neville – Man United & England

Together they won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups and a Uefa Champions League. There isn’t a pair of brothers alive who have achieved such success together as Gary and Phil Neville did while at Man United, and there probably won’t be ever again.

Phil went off to play for Everton in 2005, while Gary stayed at Old Trafford and won even more silverware. The latter has since become arguably the most well-known football pundit in the country, while the younger brother is currently managing the England women’s national team. They also coached together for a brief time at Valencia, but the less said about that the better.

Christian and Jonathan Benteke – Crystal Palace

And now to finish on an odd one. This fraternal partnership wouldn’t even warrant mentioning if it wasn’t for the strange circumstances surrounding their link-up at Crystal Palace.

Christian Benteke joined Palace from Liverpool in the summer of 2016, and his younger brother arrived at the club not long after. Jonathan had just been released by Belgian side Zulte Waregem, but was somehow deemed good enough for a Premier League team.

The elder Benteke insisted his sibling was there on ability and merit, but Alan Pardew confirmed that he had been recommended by Christian himself.

Jonathan only made one substitute appearance for the Eagles in 2016, coming off the bench for the last six minutes against Middlesbrough – so they didn’t even play together. But we couldn’t leave them out.

For more information, please click iSports API.

Five youngest goal scorers in Champions League history

The opening two gameweeks of the Champions League has already seen four teenage talents make their mark in the goals scored column, with Red Bull Salzburg’s 19-year-old goal machine Erling Braut Haland hitting the headlines for his hat-trick against Genk.

Whilst the quartet, including Manchester City’s Phil Foden, are all impressing at a young age on Europe’s biggest stage, they all remain some way off this list of precociously talented goal scorers.

Here are the five youngest goal scorers in Champions League history, according to iSports API football data.

Martin Klein – 17 years, 240 days

The defender most recently played his football in the Maltese Premier League for Birkirkara FC, following spells at clubs in Hungary and Kazakhstan which probably tells you that his place in this list is probably his career highlight.

Rewind back to the 2001/02 season, and Sparta Prague handed their young defender a chance to play against the likes of eventual winners Real Madrid and Panathanaikos as the Czech side impressively reached the second group stage.

It was against the latter that Klein would write his name into history, scoring in a 2-1 defeat in Greece at just 17 years and 240 days old, as per iSports API. His career would never quite reach those same heights as he enjoyed a nomadic existence, though he did earn a solitary cap for the Czech Republic back in 2009.



Cesc Fabregas – 17 years, 218 days

Plucked from Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, Cesc Fabregas was promised an easier route to first-team football at Arsenal and the midfielder did not have to wait long for his opportunity under Arsene Wenger.

Handed his debut as a 16-year-old, Fabregas was slowly integrated into the first-team at Highbury and set a whole host of records including becoming their youngest ever player. The Spaniard would make his mark in Europe also, becoming the club’s youngest ever Champions League goalscorer when he found the net in a 5-1 win over Rosenborg in 2004, as per iSports API database.

Despite winning a host of major honours including the Premier League with Chelsea, La Liga with Barcelona and the World Cup with Spain, Fabregas never quite reached the pinnacle in the Champions League, his nearest miss being part of the Arsenal side beaten in the 2006 final.

Bojan Krkic – 17 years, 217 days

Pipping Fabregas by just a single day is former Barcelona forward Bojan, once regarded as the heir to Lionel Messi at the Nou Camp. Whilst those lofty comparisons seem far-fetched in hindsight, the former Stoke forward began his career in impressive fashion.

Having broken Messi’s record as Barcelona’s youngest ever player, Bojan would score an impressive 12 goals in all competitions in his debut season, including his first Champions League goal, as per iSports API data.

That came in a quarter-final at Schalke, Bojan scoring the only goal of the game to give his side a precious first-leg lead. Barcelona’s run would ultimately end with semi-final defeat to eventual winners Manchester United, though Bojan’s place in history was secured.

His career would never quite hit the heights projected, though he would win the competition twice, the forward being an unused substitute during Barcelona’s final victories in 2009 and 2011.

Mateo Kovacic – 17 years, 215 days

Fractionally younger than Bojan is current Chelsea midfielder Kovacic, whose precocious talent was recognised by Dinamo Zagreb as they threw him into Champions League action as a teenager.

Having come through an acid test against Real Madrid on his first appearance in the competition, Kovacic would become the second youngest goalscorer in the tournament’s history when he gave Zagreb the lead against French side Lyon.

The game would ultimately end in disappointment and a humbling 7-1 defeat for the Croatian outfit, though it did little to harm the midfielder’s progress as he would go on to become the club’s youngest ever captain, as per iSports API data.

Moves to Inter Milan and Real Madrid followed, before joining Chelsea on a permanent basis this summer following a successful loan spell last season.

Peter Ofori-Quaye – 17 years, 194 days

No doubt a piece of pub quiz trivia known only by the most statistician-like of football fans, Ghanaian forward Ofori-Quaye is the youngest goalscorer in Champions League history after finding the net for Olympiakos in 1997.

That the goal came as a consolation in a 5-1 defeat is bound to matter little to the history-maker, who was regarded as a bright prospect upon his arrival at the Greek side that year. Whilst he would make little impact on Europe throughout the rest of his career, he did win six successive league titles with the club before leaving in 2003.

Spells at six clubs including the likes of OFI Crete and AEL Limassol would follow, whilst he also earned several caps for Ghana and featured at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations.

The youngest goalscorer in the history of the Champions League, remember the name, Peter Ofori-Quaye.

For more information, please visit reliable football data provider iSports API.

Ranking the six highest appearance makers in Champions League history

The Champions League is undoubtedly the pinnacle of club football, the tournament renowned for playing host to world’s football’s greatest talents.

Only a select few are given the chance to test themselves against Europe’s elite, whilst even fewer manage to lift arguably the most coveted trophy in the game. We’ve decided to look back at and rank some even rarer talents, those who have managed to enjoy careers of longevity at the very highest level.

Here is the Football Faithful’s rankings of the six highest appearance makers in Champions League history, as per iSports API football data.

Lionel Messi – 137 appearances
Comparing between different eras can be difficult, but there can be no arguing that Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is a candidate for the greatest footballer ever to play the game.

Messi, and great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, have enjoyed lengthy careers that seem to have made the extraordinary become increasingly routine. The Argentine continues to produce mind-boggling numbers of goals, assists and magical moments, with the Champions League amongst his favourite stages.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has won the tournament on four occasions, finishing as the competition’s top scorer six times and scoring a barely believable 112 times in just 137 appearances.

The 32-year-old has twice scored in final success, whilst his performance in Barcelona’s dismantling of Manchester United in the 2011 showpiece remains one of the great Champions League individual displays.

Ryan Giggs – 141 appearances

The most decorated player in the history of the English game, Manchester United legend Giggs was a crucial part of an era which saw Sir Alex Ferguson’s side enjoy almost two decades of domestic dominance.

Amongst their 13 Premier League titles came two Champions League trophies, Giggs playing key roles in the club’s successes in both 1999 and 2008.

The first of those trophies would come as part of an unprecedented treble, before Giggs would come off the bench to convert a penalty against Chelsea in the first ever all-English final in Moscow nine years later.

Few have enjoyed careers of such length or success, Giggs becoming one of just a select few British players to have won the trophy on more than one occasion.

Raul – 142 appearances

Only three players have ever made more appearances than Real Madrid legend Raul, and just two have scored more goals than the prolific Spaniard.

A three-times winner of the competition during a glittering career at the Bernabeu, Raul would help the Spanish giants to win the competition three times in just five years between 1998 and 2002, scoring in the latter two final victories over Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen respectively.

The homegrown hero of the Galactico era, Raul would average a goal every other game throughout his Champions League career, later joining German side Schalke before leaving European football in 2012 for Al Sadd.

Xavi – 151 appearances

The greatest Spanish player ever? That might be some accolade, but Xavi is most certainly a contender.

The heartbeat of Barcelona and Spain teams which would revolutionise modern football, Xavi was the creative fulcrum at the centre of the tiki-taka era which would bring a wealth of success to Spanish football.

Having helped end Barcelona’s 14-year wait for European success in 2006, the midfield dictator would add a further three Champions League titles over the next nine seasons to establish himself as one of the great playmakers.

The Barcelona side of 2011 is often lauded as possibly the greatest club football has ever seen, and their La Masia graduate was central to that success.



Cristiano Ronaldo – 164 appearances

Perhaps no player has ever thrived on European football’s biggest stage quite like Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese star’s desire to be regarded as the greatest ever is no secret, and he seems to acknowledge that delivering in the Champions League is the way to achieve his dream.

So far, he has delivered and then some.

His list of records include being the competition’s greatest ever goalscorer, whilst he also became the first player ever to win the tournament five times since its rebranding and only player to score in three separate Champions League finals.

Next on his list is to match Clarence Seedorf as the only player to win the tournament with three different clubs whilst at Juventus, whilst that would also take his tally to six – a feat only achieved by Francisco Gento in the history of the European Cup.

Iker Casillas – 177 appearances

The youngest goalkeeper ever to feature in the competition at the time of his debut in 1999, Casillas would go on to become the youngest man to ever play in, and win, a final later that season as the Spanish giants were crowned champions just four days after his 19th birthday.

He would win the tournament again two years later, defeating Bayer Leverkusen at Hampden Park, before lifting the trophy for a third time as Real secured La Decima in 2014.

With his glittering Bernabeu career coming to an end he would move to Champions League regulars Porto, where he continued to rack up appearances and extend his record in the twilight years of his illustrious career.

Having suffered a shock heart attack in July 2019, Casillas was handed a role on the coaching staff at Porto as he continued his recovery.

For more information, please visit iSports API.

Cross Kings – Most prolific crossers in the Premier League

Modern football continues to advance and we regularly see the birth of innovative tactics, though one attacking art form that continues to thrive is effective delivery from out wide.

The opening weeks of the new Premier League season has seen some of the division’s leading lights showcase their talents, from lofted arched crosses to driven balls across the famed ‘corridor of uncertainty’.

We’ve decided to delve into the stats as the new campaign begins to take shape, and look at some of the Premier League’s most prolific crossers.

Here are the league’s top five， according to iSports API football data.

Luka Milivojevic – Crystal Palace – 50 crosses

The Crystal Palace captain and set-piece specialist continues to deliver regularly for Roy Hodgson’s side, with the Serbian having fired in 50 crosses in seven Premier League appearances so far this season.

The midfielder has played a key role in Palace’s impressive start to the new campaign, the Eagles currently sitting sixth in the table following their win at West Ham prior to the international break.

Despite his prolific crossing, remarkably, Milivojevic is yet to register a single assist so far.

Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City – 54 crosses

Unsurprisingly featuring highly in this list is Manchester City’s brilliant Belgian, who continues to provide arguably the best delivery in the division.

De Bruyne has enjoyed a scintillating start to the new season, providing eight assists already and will have one eye on breaking Thierry Henry’s record of 20 in a single Premier League campaign.

Central to De Bruyne’s success has been his superb delivery from wide areas, usually from the inside right position, the 28-year-old having made 54 crosses for the season so far.

James Maddison – Leicester – 55 crosses

Slightly ahead of De Bruyne is Leicester star Maddison, who continues to demonstrate why he regarded as one of the most promising creative talents in the Premier League.

The 22-year-old has shone for Brendan Rodgers’ exciting young side, the Foxes currently sitting in the Champions League places following an impressive start to the season.

Maddison created more chances than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues last season, and could feature highly again in those rankings having fired in 55 crosses and registered two assists over the first eight rounds of fixtures.

Lucas Digne – Everton – 66 crosses

A fan’s favourite at Goodison Park after being crowned as Everton’s Player of the Season last term, the French full-back has continued to perform despite the club’s difficult start to the season.

The former Barcelona left-back provides pinpoint delivery from wide areas, whilst he also shares set-piece duties as chief supplier for Everton’s forward options.

Having provided six assists last season, the 26-year-old is on course to beat that tally already in the opening weeks of the new campaign, having registered two assists and provided 66 crosses for Marco Silva’s side.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool – 78 crosses

The Premier League’s cross king in the opening weeks of the new season is Liverpool’s flying full-back, who alongside Andy Robertson on the opposite flank has become key to Jurgen Klopp’s winning machine.

The England international broke the record for most assists in a single season by a defender last term, and should he not surpass that figure this season it will not be for a lack of trying.

The 21-year-old has whipped in 78 crosses for the league leaders so far, comfortably the most in the division, registering two assists already as he looks to once again provide the ammunition for Liverpool’s formidable forward line.

For more information, please click iSports API.