Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to reach 900 career goals when he scored for Portugal in a win over Croatia, while Erling Haaland continues his ridiculous goalscoring start to the new Premier League season.
LIKE HIM OR NOT, RONALDO IS A MACHINE
If the main topic this week wasn’t Cristiano Ronaldo then we’d be doing him a disservice. And we wouldn’t want that, would we? As he famously said, “I don’t chase records, they chase me.”
His goal for Portugal against Croatia was his 900th (accepted most of any player) and his 131st (an international record) for Portugal. He has scored 450 for Real Madrid and 145 for Man United (amongst others). When he scored (a penalty) against Ghana in the last World Cup he became the first player to score in five separate World Cups. And he’s still only 39.
“If I don’t have any injuries, my challenge is to be at 1,000 goals,” he said. Note to self: If he stays in Saudi Arabia that can happen. Whether you are in his camp or not, you have to accept that he’s a helluva player and we’re fortunate to be able to be in his generation.
HAALAND PLAYING IN A DIFFERENT LEAGUE
In time to come CR7 might have competition. Erling Haaland already has seven goals this EPL season from three matches. He’s had two hat-tricks, taking him to eight, which is tied fourth on the all-time list. He has Robbie Fowler (9) in his sights.
Haaland’s average number of games per hat-trick is 8.6. Those above him on the table are Sergio Aguero (average 22.9 games for his 12), (40.1 games for his 11) and Fowler (42.1 games for his 9). Also on eight with Haaland are Thierry Henry, Harry Kane and Michael Owen. The best average of those is Henry, one every 32.3 matches.
BE CAREFUL, THIS ROUND IS NOT EASY …
Running through the EPL fixtures and making Superbru selections it all looks straightforward. Except for the fact there’s been an International break, there’s a banana skin Saturday lunchtime kickoff and Liverpool are going for four straight wins and four clean sheets.
History suggests even the best teams don’t do that. But, they’re at home to Nottingham Forest. Best bet – both teams to score? Every season trends repeat. Like an average four out of 10 away wins each round. No side to keep more than four clean sheets in a row. Good luck with your selections. It looks easy, but I fear that if you can get six out of 10 results you’ll see huge green arrows next to your name.
WHAT’S IN A NAME (WITH VOWELS)
I used to be good at these teasers. Like, what are the two words in the English alphabet with all vowels in order? OK, so that’s easy – abstemious and facetious. How about the footballer who this week became the first England player to represent his country with all five vowels in his name (not in order).
To give you a clue, the previous one was Paul Gascoigne. Step forward Noni Madueke, the Chelsea striker who also has three goals for his club this season.
BREAKS MEAN KEEPING AN EYE ON THE MINNOWS
With one International break behind us, it’s not long before the next one, And the one after that, which always proves to be a distraction for football clubs. When it comes to the EPL, it’s often the case for those clubs who have many players lost to countries who are able to stick together and when the action returns they are known to spring an upset or two.
As unlikely as it seems, it presents a chance for Ipswich to get out of the bottom four. Their next four games are against Brighton, Southampton, Aston Villa and West Ham.
PEP’S RULE NO1: KEEP THE BALL
Stats keep us entertained when there’s not actually football to talk about. And I stumbled across this one over the past week., There is only one side to have a 100 percent success rate when it comes to throw-ins in the EPL after three matches this season. That is, the throw-in finding a teammate. Yes, it’s Man City (49), but the surprise is that there’s only one.
