Stat, Viz, Quiz is the Opta Analyst football newsletter. This week’s edition looks at Harry Kane, direct football, and red cards.
If you can’t watch as much Bundesliga football as you’d like, don’t worry, we can assure you that Harry Kane is still scoring goals.
After hitting two against Chelsea in the Champions League last week, the Bayern Munich striker scored three more against Hoffenheim at the weekend, so we thought we’d take the time to look at just how incredible Kane’s achievements in Germany have been in this week’s SVQ.
You may also have noticed that Premier League teams seem to be a bit more direct this season, but to what extent? We have a viz that makes for interesting viewing.
We decided to make the quiz really tough this week because we’re rather mean, but we have faith in you, while our Ask Opta question makes us look at cards in the EFL.
Now, to grab a pretzel and head over to Germany.
If you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe below for free to receive SVQ every Tuesday.
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After a summer of seemingly missing out on most of their main transfer targets, there was a little bit of negativity around Bayern Munich.
Then on the opening day of the season, they walloped RB Leipzig 6-0, Harry Kane scored three times, and everything seemed right with the world again.
After two more goals in the DFB-Pokal, Kane didn’t find the net for a change in the 3-2 win at Augsburg, but he did score twice against Hamburg before adding two more against Chelsea in the first game of the Champions League.
As if to show off, the former Tottenham striker hit a hat-trick against Hoffenheim in a 4-1 victory on Saturday. Well, we say ‘hat-trick’…
We should address the fact that what is considered a hat-trick in most countries does not pass the test in Germany. There, three goals must be scored in the same half, while they must also be uninterrupted by any other goals, otherwise known as a ‘Lupenreiner Hattrick’.
When considering the wider definition of merely a player scoring three goals in one game, though, Kane is putting up some frankly ludicrous numbers.
Saturday was his ninth treble in the Bundesliga in just his 67th game. Only six players have scored more in the competition’s history, and all of them have played at least 328 games. Kane does still have some way to go to match Gerd Muller’s 32.
It’s also more hat-tricks than Kane scored for Spurs in 317 Premier League games, where he managed a still mighty eight trebles.
Kane only joined Bayern in 2023, but he is already closing in on his 100th goal for the club. In fact, if he scores another three against Werder Bremen on Friday, he will reach three figures in fewer games than Cristiano Ronaldo did for Real Madrid and Erling Haaland did for Manchester City. They both got to a century in 105 games, while Friday will be Kane’s 104th game for Bayern, assuming he plays.
Even if he doesn’t manage it, Kane should still get there before other notable figures like Luis Suárez (100 goals in 120 games for Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (124 games) and Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus (131 games).
Locals are enjoying Kane in Munich, to the point that BILD reporter Alfred Draxler apologised for doubting him when he initially signed.
“I don’t think Harry Kane is vacationing in a hotel where you have to reserve your lounger in the morning,” Draxler said after the player’s latest goals. “If I ever meet him, I’d get up really early and put a towel on his lounger for him. I wouldn’t do that for any other English person!”
High praise indeed.
VIZ – The Direct Premier League?
It feels like every season throws up new trends.
We’re only five matchdays into 2025-26, yet we have already looked at some developing new ideas in the Premier League (or recycled old ideas), but one thing is becoming increasingly clear.
Premier League teams are playing in a more direct style than before. Well, most of them are…
Looking at the 17 ever-present teams in the Premier League since the start of last season, 11 are averaging fewer passes per sequence than they were in 2024-25.
Eleven are also attacking upfield at a greater speed, and seven are doing both. These teams are getting the ball forward quicker than last season and they are doing so with fewer passes.
As you can see, Manchester City are one of the more interesting movers, going from 5.12 passes per sequence last season to just 3.97 this, while also increasing their direct speed upfield from 1.43 metres per second to 1.61.
Not everyone is going more direct, though. Nottingham Forest, firstly under Nuno Espírito Santo and now with Ange Postecoglou, have increased their passes per sequence from the lowest in the league (2.88) to the second most (4.2). They have also gone from the fastest team in the league in terms of direct speed upfield (2.04m/s) to the joint-sixth slowest.
Brentford have become the most direct team in terms of passes per sequence (2.84), while Chelsea have been the most intricate (4.52).
Bournemouth, Everton and Wolves have significantly slowed down compared to last season, with mixed results to say the least. Wolves are the slowest, with direct speed upfield of just 1.46m/s, and are bottom of the table, while high-flying Crystal Palace are the fastest attackers (2.02m/s).
We’ll be taking an in-depth look into this topic later this week on our site, so keep an eye out on there or on our social channels.
We’ll be sure to upload it quickly and directly, or slow and intricately. Either way, it’ll be worth a read.
QUIZ – Age-Defying Idrissa, Bruno’s Boast, and Erling’s Involvements
Can you conquer this week’s Premier League quiz? Five out of five would be mightily impressive, but we’ll be generous and say getting four right still counts as conquering it. Answers at the bottom of the page.
1. Aged 35 years and 359 days, Idrissa Gueye’s goal on Saturday made him the second-oldest Merseyside derby goalscorer in the Premier League, after who found the net for Liverpool in April 2001?
2. West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has scored 58 Premier League goals, of which 39 have been at the London Stadium (67%). Among players with 50+ goals in the competition, only two players have a higher ratio at a single ground. Name either of them.
3. Bruno Fernandes became the fifth player to score on his 200th Premier League appearance for Manchester United. Name any of the other four.
4. Bournemouth’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle on Sunday had the fewest shots attempted in a Premier League game this season. How many?
5. Erling Haaland has either scored (5) or assisted (2) seven of Man City’s last nine Premier League goals against Arsenal. Who is the only player to have been directly involved in more league goals against the Gunners under Mikel Arteta?
Ask Opta
This week’s question comes from Kara N, who asks: “Have there been a lot of red cards in League One this season or is it just me?”
Do you have a stat-based question you’d like Opta to answer in a future edition of SVQ? Email us at [email protected] or message us on X @OptaAnalyst with #AskOpta and we’ll pick the best one.
Answer:
There have been 19 red cards in League One in 103 games, an average of 0.18 per game.
That is quite a lot, though is not yet on course to be the most on record in one of England’s top four leagues (since 2003-04). The most was back in 2005-06, also in League One, when there were 124 red cards in 557 games, an average of 0.22 per game.
Last season, there were 70 reds in League One matches (0.13 per game), so there has been a sharp rise early on, but there are of course still a lot of games still to be played that may well see things even out.
Quiz Answers
1. Aged 35 years and 359 days, Idrissa Gueye’s goal on Saturday made him the second-oldest Merseyside derby goalscorer in the Premier League, after who found the net for Liverpool in April 2001?
Gary McAllister (36y 112d)
2. West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has scored 58 Premier League goals, of which 39 have been at the London Stadium (67%). Among players with 50+ goals in the competition, only two players have a higher ratio at a single ground. Name either of them.
Gianfranco Zola (69% at Stamford Bridge, 41/59) and Cristiano Ronaldo (69% at Old Trafford, 71/103)
3. Bruno Fernandes became the fifth player to score on his 200th Premier League appearance for Manchester United. Name any of the other four.
Denis Irwin, Phil Neville, Wayne Rooney and Antonio Valencia
4. Bournemouth’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle on Sunday had the fewest shots attempted in a Premier League game this season. How many?
15
5. Erling Haaland has either scored (5) or assisted (2) seven of Man City’s last nine Premier League goals against Arsenal. Who is the only player to have been directly involved in more league goals against the Gunners under Mikel Arteta?
Son Heung-min (10)
Before You Go…
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Harry Kane Can’t Stop Scoring Hat-Tricks Opta Analyst.
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