A quick look at some of the leader boards at the end of the 2013-14 Premier League season:
Goals scored, team
- 102 - Manchester City
- 101 - Liverpool
- 71 - Chelsea
Two of the top scoring teams in Premier League history not only challenged the record of Carlo Ancellotti’s 2009-10 Chelsea team (103), they lapped the rest of the league. You’d have to take away all of Luis Suarez’s goals to reduce Liverpool to Chelsea’s level.
Goals scored, individual
- 31 - Luis Suarez
- 21 - Daniel Sturridge
- 20 - Yaya Toure
Together, Suarez and Sturridge outscored 11 Premier League teams, but Yaya Toure’s contribution may have been as impressive. The Ivorian midfielder tallied more goals than Chelsea’s Samuel Eto’o, Fernando Torres, and Demba Ba combined (19).
Goals from English players
- 48 - Liverpool
- 38 - Southampton
- 34 - Manchester United
Not that it matters.
Assists, individual
- 13 - Steven Gerrard
- 12 - Luis Suarez
- 9 - two players
Two assists on the final day helped Gerrard claim this honor from Suarez, but the Uruguayan’s standing is a reminder of his year’s dominance.
Shots on target, individual
- 81 - Luis Suarez
- 45 - Romelu Lukaku
- 43 - Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney
You knew Suarez would be on top, and as you’d suspect with a large gap on top of the goal scoring charts, the margin here is large, too. Daniel Sturridge had 42.
Passes completed, team
- 18,532 - Arsenal
- 17,993 - Swansea City
- 17.863 - Manchester City
Or about 488 per game, for Arsenal.
Passes completed, player
- 2,255 - Yaya Toure
- 1982 - Mikel Arteta
- 1,908 - Steve Gerrard
Like Suarez with shots, what’s remarkable here is the gap. Toure averaged 69 completed passes per 90 minute(though Arteta averaged 74).
Headed goals, team
- 14 - Liverpool
- 12 - Arsenal
- 10 - five teams
One out of every 5.7 Arsenal goals came off somebody’s head, with Olivier Giroud’s four second only to Wilfried Bony (five) for the league’s lead.
Hit the woodwork, individual
- 9 - Luis Suarez
- 5 - three players
Hitting the woodwork isn’t bad luck, as is often implied, but it’s worth noting how close Luis Suarez was to an even more staggering goal total.
Penalty goals, individual
- 10 - Steven Gerrard
- 6 - Yaya Toure
- 4 - three players
“Stevie G” scored 13 total goals this season, but imagine if Suarez took the spot kicks instead. He would have approached 40 goals while Gerrard’s place in our teams of the season may have gotten a second thought.
Tackles, indiviual
- 133 - Mile Jedinak
- 121 - Steve Sidwell
- 120 - Pabl0 Zabaleta
You expect central midfielders to be on this list, but Pablo Zabaleta is a right back. Farther down the list, Erik Pieters, Joel Ward, and Geoff Cameron also claim spots in the top 10.
Saves, individual
- 149 - David Marshall
- 130 - Vito Mannone
- 124 - John Ruddy
Vito Mannone is sandwiched between two relegated keepers despite playing only 29 games.
Fouls won, team
- 454 - Sunderland
- 450 - Chelsea
- 448 - Manchester United
The Black Cats were fouled 44 more times than Liverpool, though Fabio Borini, the teams leader in fouls won, was only 10th in the league. Why were opponents so willing to draw whistles against Sunderland?
Fouls won, individual
- 89 - Eden Hazard
- 79 - Robert Snodgrass
- 76 - Adam Lallana
Surprisingly, Luis Suarez is only fourth, 22 fouls behind Hazard. Then again: forward versus attacking midfield.
Fouls conceded, team
- 491 - Aston Villa
- 486 - Stoke City
- 448 - Sunderland
For Stoke, this may be the legacy of Tony Pulis, with Mark Hughes having inherited the former manager’s combative squad. For Aston Villa, Paul Lambert’s team spent most of its season without the ball (18th in possession, 43.8 pct.).
Fouls conceded, individual
- 66 -Cheick Tiote
- 62 - Steve Sidwell
- 60 - Mile Jedinak
Whereas Jedinak and Sidwell were also among the league’s most prolific tacklers, Tiote finished 10th on that list (107).
Times subbed off, individual
- 19 - Leon Osman
- 19 - Adam Lallana
- 19 - Marouane Chamakh
It’s surprising to see Lallana’s name here, but it also makes sense that three teams with consistent (game-to-game) plans had regular substitution patterns.
Offsides, individual
- 33 - Luis Suarez
- 32 - Loic Remy
- 30 - Christian Benteke
And Benteke only played 26 games. For Suarez, this is likely a function of his team’s prolific attack.
Yellow cards, team
- 78 - Aston Villa
- 72 - Stoke City
- 72 - Manchester City
Manuel Pellegrini’s team wasn’t even in the top 10 in fouls. When the Citizens went in, they made it count.
Yellow cards, individual
- 11 - Pablo Zabaleta
- 10 - three players
Lee Cattermole is jealous. The Sunderland’s human IED didn’t even make the top 10.
Red cards, team
- 7 - Sunderland
- 6 - Newcastle United
- 5 - two teams
Black Cats defender Wes Brown led the league with three dismissals. Only five other players drew multiple red cards.
Clean sheets, individual
- 16 - Wojciech Szczesney
- 16 - Petr Cech
- 15 - Tim Howard
Chelsea also led the league as a team with 18 shutouts.
Players used
- 39 - Fulham
- 32 - Cardiff City
- 31 - Sunderland
- 31 - Crystal Palace
All four changed managers (at least once) mid-season.
All stats courtesy of Opta.
