SIXTY SECONDS

IT’S THE MOST BORE DRAWS FOR 16 YEARS

THE last Premier League weekend in 2017 saw four 0-0 draws for the first time since November 2001 when Liverpool led the top flight and Man City were seventh in the second tier... but it could have been worse. Late goals at the Hawthorns prevented it from being the first round of Premier League games to see five 0-0 draws since Boxing Day 1994.

ROY STICKS TO HIS GUNS TO STOP CITY

ROY HODGSON vowed to take the game to Man City rather than park the bus. His Crystal Palace side duly obliged, taking the most shots of any team against City in the league this season, and earned a 0-0 draw:

16

WATFORD have now dropped 16 points from winning positions — more than any team in the Premier League this season. With those points, Marco Silva’s side would be level with fourth-placed Liverpool.

PETR PAYS PENALTY

PETR CECH was less than two minutes from becoming the first goalkeeper to keep 200 Premier League clean sheets before Jay Rodriguez scored West Brom’s penalty. It means that Cech has now failed to save any of the 13 penalties he has faced in all competitions for Arsenal. Only Brad Friedel at Aston Villa and Craig Gordon at Sunderland have a worse record, each failing to save all 15 of their spot-kicks.

LONG WAIT GOES ON

ONLY the legs of David de Gea at Old Trafford denied Southampton’s Ireland striker Shane Long his first goal since February. Since Long last scored, Harry Kane has found the net 50 times!