The inevitability of Haaland, Everton’s new weakness, Fulham’s Arsenal connections – Data column

Three down, 35 to go.

An international break is upon us just as the Premier League was clicking into gear. On Saturday, Arsenal dropped points at home for the first time since mid-April, Manchester City continued a 12-game winning streak and we were treated to the latest comeback from two goals down in Premier League history at Goodison Park.

Sunday did not disappoint, either. Newcastle United edged a fiercely contested clash with Tottenham Hotspur before Liverpool made light work of Manchester United in a comprehensive 3-0 victory, with Arne Slot becoming the first Liverpool manager to win his first game at Old Trafford since George Kay in 1936.

A trio of Premier League weekends is barely enough time for any statistical trends to emerge but there have been plenty of tactical tales to get our teeth into in the opening stages. Allow The Athletic to walk you through some of the quirks we have spotted from the weekend’s fixtures…

Haaland is inevitable

It feels too obvious to start with Erling Haaland scoring goals, but there is an obligation when the Norwegian scores successive hat-tricks.

That takes him to seven goals (including one penalty) in the first three Premier League games of 2024-25, more than any player has managed in a team’s opening three games of a season.

To wrap some context around that, those seven strikes are already more than Michail Antonio, Evan Ferguson, Gabriel Jesus, Danny Welbeck, and Taiwo Awoniyi managed in 2023-24 — and more than 17 Premier League teams this season.

Saturday’s hat-trick at West Ham was his first away from the Etihad, taking him to eight hat-tricks in his Premier League career — the joint-fourth highest in the division’s all-time records alongside Thierry Henry, Harry Kane and Michael Owen — and his 11th in a Manchester City shirt. He signed in the summer of 2022, this is not normal.

Breaking down those hat-tricks per game shows how lucrative his opportunities have been. Of the 24 goals in this sample, only two have been outside the box — both coming this season.

We know it by now, but Haaland does not need to be involved in City’s build-up play to impact the game. Among all players with 900-plus minutes played since he joined the league in 2022-23, Haaland has just 6.2 touches per shot — the fewest of any other player, edging ahead of Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz (7.1) and Liverpool’s Darwnin Nunez (8.1).

He looks well-rested and more clinical than ever. A deadly combination for opposition defences.

(Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

A defensive weakness is emerging for Everton

Everton’s capitulation was a story in itself on Saturday afternoon, but more worrying was the theme that ran through the goals they conceded — not just against Bournemouth, but across all three of their games.

Of the 10 goals they have conceded, five have been from failing to deal with crosses. 

Their three goals conceded against Bournemouth saw two situations of poor defending at the back post, with Vitalii Mykolenko out of position or unable to defend the cross.

A similar pattern can be seen on the opposite flank in the opening-day loss to Brighton. This time, Ashley Young is too far advanced as Kaoru Mitoma gets free at the back post for a simple tap-in from Yankuba Minteh’s cross.

Set-piece crosses were the weakness against Tottenham, with James Tarkowski uncharacteristically dominated in the air by Christian Romero, who rose to head home a corner.

A glance under the bonnet does not provide much positivity for Everton fans. Sean Dyche’s side have conceded the most successful crosses (21) of any team in the opening three weeks of the season.

For a side whose defensive numbers stood up among the best in the league last season — with 1.3 goals conceded per 90 being the fourth-strongest rate — there are clear problems to address.

The good news is the issues are obvious. Deal with crosses at source and ensure that nothing gets past you at the back post.

Can Newcastle keep injuries at bay?

Newcastle overcame Tottenham in a scrappy contest at St James’ Park on Sunday — so scrappy that each of the seven midfielders from both sides picked up a yellow card for their troubles. 

That is not a statistic to be proud of, but it showed that Eddie Howe’s team have regained their bite after last season’s campaign was ravaged by injury.

Not including Sandro Tonali’s suspension for betting offences, Newcastle players lost a combined total of 2,154 days to injuries last season — a huge uptick from previous campaigns and comfortably the most under Howe.

Howe’s squads have been littered with injury problems across his managerial career and there are still some important players on Newcastle’s treatment table but this season, his side look recharged.

A campaign without European football might see a cleaner bill of health, with Sunday’s victory over Spurs keeping Newcastle undefeated at the start of the season.

Will Southampton learn their lesson quickly?

When playing against Southampton, the pre-match tactics talk writes itself — pressure them high as they build out from the back.

A high press is a staple of the modern game, but Russell Martin’s side are providing some gift-wrapped opportunities with their deep build-up that is not quite sharpened to the elite level of the Premier League.

We knew this would be a key part of Martin’s play, who is uncompromising in his approach — aside from some subtle tweaks during Southampton’s play-off success. Only Tottenham have averaged a higher rate of possession than Southampton’s 68 per cent in the opening weeks.

They have already lost the ball in their defensive third on 18 occasions this season, which is the second-highest in the league. Crucially, six of them have led to an opposition shot or goal — as it did for Bryan Mbeumo’s second on Saturday.

Debutant goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was indecisive in possession, going long with 17 passes in the game — more than Southampton’s previous two matches combined.

Parallels with last season’s Burnley spring to mind, with Southampton seemingly unable to exert their Championship superiority at the highest level.

Should Martin double down or inject a dose of pragmatism into his side after the international break?

Fulham’s left side is cooking

Their 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town may not have stood out among the weekend’s fixtures, but a flowing move for Fulham’s goal uncovered a spark that looks to be igniting in Marco Silva’s side.

The combination of Antonee Robinson, Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe is prospering in the early weeks of the season and the trio linked up for Fulham’s equaliser against Ipswich. A flowing move saw Robinson’s cross finished by Adama Traore.

Iwobi and Smith Rowe, former team-mates at Arsenal, scored a goal each in the previous gameweek as Fulham overcame Leicester.

With Adama Traore, Kenny Tete and Andreas Pereira finding their own triangles on the right side, there looks to be a nice balance in Fulham’s attack on both flanks.

The arrival of Sander Berge will strengthen Fulham’s midfield further, but playing Smith Rowe and Pereira as attacking central midfielders is an exciting prospect for Silva.

The Arsenal connections also continue to grow as Reiss Nelson completed a loan move before the window shut last week. If Smith Rowe can continue to get consistent minutes and strengthen those connections with Iwobi and Robinson, Fulham might surprise a few people this season.

(Top photos: Getty Images)