What a weekend of football this was in Europe's top 5 leagues.
In Spain, Real Madrid showcased their title credentials with a 4-0 demolition of second-placed Girona while Barcelona and Atletico Madrid slipped further behind after drawing Granada and losing to Sevilla respectively. In the Premier League, six of the top seven teams won - with the exception being Aston Villa who lost at home to sixth-placed Manchester United. Arsenal's 6-0 evisceration of West Ham United was the standout result amongst the top three.
Over in Germany, Bayer Leverkusen showed just how seriously they have to be taken this season after totally outplaying reigning champs Bayern Munich 3-0 at home. Inter Milan's exciting 4-2 win over Roma, meanwhile, sees them cement their place atop Serie A.
ESPN's By The Numbers has the best stats from the weekend:
Premier League
1
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is the first player (since these stats have been recorded in 2003-04) to complete 100+ passes (107), create at least five chances (7), and assist multiple goals (2) in the same Prem match.
2
Arsenal are the second team this season to score 4 first-half goals in a Prem match (after Aston Villa vs Sheffield earlier this month).
3
Scott McTominay now has 3 Prem winners in the last half hour of games this season. That's the most in the Prem and tied most in Europe's top 5 leagues with a bunch of players: Jude Bellingham, Antoine Griezmann, Robert Lewandowski, Borja Mayoral, Serhou Guirassy, and Domenico Berardi.
4 and 16
Kevin De Bruyne leads the Prem in assists (4) since returning from injury on Jan. 13. Oh, and over the course of the season Erling Haaland still leads the Prem in goals (16), despite missing serious time for injury this season.
6+
This is an interesting one -- With Arsenal's 6-0 win at West Ham and Newcastle's 8-0 win at Sheffield United, 2023-24 is the first English top-flight season to see two separate 6+ goal victories by away sides since 1959-60 (Man Utd 6-0 Blackpool & West Brom 7-1 Birmingham City).
11
Arsenal have now scored 11 goals from corners in the Prem this season, that's the most across Europe's top 5 leagues.
21y 7d
Aged 21 years and 7 days, Rasmus Hojlund is the second youngest ever player to score in five successive Prem appearances, only behind Nicolas Anelka for Arsenal in November 1998 (19y 239d).
62.5%
In more Hojlund news: since scoring his first Prem goal on Boxing Day, his 62.5% shot conversion rate is the best shot conversion rate in the Prem (min: 2 goals scored).
LaLiga
8
Sevilla ended their 8-game home LaLiga winless streak with a 1-0 win against Atletico. That streak had been tied for the longest in club history (equalling a run they had had in 1965)
22y 53d
At 22 years and 53 days old, Facundo Pellistri (on loan at Granada from Manchester United) has became the youngest player to score and provide an assist in a LaLiga away game against Barcelona since a certain Samuel Eto'o in April 2000 (19 years and 30 days).
23
A strange one considering their defensive record last season -- Barcelona have conceded 23 goals in 11 games in 2024 across all competitions, more than any other team from the top five European leagues since the start of the calendar year (second worst is Frosinone, 22 in seven).
Serie A
52
AC Milan, third now in Serie A, have won 52 points after their first 24 games of the league this term, only doing better in 1995-96 (53) and 2003-04 (61) in the three points per win era.
200
Ciro Immobile has scored 200 Serie A goals, becoming the 8th player to reach this milestone. He's the 4th player to reach this figure in the last 45 years, after Roberto Baggio (205), Antonio Di Natale (209) and Francesco Totti (250).
Bundesliga
17
Bayer Leverkusen's Álex Grimaldo now has 17 goal contributions this season, tied for the most by any defender in Europe's top 5 leagues over the last 15 seasons!
31
Bayer Leverkusen are now unbeaten in 31 consecutive Bundesliga matches (27-4-0), 1 away from Bundesliga record held by Bayern from 2019-20 under Hansi Flick.
Also 31
Bayer Leverkusen are the first team from Europe's top 5 leagues to start a season with 31-game unbeaten streak in all competitions since 2011-12 Juventus didn't lose in their first 42 (!) games of the season... before suffering a loss to Napoli in the Coppa Italia final, their final match of the season.
55
Bayer Leverkusen accumulating 55 points through 21 games is the third best start by any team in Bundesliga history behind Pep Guardiola's 2013-14 (59 Pts) and 2015-16 (56 Pts) Bayern teams.
BONUS STATS: AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS AND ASIAN CUP
Ivory Coast beat Nigeria 2-1 to be crowned champion of Asia while Qatar beat Jordan 3-1 to conquer Asia... curiously, both major tournaments were won by the hosts.
AFCON
1
Sebastien Haller is the first player in Ivory Coast history to score the winning goal in an African Cup of Nations final. (Their previous two Cup wins had been on pens.)
3
Ivory Coast are the 5th team to win at least 3 Africa Cup of Nations titles.
Asian Cup
1
Qatar are the first Asian Cup host to win the tournament since Japan did so in 1992. They are also the first team to repeat as champion since Japan in 2000 and 2004.
3
Akram Afif had a hat trick of penalties in the final... he is, in fact, the first player to score a hattrick in an Asian Cup final.
(Stats courtesy: ESPN Stats and Information Group)