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          Leverkusen's 39, Ronaldo's 64th and Salah's 155: Stats

          • Sunaadh Sagar
          Apr 1, 2024, 05:40 AM

          Club football resumed after the international break with some blockbuster fixtures that delivered on their promise. It wasn't the case at the Etihad as Manchester City and Arsenal played out a goalless draw, handing Liverpool the advantage in the Premier League title race after their comeback win over Brighton.

          Manchester United and Chelsea stumbled with draws, while Aston Villa and Spurs claimed wins to remain in the Top 4 race. Over in Spain, Real Madrid thrived off some Rodrygo magic to beat Athletic and keep their lead atop LaLiga, after Barcelona and Girona picked up narrow wins. Serie A action resumed with AC Milan defeating Fiorentina on an emotional night at the San Siro to claw back the gap to Inter at the top, while Juventus lost ground after a last-gasp loss to Lazio.

          Der Klassiker all but ended Bayern's title hopes after a 0-2 loss to Dortmund while Leverkusen stole a dramatic win against Hoffenheim to extend their Bundesliga lead to 13 points. Over in France, 10-man PSG beat Marseille in Le Classique to keep their lead atop Ligue 1 to 12 points, after Brest and Monaco picked up wins.

          ESPN's ByThe Numbers has the best stats from the weekend:

          Premier League

          57

          Manchester City's incredible 57-match run of scoring at home (all comps) came to an end against Arsenal after their 0-0 draw.

          0

          Arsenal became only the fourth team to keep a clean sheet against a side managed by Pep Guardiola in two league matches in the same season, after Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014-15, Manchester United in 2020-21, and Crystal Palace in 2021-22.

          7

          Liverpool have come from behind to win seven games in the Premier League this season - their best total ever in the competition.

          155 and 34

          Mohamed Salah scored his 155th Premier League goal, just seven goals shy of Jermain Defoe in ninth place in the all-time PL top scorers list. Salah also has 34 goal contributions (all comps) this season, bettered only by Erling Haaland (35) amongst PL players.

          12, 6 and 20

          Cole Palmer continues to rewrite Chelsea records - becoming the youngest player to reach 20 goal contributions (12G, 8A) for the club in a PL season. His 12 goals are also the most by a Chelsea player under the age of 22, while his six converted penalties are the most in PL history by a U-22 player.

          85

          Brentford had 85 touches in the Manchester United box during their 1-1 draw - the most by a team in any Premier League match across the last three seasons.

          LaLiga

          24

          Real Madrid extended their unbeaten streak to 24 games in LaLiga, their best run in a single league season in 27 years. (Madrid went unbeaten in 25 games across two seasons from Feb-Sept 2021).

          18

          Athletic Club have not won their last 18 games against Real Madrid in the league, their worst run against any opponent in club history.

          20 and 10

          Jude Bellingham is the first LaLiga player to reach double figures in both goals (20) and assists (10) this season (all comps). He joins Harry Kane (37 G, 10 A) and Mohamed Salah (22 G, 12 A) as the only players from Europe's top 5 leagues to reach those figures this season.

          8

          Real Madrid's tally of eight goals from outside the box this season is the joint-highest in LaLiga, alongside Las Palmas.

          11

          Barcelona have gone 11 games unbeaten (8W, 3D) in all competitions since Xavi announced he would no longer manage the club after the 2023-24 season.

          20

          Las Palmas have not defeated Barcelona in the league in their last 20 attempts (0W, 2D, 18L). Their last win came on September 19, 1971.

          99 and 28

          Cristhian Stuani scored his 99th LaLiga goal in stoppage time to win the game for Girona against Real Betis. It was the 28th game-winning goal in injury time in LaLiga this year, already four more than the previous best-ever season (2021-22). Stuani is also a goal away from becoming the 10th South American to score 100 LaLiga goals (Messi, Di Stefano, Suarez, Forlan, Kempes, Ronaldo, Waldo, Higuain, Rivaldo).

          38 and 1

          Sergio Ramos scored on his birthday for the first time in his career. He turned 38 years old and thus became the first player in Sevilla's history to score aged 38.

          Serie A

          6

          Ruben Loftus-Cheek (six goals) became the third English player in AC Milan's history to score more than five goals in a Serie A season. [Mark Hateley (seven in 1984/85 and eight in 1985/86) and Jimmy Greaves (nine in 1961/62)].

          Bundesliga

          39 and 1

          Bayer Leverkusen extended their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 39 games after scoring two late goals to defeat Hoffenheim. They are also bidding to be the first Bundesliga team to finish a season unbeaten - with seven games to go. Xabi Alonso's side would become the eighth team to do so in the history of Europe's Top 5 leagues (Preston North End, Athletic Club, Real Madrid, Perugia, AC Milan, Arsenal, Juventus).

          9 and 11

          Borussia Dortmund ended a 9-match losing streak and an 11-game winless run against Bayern Munich with a 2-0 win in Der Klassiker. It was also the club's first win by multiple goals away to Bayern since April 2014.

          11

          Julian Brandt brought up his 11th Bundesliga assist of the season - the best of his career and level with Leroy Sane and Alex Grimaldo for most assists this season in the league.

          Ligue 1

          10

          Gigi Donnarumma made 10 saves for 10-man PSG against Marseille - the highest of any goalkeeper in Le Classique in the last 17 years.

          12

          PSG received their 12th red card in Le Classique over the last three decades - their most against any opposition in that period.

          Messi - Ronaldo watch

          With Lionel Messi still on the sidelines, the fireworks were left to Cristiano Ronaldo - and he delivered, scoring a hat-trick in Al Nassr's 5-1 win over Al Tai.

          64 and 54

          Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 64th hat-trick of his career and 54th in club competitions.

          39

          Ronaldo's goal tally of 39 this season is the best since he scored 44 in his last season for Real Madrid (2017-18).