There’s an old saying in football journalism that statistics are like bikinis; what they reveal is interesting, but what they conceal is essential. Yet now and then, a weekend comes along where the numbers don’t just support the narrative; they become the story itself. Gameweek 6 of the Premier League season was precisely that kind of weekend, where history was made, records tumbled, and the data painted pictures that even the most eloquent prose couldn’t quite capture.
The Stats You Might Have Missed
Let’s start with the truly bizarre historical anomalies and records that emerged from Saturday’s fixtures:
- Historic Triple Defeat: Saturday (27/09/2025) marked the first time since April 16th, 1994, that Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United all lost on the same day in the Premier League; over three decades separated these occurrences.
- Dramatic Finishes Galore: Eight goals were scored in the 90th minute or later across Saturday’s fixtures, the most ever in a single day in the competition’s entire history.
- Bruno’s Penalty Woes: Bruno Fernandes has now missed more penalties than any other player in the Premier League since making his debut in the competition.
- Kelleher’s Spot-Kick Mastery: Excluding shootouts, Caoimhín Kelleher has saved four of the seven penalties he’s faced during his career for Liverpool and Brentford, a remarkable 57% save rate.
- Palace’s Historic Run: Crystal Palace have equalled the club record for their longest ever unbeaten run (18 games), ending Liverpool’s 100% start to the season in the process.
- Haaland Breaks Norwegian Record: Erling Haaland is now the highest Norwegian scorer in Premier League history (93 goals), breaking Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s record. Haaland needed just 102 games; Solskjær took 235.
- Mukiele’s Defensive Dominance: Nordi Mukiele is the only defender to make more than 10 tackles in the Premier League this season without being dribbled past once.
Gameweek 6: The Standout Performers
Now let’s drill down into the weekend’s individual brilliance, where the numbers reveal just how dominant certain players were:
- Gabriel’s Aerial Threat: The Arsenal defender has scored more Premier League goals than any other defender since joining the club (18), with 13 of them headers- redefining what we expect from modern centre-backs.
- Creative Full-Backs: Declan Rice and Joško Gvardiol completed the most final third passes (30 each) in GW6, evidence of how modern football has blurred positional responsibilities.
- Doku’s Box Dominance: Jeremy Doku recorded 21 touches in the opposition box against Burnley, only the third time a Man City player has reached that mark under Pep Guardiola, and Doku owns all three instances (vs. Luton 2024, vs. Chelsea 2024, vs. Burnley 2025).
- Longstaff’s Creative Masterclass: Sean Longstaff created 7 chances against Bournemouth, the most by any player in a Premier League game this season.
- Bueno’s Tackling Machine: Santiago Bueno made 8 tackles vs. Tottenham, the most by any player in a Premier League game this season.
- Roefs Heroics: Robin Roefs was the only goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in GW6, preventing 1.69 goals based on the quality of shots he faced against Nottingham Forest.
- Doku’s Dribbling Excellence: The Belgian winger completed the most take-ons (8) in GW6 and led the league with 22 touches in the opposition box for the entire gameweek.
- Haaland’s Threat Level: Erling Haaland registered 12 touches in the opposition box (second only to Doku) and fired off 6 shots, the most by any player in a single game during GW6.
- Szoboszlai’s Work Rate: Dominik Szoboszlai won the most possessions (11) in GW6, the unglamorous work that rarely makes headlines.
- Gabriel’s Physical Dominance: The Arsenal defender won the most duels (12) in GW6, combining aerial prowess with ground-level tenacity.
- Doku’s Ground Game: Jeremy Doku also won the most ground duels (10) in GW6, showcasing his ability to battle as well as dazzle.
What It All Means
When Doku and Haaland combined for 34 touches in the opposition box between them, it wasn’t just impressive- it was historically dominant. The Belgian creates chaos; the Norwegian converts it into goals. This is modern football at its most ruthless.
Numbers don’t lie, but they rarely tell the whole truth either. What they do provide is context, evidence of excellence, and occasionally, glimpses of history being made in real-time. Gameweek 6 gave us all three in abundance, from Haaland’s record-breaking to Doku’s dominance, from Palace’s resilience to those eight dramatic late goals that had commentators losing their minds across the country.
Football will always be about more than statistics, but sometimes the numbers capture something essential about the game’s beauty- the relentless pursuit of excellence, the fine margins between success and failure, and the moments when individual brilliance transcends the collective.
Saturday reminded us why we keep score in the first place.
Stats courtesy: Squawka
