Domestic football is well and truly back, and after a scintillating opening weekend concluded at Old Trafford on Monday night, we are taking closer look at the 2023/24’s Premier League matchday one stats to see how they compare with previous years.
- Taking into account each Premier League opening round from the past five seasons, we have collected data on a variety of different metrics.
- 2023/24’s opening round saw a notable jump in the total amount of cards, with referees cutting down on time-wasting and unsportsmanlike behaviour.
- There were also increases in fouls and shots on target compared with previous years.
A grand total of 15 clubs have managed to dust off the disappointment of an opening weekend defeat, and become eventual champions.
Manchester City did it two seasons ago, although they raced to three points in their opener against Burnley without much exertion this time around.
There are an abundance of takeaways from 2023/24’s opening round, with expected high-flyers Aston Villa unexpectedly put to the sword, while Manchester United’s rather fortunate, uninspiring 1-0 win leaves a lot to be desired.
Join us as we delve deeper into this season’s gameweek one to uncover some of the key stats, and how it compares to previous years.
2023/24 Premier League Matchday One Stats
Goals
In terms of total goals scored, there isn’t too much to shout about, but it was the second-highest scoring opening weekend over the past five seasons.
Only 2021/22 had more goals with 34 – across the 10 fixtures that year, six had three goals or more.
This season’s matchday one did see the highest proportion of matches where both teams found the next however, with six of the 10 fixtures.
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Cards
The implementation of new, harsher rules for dissent, time-wasting and general unsportsmanlike behaviour is likely to see a significant upsurge in cards this season.
We have already seen players – and managers for that matter – getting to grips with the zero tolerance guidelines.
In total, across 2023/24’s opening round, there were 43 cards dished out with Newcastle’s 5-1 drubbing of Aston Villa witnessing the most bookings with four for each team.
This places it firmly in top spot when taking into account the past five seasons, and 13 cards ahead of the 30 bookings seen in 2022/23 and 2019/20.
Shots On Target
As was to be expected, there appears to be a stronger attacking impetus across the division this season.
Across the 10 matches on the opening weekend, there were an average of 10.6 shots on target in total; this is the highest average across the last five seasons.
The opening round witnessed some hugely transitional games, perhaps mot notably Chelsea and Liverpool’s 1-1 draw, which presented an abundance of opportunities for each team.
Although there are endless suggestions as to the jump in shots on target, one factor – the increased injury and stoppage times – may give way to more direct attacking opportunities in the dying moments of each half.
Ball in Play Time
Speaking of the new approach to stoppage time, one blemish on the Premier League that the officiating body (PGMOL) were hoping to eradicate this season, is how long the ball is actually in play for.
Last season, the average time stood at around 55 minutes per match, which is a whole 35 minutes under the regulation 90 minutes.
Taking into account matchday one’s fixtures for new campaign, Bein Sports reported the ball was in play for an average of 57 minutes, which is slightly above the season average from 2022/23.
As well as this, the average overall match running times stood at 101.42 minutes, almost 12 minutes over regulation which reflects the new approach to injury time.
NOTE: These stats don’t include Manchester United’s win over Wolves on Monday night.
Fouls
Despite PGMOL increasing the threshold for fouls to cut down on time-wasting, there has been a notable increase in fouls compared to previous years.
2023/24’s opening round saw an average of 23.3, which is a jump from any of the previous four years that we have measured.
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