MANCHESTER UNITED left it late to beat Tottenham at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Substitute Anthony Martial scored in the 81st-minute to give Jose Mourinho’s men all three points in the nervy encounter.
The result appeared to stun Spurs – who had earlier seen a gilt-edged chance come and go, spurned by Dele Alli.
But in truth, it should have come as no surprise to anyone.
After all, TEN of Man United‘s 23 Premier League goals this season have come in the final ten minutes of games.
As well as Martial‘s strike against Tottenham, the Frenchman – along with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Romelu Lukaku – scored late against Everton in a 4-0 win.
Belgian forward Lukaku also scored in the final ten minutes of the game against Crystal Palace.
Martial scored two more late goals this season – against Swansea and West Ham… the same games in which Paul Pogba found the back of the net in the dying minutes.
Marouane Fellaini‘s goal against Leicester also fell in the final few minutes.
No other team has scored more than six late strikes this season, with 35-goal Manchester City holding that honour.
MORE FOOTBALL FEATURES
Even then, their percentage of late goals is a mere 17.1, compared to United’s 43.4 per cent.
Everton hold the second-highest ratio of strikes in the final ten minutes at 42.9 per cent… but that accounts for just three goals, having only scored seven times all season.
Watford, Chelsea, Burnley and Crystal Palace have all scored a quarter or more of their goals in the final ten minutes.
At the other end of the spectrum, Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Leicester, Liverpool and Swansea have all scored ZERO goals in the final ten minutes.
The Reds’ tally is arguably the most remarkable, having scored 17 times all season.
Leave a comment