Player Performance Index | EPL Week 15 Star Line Up
EA SPORTS Football World
2011-12-20
Match Day 15 of the Barclays Premier League saw Manchester United secure four places in the Team of the Week.
They shipped four goals against Wolves with two goals each from Nani and Rooney making them walk up starters.
Wojiech Szczesny had a solid game for Arsenal in goal as they saw off Everton 1 nil.
Grant Holt scored twice in Norwich's great win over high flying Newcastle meaning he leads the team up front.
And let's not forget Mathew Etherington who scored twice for Stoke who beat Spurs at home 2-1. See below for the full line up.
With thanks to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, here are the interesting facts from some selected games at the weekend.
Man United vs. Wolves
• Manchester United put the disappointment of their Champions League exit behind them with a convincing 4-1 victory over Wolves in a game which saw the Red Devils score more than one goal in a game for the first time in 10 games in all competitions.
• The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that Wolves covered 65.44 miles of ground as a team during the game with United covering 64.9 miles. Both teams covered more distance than any other Premier League team during game week 15
• Wolves recorded an average speed of 2.77mph as a team, the highest average speed of any Premier League team during game week 15 according to The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
Arsenal vs. Everton
• Robin Van Persie settled this affair with a sensational left foot volley to send Arsenal into the top 4 for the first time this season. The Flying Dutchman now has 33 goals in the Premier League during 2011, only 3 goals short of Alan Shearer’s record of 36 achieved in 1995.
• Van Persie doesn’t just score the goals he also puts in a shift for the team and covered 5.81 miles during the game against Everton, The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows only Aaron Ramsey (6.68miles) and Mikel Arteta (6.57 miles) covered more distance for Arsenal during game week 15.
Liverpool vs. QPR
• Liverpool ended a run of 4 Premier League home draw’s in succession with a slender 1-0 victory over a stubborn QPR side courtesy of a Luis Suarez strike. Liverpool covered 50.81 miles; this was the lowest total distance recorded by a Premier League team in The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index during game week 15 with QPR recording the second lowest total (52.19 miles).
• QPR’s Anton Ferdinand reached a top speed of 23.48 mph during the game, according to The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index this was the highest top speed reached by a Premier League player during game week 15.
Sunderland vs. Blackburn
• Martin O’Neill began his reign as Sunderland manager in dramatic fashion as they came from 1-0 down to earn a 2-1 victory against Blackburn Rovers with Sebastian Larsson grabbing a 92nd minute winner. Larsson has arguably been Sunderland’s star man so far this season and once again proved his importance to the side with The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index showing he covered 6.38 miles of ground and averaged a speed of 4.38 mph in the 90 minutes, this was higher than any other Sunderland player during game week 15.
Stoke City vs. Tottenham
• A Matthew Etherington double against his former club secured a 3rd Premier League row in succession for Stoke and condemned Spur’s to their first League defeat in 11 matches. Etherington managed to average a speed of 4.36 mph during the 88 minutes he was on the pitch, only team mate Glenn Whelan (4.6 mph) and opponent Rafael Van Der Vaart (4.38mph) achieved a higher average.
Chelsea vs. Man City
• Chelsea inflicted a first league defeat of the season on Manchester City, coming from behind to beat the league leaders 2-1 at Stamford Bridge courtesy of a 84th Minute Frank Lampard penalty. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that City covered 31.69 miles as a team in the 1st half of the game compared to just 28.42 miles in the 2nd half. This would suggest that having to play with 10 men for the last 30 minutes of the game after Gael Clichy picked up two yellow cards had an effect on the championship chasing City side.
Bonus Facts!
• After a weekend of heavy rain and strong winds in the UK The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index interestingly shows that during game week 15, only 9 of the 20 Premier League clubs covered more than 60 miles between them during their games. The previous game week saw 15 out of 20 clubs achieve a total distance between them of 60 miles or more. This suggests that the heavy, rain soaked pitches may have had its part to play in players not having the energy to run as far.
