Manchester United v Spurs – Your Vital Match Statistics

By Sean Cotterell

– Goals from Rafael and Robin van Persie proved enough to help Man Utd topple fierce rivals Liverpool in an emotional encounter at Anfield. They will have felt lucky to escape with a win though in a game where their opponents dominated for large stretches of the match.

– Van Persie’s goal put him where many people will expect him to be at the end of the season – as the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index’s top goal scorer with five goals in five games.

– There is a somewhat surprising stat for the prolific Dutchman when it comes to shots on target though. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he has only been on target with 50% of his 12 shots on goal this season.

-Michael Carrick’s 6.53 miles is the best individual distance covered by a United player so far this season, and the 62.05 miles covered as a team is also a season high for United.

– Tottenham gave Andre Villas Boas his first home win of the season as they beat QPR 2-1 at White Hart Lane. Along with a QPR own-goal, red-hot Jermaine Defoe grabbed yet another goal as he was in the right place to tuck away the rebounded shot from the highly influential Gareth Bale.

-Defoe is the Premier League’s most prolific shooter with 28 shots at goal already this season, with 16 on target, – both stats are the highest in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

– Moussa Dembele has had a good start to his career at Spurs, and has won more tackles than any other striker in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index with 13 won.

– Gareth Bale continues to rediscover his form and confidence. His 11 shots on target makes him the highest ranked midfielder in that category on the EA Sports Player Performance Index.