A Cruz for Santa in December and Maynor's cracker! The Premier League's quirky Christmas facts
Santa Claus has come! Santa Claus has passed! Santa Claus has come!
Yes, it is the most wonderful time of the year and we are all very happy that the great man has completed his annual pilgrimage around the world.
But we're even more excited by the familiarity of a hectic Premier League schedule over the next few days having waited very patiently after a domestic World Cup break in Qatar!
We appreciate that you might be about to have dinner or a nap after already overindulging, but why not digest some tasty Christmas Premier League facts before you start with that next beer?
Wondering where you could enjoy such a gem? Well, given that you're all on the nice list we've got you covered below, with the help of the happy little elves at Opta.
A CRUZ FOR SANTA CHRISTMAS IN DECEMBER
We ho ho hope you don't mind a little Christmas gag to headline this section to crack us up…
It seemed fitting to start with a small coincidence that a man with a festive theme in his name was responsible for the best minutes-to-goal ratio during the month of December (a minimum of 500 minutes).< /p>
That man is former Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz, who scored nine times in 846 minutes for a ratio of 94 minutes per goal.
Just like Rudolph and the rest of the gang at the end of a busy shift on Christmas Eve, Santa Cruz can still be overpowered.
Former Liverpool striker Divock Origi scored eight goals in December in 760 minutes for a goal every 95 minutes (just better than Mick Quinn's eight in 779 for a ratio of one every 97.4 minutes). His Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah scored an impressive 23 goals in December, with a minutes-to-goals ratio of 106, the same rate Demba Ba achieved.
MAYNOR THE KING OF CHRISTMAS CRACKERS?
Paper hats, Christmas jokes and cheaply assembled plastic toys...you all love to make a Christmas cracker!
And there were plenty of Premier League cracks in December - not least Maynor Figueroa's 60.5-yard effort for Wigan Athletic against Stoke City in 2009, which remains the longest long-range goal end of the competition. during the last month of the calendar year.
The full-back's quick thinking with a free kick from his own half caught Thomas Sorensen off guard and tucked deep inside the goal.
Former Portsmouth player Matt Taylor had a penchant for long-range goals and his famous audacious volley against Everton in 2006 measured 40.4 yards.
Juan Mata (39.9m for Man Utd v Stoke), Sebastian Larsson (39.4m for Birmingham City v Wigan) and Kevin De Bruyne (38.3m for Manchester City v Crystal Palace) all rank in the top five data that was first collected from the 2006-07 season.
LLORIS AND THE GUARDIANS GIVE THE GOODS
Christmas is a time for spending time with loved ones and eating large amounts of foods that aren't particularly good for us.
It's also, of course, if we're being honest, a time to swap tattoos by the Christmas tree and say a silent prayer that the generous buyer kept the receipts.
Obviously in football you're not supposed to be generous with your gifts, but Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been particularly open with gifts for opposing teams at this time of year .
The France World Cup winner (who missed a second medal at Qatar 2022 where Les Bleus were beaten by Argentina on penalties) made seven errors leading to a goal in December, a Premier League high and one more than Red Devils number one David de Gea and former Chelsea and Arsenal stopper Petr Cech.
Rob Green (5) and Simon Mignolet (4) also gave gifts.
SANTA CLAUS IS NOT THE ONLY VISITOR TO LAPLAND
Santa Claus does his annual party all over the world to deliver presents to all the nice boys and girls, but in 2001 there was another announcing from Lapland to visit England.
Finnish international Hannu Tihinen arrived on loan at West Ham from Norwegian side Viking and made his Premier League debut on Boxing Day!
In total, he made just eight Premier League appearances, winning just one win in the English top flight.
Perhaps the difference in quality was just - er - poles apart for Tihinen, who was nevertheless part of the team that memorably beat Manchester United 1-0 in the FA Cup in early 2002.
RED DEVILS AT THE TOP OF THE TREE
The old cliché is that it means nothing to be on top of the Christmas tree... but for the jokes of this article, being on top of the tree on December 25 is very important!
Manchester United have sat in such a position seven times, more than any other team, but Liverpool - six times - are the only team to hold the top spot for three consecutive seasons, having done so in 2018. 2019 and 2020.
A total of 11 sides...
Santa Claus has come! Santa Claus has passed! Santa Claus has come!
Yes, it is the most wonderful time of the year and we are all very happy that the great man has completed his annual pilgrimage around the world.
But we're even more excited by the familiarity of a hectic Premier League schedule over the next few days having waited very patiently after a domestic World Cup break in Qatar!
We appreciate that you might be about to have dinner or a nap after already overindulging, but why not digest some tasty Christmas Premier League facts before you start with that next beer?
Wondering where you could enjoy such a gem? Well, given that you're all on the nice list we've got you covered below, with the help of the happy little elves at Opta.
A CRUZ FOR SANTA CHRISTMAS IN DECEMBER
We ho ho hope you don't mind a little Christmas gag to headline this section to crack us up…
It seemed fitting to start with a small coincidence that a man with a festive theme in his name was responsible for the best minutes-to-goal ratio during the month of December (a minimum of 500 minutes).< /p>
That man is former Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz, who scored nine times in 846 minutes for a ratio of 94 minutes per goal.
Just like Rudolph and the rest of the gang at the end of a busy shift on Christmas Eve, Santa Cruz can still be overpowered.
Former Liverpool striker Divock Origi scored eight goals in December in 760 minutes for a goal every 95 minutes (just better than Mick Quinn's eight in 779 for a ratio of one every 97.4 minutes). His Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah scored an impressive 23 goals in December, with a minutes-to-goals ratio of 106, the same rate Demba Ba achieved.
MAYNOR THE KING OF CHRISTMAS CRACKERS?
Paper hats, Christmas jokes and cheaply assembled plastic toys...you all love to make a Christmas cracker!
And there were plenty of Premier League cracks in December - not least Maynor Figueroa's 60.5-yard effort for Wigan Athletic against Stoke City in 2009, which remains the longest long-range goal end of the competition. during the last month of the calendar year.
The full-back's quick thinking with a free kick from his own half caught Thomas Sorensen off guard and tucked deep inside the goal.
Former Portsmouth player Matt Taylor had a penchant for long-range goals and his famous audacious volley against Everton in 2006 measured 40.4 yards.
Juan Mata (39.9m for Man Utd v Stoke), Sebastian Larsson (39.4m for Birmingham City v Wigan) and Kevin De Bruyne (38.3m for Manchester City v Crystal Palace) all rank in the top five data that was first collected from the 2006-07 season.
LLORIS AND THE GUARDIANS GIVE THE GOODS
Christmas is a time for spending time with loved ones and eating large amounts of foods that aren't particularly good for us.
It's also, of course, if we're being honest, a time to swap tattoos by the Christmas tree and say a silent prayer that the generous buyer kept the receipts.
Obviously in football you're not supposed to be generous with your gifts, but Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been particularly open with gifts for opposing teams at this time of year .
The France World Cup winner (who missed a second medal at Qatar 2022 where Les Bleus were beaten by Argentina on penalties) made seven errors leading to a goal in December, a Premier League high and one more than Red Devils number one David de Gea and former Chelsea and Arsenal stopper Petr Cech.
Rob Green (5) and Simon Mignolet (4) also gave gifts.
SANTA CLAUS IS NOT THE ONLY VISITOR TO LAPLAND
Santa Claus does his annual party all over the world to deliver presents to all the nice boys and girls, but in 2001 there was another announcing from Lapland to visit England.
Finnish international Hannu Tihinen arrived on loan at West Ham from Norwegian side Viking and made his Premier League debut on Boxing Day!
In total, he made just eight Premier League appearances, winning just one win in the English top flight.
Perhaps the difference in quality was just - er - poles apart for Tihinen, who was nevertheless part of the team that memorably beat Manchester United 1-0 in the FA Cup in early 2002.
RED DEVILS AT THE TOP OF THE TREE
The old cliché is that it means nothing to be on top of the Christmas tree... but for the jokes of this article, being on top of the tree on December 25 is very important!
Manchester United have sat in such a position seven times, more than any other team, but Liverpool - six times - are the only team to hold the top spot for three consecutive seasons, having done so in 2018. 2019 and 2020.
A total of 11 sides...
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