Adding insult to injury time
In the closing stages of every game, scores of supporters leave early to "avoid the traffic", but there are certain teams for whom they might also be avoiding crucial goals – for or against.
Using data from sportingbet, we reveal how many points each current Premier League team has won or lost in second-half stoppage time since 2013/14.
20. West Ham (-15)
West Ham owners David Gold and David Sullivan may be tempted to launch a petition calling for Premier League matches to finish after 89 minutes. Over the last half-decade the Hammers have thrown away a staggering 15 points in injury time, which works out as an average of three points per season.
The most recent late lapse was Boxing Day 2017, when Bournemouth’s Calum Wilson struck to level the scores at 3-3 and deny West Ham victory. David Moyes’ men made up for that a few days later, though, as Andy Carroll netted late on to secure a 2-1 victory over West Brom.
19. West Brom (-6)
West Brom are mired in relegation trouble at the time of writing, and they’re also stuck in the bottom three when it comes to points lost in second-half injury time.
A late Andy Carroll goal denied the Baggies a point at West Ham in January 2018, but their bigger problem has been a failure to find the net after the fourth official has raised the board above his head. West Brom have only scored once in stoppage time this season, and that was a consolation goal against Manchester City.
17= Manchester United (-5)
“Fergie Time” is over. Under former manager Alex Ferguson, Manchester United used to reliably score late goals; if it wasn’t already obvious that much has changed at Old Trafford since the Scot’s departure, this statistic provides further proof.
In the last five seasons, only two Premier League clubs have thrown away more points than United in second-half stoppage time. The Red Devils did fight back to earn a draw against Burnley in December thanks to Jesse Lingard’s post-90 strike, but that was the first time United had scored a decisive goal in added time since April 2017.
17= Watford (-5)
Watford have been the victims of two of the most dramatic comebacks in 2017/18. At Goodison Park in November, Everton overturned a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 thanks to Leighton Baines’ penalty in second-half injury time.
The Hornets failed to learn their lesson and fell to defeat by Crystal Palace the following month, when Bakary Sako equalised with 89 minutes on the clock and James McArthur won the game for the Eagles in added time. It’s therefore no surprise that Watford have one of the worst records in the division after the 90-minute mark.
16. Bournemouth (-3)
Bournemouth have been on the right end of some vital late goals since their promotion to the Premier League, including a Steve Cook winner at Newcastle earlier this season and a last-gasp equaliser in a meeting with Everton in 2015.
Overall, though, Eddie Howe’s charges have lost more points than they’ve gained once the 90th minute has passed. One pivotal concession came in August 2017, when Raheem Sterling’s goal brought Manchester City victory in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
14= Stoke (-2)
Stoke have only let in one goal in injury time this term; unfortunately for the Potters, that strike cost them what would have been a vital point against relegation rivals Crystal Palace.
They have themselves turned draws into victories on more than one occasion in the period covered – one such example was a dramatic match-winning penalty by Marko Arnautovic in a 4-3 triumph over Everton in 2015 – but on the whole Stoke have dropped more points than they’ve collected once the clock has ticked past 90.
14= Newcastle (-2)
Newcastle haven’t scored later than the 86th minute in the Premier League this campaign, which means they’ve still thrown away more points than they’ve gained since 2013/14. Their most recent offence came when Steve Cook’s header earned Bournemouth a crucial win at St James’ Park in November; by contrast, when the teams met again at Dean Court in February, the generous Geordies conceded in the 80th and 89th minutes. so at least they didn't allow a winner.
The Magpies weren’t exempt in the Championship either: then-Leeds striker Chris Wood struck in the fifth minute of injury to deny Rafael Benitez’s side victory in 2016/17.
12= Crystal Palace (-1)
Palace have boosted their position in this ranking in 2017/18, turning a loss into a draw against West Ham, and draws into wins against both Stoke and Watford – all in time added on.
Roy Hodgson will now be hoping his side can start games quicker, but they have at least shown greater resilience than in previous campaigns. One memorable late concession came in a 2016 game against Liverpool, for whom current Palace striker Christian Benteke netted the winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
12= Swansea (-1)
Swansea’s record in second-half stoppage time has been marginally below par. The Welsh outfit are yet to score after the 90th minute in 2017/18, although they haven’t conceded in that period of games either.
In one of the most astonishing top-flight games in the period covered, Swansea notched twice in added time to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 win against Crystal Palace in 2016.
11. Burnley (0)
Burnley are the only top-flight team who, on aggregate, haven’t lost or gained any points in second-half stoppage time in the last five campaigns.
The Clarets’ most recent concession after the 90th minute cost them a draw against Liverpool in January, but they themselves struck in added time to pick up a point at Tottenham earlier in the campaign. Sean Dyche will be hoping his team can climb up these rankings in the coming months as Burnley target a top-eight finish.
9= Southampton (1)
The 2017/18 campaign has been one to forget for Southampton, who have slipped from European hopes to relegation fears. Given their general net-finding struggles, it’s perhaps no surprise that Mauricio Pellegrino’s charges haven’t scored a goal in stoppage time since their second game of the season, when Charlie Austin’s penalty brought Saints a somewhat fortuitous triumph over West Ham.
Their record over the entire period is reasonable enough, with Saints the right side of zero for points determined by injury-time efforts since 2013/14.
9= Everton (1)
Of the four stoppage-time goals scored in Everton games this season, only one had a direct bearing on the result – and that went in the Toffees’ favour. The hosts were losing 2-0 to Watford at Goodison Park in November, but Leighton Baines’ penalty a few seconds after the passing of the 90-minute mark completed a memorable comeback and brought Everton three points.
One of the results that damaged Roberto Martinez’s side’s top-four challenge in 2013/14 was a 1-0 defeat by Chelsea in February, with Frank Lampard grabbing the only goal of the game in added time.
8. Brighton (3)
Brighton have only picked up two points after conceding the first goal in 2017/18, and they’re still awaiting their first stoppage-time strike in the Premier League.
Chris Hughton’s side scored twice in second-half added time during their promotion campaign last time out: Glenn Murray’s goal ensured victory over Birmingham in December, and Tomer Hemed’s effort turned a defeat into a draw against Brentford a few weeks later.
7. Huddersfield (4)
Hard-working Huddersfield turned draws into wins in stoppage time on no fewer than four occasions last season, when they won promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs. Those eight points gained were crucial to the Terriers’ top-six finish, with seventh-placed Leeds finishing the campaign just six points behind their Yorkshire rivals.
David Wagner’s side are yet to score a pivotal goal in stoppage time in the top tier, but some late heroics would be very welcome in the coming weeks as Town continue their battle against the drop.
6. Chelsea (6)
Chelsea may be a lofty sixth in the overall standings, but four of the division’s so-called big six have collected more points after the 90th minute than the Blues.
Maybe the addition of Olivier Giroud will help: only Harry Kane, Alexis Sanchez and Wilfried Bony have found the net more than the hirsute Frenchman once the fourth official has raised his board.
5. Leicester (7)
The first and second halves of Leicester’s title triumph in 2015/16 were very different in one regard: early on, the Foxes made a habit of falling behind and then bouncing back, but as time went on they tended to score first before shutting the door on their opponents.
The Foxes grabbed decisive stoppage-time goals to secure draws against both Southampton and West Ham that season, while the previous year Jamie Vardy netted in time added on to secure victory over West Brom in the run-in.
3= Arsenal (8)
Arsenal have scored the most goals in second-half injury time since 2013/14, averaging just over six per season. If the Gunners didn’t concede as often earlier on in games, they could have launched a sustained challenge for the title at some point in the last five years.
There have also been times when Arsene Wenger’s side have conceded costly goals in the closing stages, but they have a positive record overall as far as increasing their points tally in stoppage time is concerned.
3= Liverpool (8)
Level in third place are Liverpool, who have gained eight points in stoppage time in the last five campaigns.
Jurgen Klopp’s side turned a draw into a win when Ragnar Klavan found the net against Burnley in the fourth minute of injury time in January 2018, but they were on the receiving end on the opening day of the season when Watford’s Miguel Britos levelled the scores after the 90th minute.
2. Manchester City (10)
Manchester City are on their way to winning their second title in the last five seasons, so it follows that they’re among the best in the division at gaining points once the 90 minutes are up.
Raheem Sterling has scored winning goals in second-half stoppage time against Bournemouth and Southampton this season, while Gabriel Jesus’s second goal for City was a dramatic late winner against Swansea in February 2017.
1. Tottenham (19)
With a whopping 19 points won after the 90th minute since the start of the 2013/14 campaign – almost twice the total or runners-up Man City – Tottenham are the undisputed kings of second-half stoppage time. Mauricio Pochettino has given the north Londoners a new identity during his time in charge, and statistics such as this prove Spurs’ new-found resilience and never-say-die attitude.
Liverpool thought they’d wrapped up all three points when Mohamed Salah scored against Tottenham in the first minute of added-on time in February 2018, but the visitors to Anfield hit back through Harry Kane to avoid defeat.
