{"id":513473,"date":"2026-03-02T08:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T08:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/513473\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T08:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T08:05:08","slug":"stats-messi-nears-900-ronaldos-35th-penalty-miss-yamal-creates-barca-history-with-hat-trick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/513473\/","title":{"rendered":"Stats: Messi nears 900, Ronaldo’s 35th penalty miss, Yamal creates Barca history with hat-trick"},"content":{"rendered":"

The weekend’s football action saw plenty of drama once again, although it was status quo in the Premier League<\/a> with Arsenal<\/a> earning a nervy win over Chelsea<\/a> to stay ahead of Manchester City<\/a>, who edged past Leeds United<\/a>. Manchester United<\/a> and Liverpool<\/a> racked up wins to stay in the race for UEFA Champions League<\/a> spots, while Aston Villa<\/a> fell away after a shock loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n

2 Related<\/p>\n

Over in Spain, Barcelona<\/a> romped past Villarreal<\/a> to increase their LALIGA<\/a> lead to four points, with Real Madrid<\/a> yet to play. Internazionale<\/a> continued their march to the Serie A<\/a> title with a 2-0 win over Genoa<\/a>, while AC Milan<\/a>‘s 2-0 win over Cremonese<\/a> kept the gap to 10 points. Napoli<\/a> leapfrogged AS Roma<\/a> into third place after the latter drew 3-3 with Juventus<\/a>. A thrilling Klassiker saw Bayern Munich<\/a> defeat Borussia Dortmund<\/a> 3-2 to increase their Bundesliga<\/a> lead to eleven points with ten games to go, while Paris Saint-Germain<\/a> went four points clear atop Ligue 1<\/a> after a win over Le Havre, while Lens<\/a> drew.<\/p>\n

ESPN’s By The Numbers brings you the best of stats from the weekend’s football matches:<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Arsenal have now won five straight home games against Chelsea for the first time since 1990-94. Arteta’s side are the only unbeaten team in London derbies in the PL this season (7-2-0 W-D-L).<\/p>\n

16 and 24<\/p>\n

Arsenal’s 16 goals from corner kicks are tied for the most in a season in Premier League history. The club have 24 corner kick goals in all competitions, also the most by any club in Europe’s Top 4 leagues since the 2011-12 season.<\/p>\n

32<\/p>\n

Arsenal have 32 set-piece goals in all competitions, six behind Real Madrid’s record of 38 set-piece goals in 2012-13 (best across Europe’s Top 4 leagues since 2011-12).<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

Chelsea have received seven red cards in the Premier League this season, with only six sides receiving more in a single campaign in competition history – most recently QPR with 9 in 2011-12. Only 2009-10 Sunderland<\/a> (8) and 1994-95 Leicester City (8) have had more different players with red cards in a Premier League season than Chelsea in 2025-26 (7).<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Arsenal’s opening goal was just the second time that two defenders have combined for a Premier League goal against Chelsea for the club, after Laurent Koscielny scored from a Sokratis Papastathopoulos assist in January 2019. This was also the second time Gabriel and William Saliba<\/a> combined for a Premier League goal after Saliba assisted his teammate in August 2022 against Fulham<\/a>, from a corner.<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

Arsenal have gone 1-0 up from a corner on nine occasions in the Premier League this season; the joint-most by a team in a single campaign, along with Southampton in 1994-95 (9).<\/p>\n

Manchester United moves up to third place in the Premier League table after beating Crystal Palace \ufffd\ufffd pic.twitter.com\/bh8bIK6mEx<\/a><\/p>\n

– ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

Across both his spells as Man United manager, Michael Carrick remains unbeaten in all his 10 games in charge in all competitions (W8 D2), with only Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2018-19 (11) managing more games for the club before experiencing his first defeat.<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Manchester United finished the Premier League matchweek in the top three – the first time since May 2023.<\/p>\n

97<\/p>\n

Bruno Fernandes<\/a> brought up his 97th assist for Man United in all competitions. That’s the fourth-most for the team since 1992-93 – Ryan Giggs (249), Wayne Rooney (127), David Beckham (115).<\/p>\n

18 and 13<\/p>\n

Since his Premier League debut in February 2020, Fernandes has both scored and assisted in 18 separate matches in the competition, with only Mohamed Salah<\/a> (27) doing so more. Only Wayne Rooney (35) have Ryan Giggs (22) have done this more times for Manchester United in the competition than Fernandes, with the Portuguese midfielder surpassing David Beckham (17). Bruno<\/a>‘s 13 assists this season are nearly twice as many as any other PL player this season (7 – Rayan Cherki<\/a> & Erling Haaland<\/a>).<\/p>\n

3 and 6<\/p>\n

Benjamin \u0160e\u0161ko has scored in three consecutive league appearances for the first time since a run of five between December 2024 and January 2025 for RB Leipzig<\/a>. Only Igor Thiago<\/a> (7) has scored more Premier League goals in 2026 than Benjamin Sesko<\/a> (6), who had only scored twice in 15 appearances in the competition before this calendar year.<\/p>\n

20<\/p>\n

Hugo Ekitike<\/a> has 20 goal contributions this season in all competitions; only Erling Haaland (36) has more among Premier League players this season in all competitions (Antoine Semenyo<\/a> and Igor Thiago also have 20).<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> winless streak in the Premier League now stands at 10 games, the club’s longest such streak in over 30 years and tied for the club’s longest winless streak in the competition (last: Jan.-March 1994).<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

Brighton’s Danny Welbeck<\/a> is just the eighth player in Premier League history to have score 10+ goals in consecutive seasons while aged 33 or older, most recently Jamie Vardy<\/a> in 2020-21 and 2021-22 (15 in each).<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Lamine Yamal<\/a> scored the first hat-trick of his career for club or country. At 18 years, 230 days, he is the third-youngest player to score a LALIGA hat trick after Pablo Pombo (17y-222d) for Racing Santander in 1934 and Jos\u00e9 Iraragorri (17y-337d) for Athletic Club<\/a> in 1930. Thus, Yamal became the youngest Barcelona player to score a LALIGA hat trick, passing Giovani dos Santos’ record in 2008 vs Murcia (19 years, 6 days).<\/p>\n

101<\/p>\n

Yamal also has 101 career goal contributions with club and country (49 goals, 52 assists). He leads the team with 13 goals and 9 assists in LALIGA this season. The last Barcelona player to lead the team outright in goals and assists in a LALIGA season was Lionel Messi<\/a> in 2020-21 (30 goals, 9 assists).<\/p>\n

27<\/p>\n

Yamal (27) also became the first player to reach 25+ career goals before turning 19 years old in Europe’s top five leagues this century (since 2000), a feat even Lionel Messi couldn’t achieve.<\/p>\n

46<\/p>\n

Barcelona have scored in 46 consecutive LALIGA games, eight away from tying the second-longest scoring streak in LALIGA history.<\/p>\n

At 18 years, 230 days, Lamine Yamal is now the youngest Barcelona player to score a LALIGA hat trick, passing Giovani dos Santos’ record in 2008 vs Murcia (19 years, 6 days) \ufffd\ufffd<\/p>\n

And he did this while fasting for Ramadan \ufffd\ufffd pic.twitter.com\/fIzF9ZzshD<\/a><\/p>\n

– ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez<\/a> ended a 14-game scoreless streak in LALIGA, his longest career goalless streak in league play in a season. \u00c1lvarez’s most recent league goal was on Nov. 1, 2025 vs Sevilla<\/a> (penalty goal).<\/p>\n

2-2<\/p>\n

Sevilla’s two-goal comeback against Real Betis<\/a> was the first time in a LALIGA edition of El Gran Derbi since April 2013 when Real Betis came back from 3 goals down to get a 3-3 draw.<\/p>\n

21<\/p>\n

Prior to their draw against Sevilla, Real Betis had won 21 of their last 22 LALIGA games when leading by multiple goals at any point. Betis had infact never lost an edition of El Gran Derbi in LALIGA when leading by multiple goals at half time.<\/p>\n

7 and 5<\/p>\n

Antony<\/a> scored his 7th LALIGA goal this season, becoming only the third player with 7+ goals and 5+ assists this season in LALIGA, joining Lamine Yamal (13\/9) and Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior<\/a> (9\/5). Antony’s 20 goal contributions in all competitions (11 goals, 9 assists) are tied-fifth among LALIGA players, only Kylian Mbapp\u00e9<\/a> (43), Lamine Yamal (31), Ferm\u00edn L\u00f3pez<\/a> (25) and Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior (22) have more this season in all competitions.<\/p>\n

1000<\/p>\n

Real Sociedad<\/a> became the eighth team to win 1000+ games in LALIGA history, after Real Madrid (1865), Barcelona (1808), Atl\u00e9tico Madrid<\/a> (1434), Athletic Club (1332), Valencia<\/a> (1300), Sevilla (1126) and Espanyol<\/a> (1018).<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

AC Milan’s are unbeaten in 14 away games in Serie A – only Bayern Munich (21) have a longer active streak in Europe’s top 5 leagues.<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

Inter Milan have won eight straight Serie A games, the club’s longest streak since a 10-game run between January – March 2024. It is also the longest by any Serie A team since October – December 2024 (Atalanta<\/a>, 11).<\/p>\n

23<\/p>\n

Hakan \u00c7alhanoglu<\/a> has converted 23 of his 25 penalty kicks taken in Serie A (21\/23 for Inter Milan).<\/p>\n

20<\/p>\n

Federico Dimarco<\/a> became the first player with 20 goal contributions (6G, 14A) in Serie A this season. Dimarco is the first defender to reach the mark in Serie A since Massimo Oddo did so in 2005-06 for AC Milan (7G, 13A). Six goals is also Dimarco’s most prolific season as a player (5 in 2023-24 for Inter, and 5 in 2020-21 for Hellas Verona<\/a>).<\/p>\n

281<\/p>\n

Romelu Lukaku<\/a>‘s goal was his first in league play in 281 days (scored his last Serie A goal in May 2025 vs Cagliari<\/a>). This was Lukaku’s longest scoreless streak in league play in Europe’s top 5 leagues.<\/p>\n

30 and 45<\/p>\n

Harry Kane<\/a> has 30 Bundesliga goals this season (already more than in all of last season, 26), he has more than twice as many as the next players in the scoring charts (Luis D\u00edaz<\/a> and Deniz Undav<\/a> with 13); leads Europe’s top 5 leagues in goals and goal contributions (35) this season. Kane’s 45 goals this season in all competitions are the most among players in Europe’s top 5 leagues, and the best scoring season of his career (scored 44 in 2023-24).<\/p>\n

10 and 24<\/p>\n

Kane scored his tenth Bundesliga penalty of the season; tied with Paul Breitner for most Bundesliga penalties in a season (10 in 1980-81). In total, Kane has converted all 24 of his Bundesliga penalties since joining the club in 2023-24.<\/p>\n

+65<\/p>\n

Bayern Munich have outscored opponents 88-23; the +65 GD is the best in Europe’s top 5 leagues this season and the best GD through 24 games in Bundesliga history<\/p>\n

11\/11<\/p>\n

Bayern Munich have won all 11 of their Bundesliga matches this season against the teams that currently occupy positions 1 to 8 in the table<\/p>\n

21<\/p>\n

Bayern Munich are the only team in the Bundesliga this season without an away loss (10-2-0 W-D-L) and now on a 21-game away Bundesliga unbeaten streak, the longest active unbeaten streak away from home in Europe’s top 5 leagues and the club’s longest since 33 games from April 2012 to 2014.<\/p>\n

16 and 2<\/p>\n

Borussia Dortmund saw their 16-game unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga come to an end – it had been the longest active streak in Europe’s top 5 leagues, and the club’s longest such streak since 2023. Dortmund have suffered two Bundesliga losses this season — both against Bayern Munich. Dortmund have also lost back-to-back matches in all competitions for the first time under Niko Kovac<\/a>.<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

Endrick<\/a> made multiple assists in a single game for the first time in his career (club and country). The Brazilian now has 9 goal contributions in 8 games for Lyon<\/a> in all competitions (5 goals, 4 assists) which is a major improvement over the 7 goal contributions he had in 40 games for Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

5\/10<\/p>\n

PSG have failed to convert 5 of their 10 penalties this season in all competitions, including the three most recent ones (Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9<\/a> vs Newcastle, Vitinha<\/a> at Monaco, D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Dou\u00e9<\/a> at Le Havre).<\/p>\n

MESSI-RONALDO WATCH<\/p>\n

35<\/p>\n

Cristiano Ronaldo<\/a> missed the 35th penalty of his career, though Al Nassr<\/a> went on to win 3-1 and take the lead of the Saudi Pro League<\/a> table. Interestingly, Ronaldo is 35 goals away from reaching the 1000 goals scored mark for club and country. This was also the fifth penalty kick that Ronaldo missed since the start of 2025 (all comps).<\/p>\n

898<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi’s two goals that inspired Inter Miami’s comeback from 0-2 down to win 4-2 saw the Argentinian maestro bring up his 898th goal for club and country. This was Messi’s 79th goal for Miami in 90 appearances – more goals than he had in his first 90 games with PSG and Barcelona combined (32 w\/ PSG, 38 w\/ Barcelona).<\/p>\n

While Messi trails Ronaldo’s 965 career goals, he leads him in non-penalty goals (786 vs 778) and free-kick goals (70 vs 64).<\/p>\n

22<\/p>\n

This is the 22nd consecutive calendar year that Lionel Messi has scored in his professional career (since 2005).<\/p>\n

Information from ESPN’s Global Sports Research contributed to this report.<\/p>\n