SHEFFIELD UNITED HAVE DROPPED SEVEN MORE POINTS FROM WINNING POSITIONS THAN THEY HAVE EARNED OVERALL
Liverpool and Manchester City are now the only Premier League teams yet to lose from a winning position this season. Plenty of teams are closing in on Brentford at the other end in what has been something of a vintage season for point-spaffing.
Anyway, on we go. That other, currently Liverpool-led, ranking can be found here.
20) Brentford – 30 points dropped
22 leads, 10 wins, 6 draws, 6 defeats
Brentford dropped only 15 points from a winning position in the whole of last season. They lost twice from a winning position in the space of a week recently having done so only once in the whole of 2022/23 – Arsenal were the only team to avoid that fate altogether.
And now Brentford have shed more points than last year’s worst performers Nottingham Forest. Thomas Frank has some work to do. They were powerless v Brighton. And then they lost their second-best forward in Bryan Mbeumo before being beaten despite leading against Aston Villa. Bloody Ben Mee. They tried to cock it up v Forest but finally emerged victorious. They were absolutely done by Tottenham and then again by a Phil Foden-inspired Manchester City. Maybe it’s time for our new hero Neal Maupay to stop scoring early goals/sh*thousing. Not really. We don’t want either of those things to stop.
But Brentford need to do something; they’re currently winning barely more than they’re losing in games where they take the lead. They’ve led only one game fewer than fifth-placed Aston Villa, which is plain nutty. Held on impressively against Wolves, which is definitely a start. Trailed and led against Chelsea before having to settle for a 2-2 draw and thus a point gained and two points lost. Trailed and led against Aston Villa before having to settle for a 3-3 draw and thus a point gained and two points lost.
Did at least avoid any funny business after going 2-0 up against Sheffield United, but that is quite literally the least anyone can do this season. And 5-0 was a big enough cushion against Luton.
Looked like they were back to their bad old ways after conceding a late equaliser at Bournemouth, but Yoane Wissa had other ideas.
19) Burnley – 27 points
16 leads, 5 wins, 6 draws, 5 defeats
Scored an early opener against Spurs. Drew v Nottingham Forest after taking a less-early lead. Then made that Spurs mistake by scoring within a quarter of an hour against Chelsea, only to lose by three goals again. Lost after taking another early lead against Bournemouth then capitulated late on to lose at home to West Ham. Soft as sh*te. Except against Sheffield United, which barely counts.
The draw at home to Luton was particularly damaging, regardless of the nature of the Hatters’ equaliser. Led for only eight minutes before being pegged back in a 1-1 draw against Wolves, and Arijanet Muric will not be in a rush to rewatch the goal that allowed Brighton to pinch a point at Turf Moor recently.
Repeated their early-season mistake of going 1-0 up against Spurs and lost once again.
18) Bournemouth – 27 points
24 leads, 13 wins, 6 draws, 5 defeats
They’ve been a careless and sloppy team for large spells this season, but while that is an alarming number of leads lost it’s also a pretty respectable number of leads taken. It’s more than, for instance, Chelsea and Manchester United. And Newcastle. And Aston Villa, for goodness sake. If Bournemouth were as good at holding leads as Villa, they would now be on 67 points and fourth. We’re being silly for effect there, but still. There’s definitely potential for this Bournemouth side to become something half-decent under Andoni Iraola if silliness can be eradicated/reduced. Losing the lead twice in the second half at Newcastle was undeniably annoying, as was losing to Luton in the 90th minute after leading in the 72nd.
Led twice against Man United but had to settle for a point when a league double was right there, and were calmly picked off by actually-Champions League-chasing Villa after taking the lead there. Good win at Wolves, mind, albeit one not without its controversies. and never looked like letting anything slip against Brighton.
17) Nottingham Forest – 26 points
18 leads, 8 wins, 4 draws, 6 defeats
Don’t go 2-0 up inside four minutes at Old Trafford is the confusing lesson here. Don’t capitulate to Luton was more straightforward and they were only in front for two minutes against West Ham. Taking a third-minute lead only poked the Brighton bear. There were two more points lost v Wolves and all three against Bournemouth, even if Nuno might reasonably blame the ref. And then again v Brentford, before forgetting that all Luton do is score late equalisers.
Led and trailed in a 2-2 draw against Wolves, which we always enjoy. Could very easily have got something against Man City, but just couldn’t find a lead and ultimately paid the price like so very many before them.
Should definitely have got a survival-ensuring something against Chelsea after going 2-1 up late on only to lose 3-2 to register both a sixth defeat in a game they’ve led this season and a ludicrous seventh defeat in all by that exact silly scoreline.
16) Sheffield United – 23 points
12 leads, 3 wins, 4 draws, 5 defeats
Sheffield United and Everton getting together to win their first points from behind and lose their first points from ahead in the same game was a touching moment of unity in these troubled times. It is safe to say Paul Heckingbottom was not touched after his side lost at Tottenham, despite being 1-0 up going into injury time. Scarred by that experience they didn’t take another lead for some time until facing Wolves, when they even managed to do it twice in victory. They went ahead and won v Brentford but couldn’t hang on at Villa.
Shot themselves in the foot – twice – at home against Luton, and defeat at Palace in a game they led twice meant they had lost more games than they’d won even when they took the lead. Squared that ledger in fine style at Luton but letting a two-goal lead slip at Bournemouth made it an even split of results from games they’ve led in. Until they cocked it from 3-1 v Fulham.
15) Crystal Palace – 23 points
21 leads, 12 wins, 4 draws, 5 defeats
Held on for a 1-0 win at Sheffield United on the opening day, eventually saw off Wolves after being pegged back to 1-1, lost to Aston Villa after Odsonne Edouard’s opener and then Hodgsoned all over Old Trafford yet again. Led v Liverpool but that is rarely a good idea. Led again v Brighton and were inevitably pulled back. Led against Chelsea but came horribly unstuck in injury-time.
Hodgson had left by the time they faced Everton, but they still contrived to throw away a lead and two points. Spaffed all three at Tottenham after conceding three in the last 15 minutes of the game, then let Luton score a 96th-minute equaliser at Selhurst Park. And then Nottingham Forest score. Taking the lead in the fourth minute against Manchester City was particularly foolish.
It’s a problem. But not, miraculously, at Anfield. And going 4-0 up in little more than half an hour against West Ham was also a good strategy before Newcastle and Wolves were also handily beaten by a side unexpectedly finishing the season at a full sprint.
14) Luton Town – 22 points
14 leads, 6 wins, 2 draws, 6 defeats
They were ahead for three glorious minutes v Arsenal and longer v Manchester City. The Hatters held on for 65 minutes against Newcastle at home and absolutely demolished Brighton. Then trailed, led and drew a daft match at St James’. Taking a 12th-minute lead at Anfield was only ever going to end one way, but it did take until the second half for the Liverpool goals to start London Bussing their way in. Losing 3-2 to Villa after battling back from 2-0 down to 2-2 doesn’t count as losing points from a winning position, but does feel a bit like it.
You know what really feels like losing points from a winning position? Being 3-0 up at Bournemouth and then losing 4-3. That’s what. And then being 1-0 up v Spurs and losing 2-1. And being 1-0 up at West Ham and losing 3-1.
13) West Ham – 21 points
23 leads, 14 wins, 6 draws, 3 defeats
Two more points dropped against Palace made for frustrating reading for David Moyes and Hammers fans. Post-Europa weariness would be a reasonable excuse for West Ham’s soporific second half against the Eagles, but it’s also part of the deal. They need to do better; they absolutely did against Tottenham and then Wolves. And Manchester United. And Arsenal. But not Fulham. And then to drop two points v Sheffield United? No wonder the fans are divided. The fightback at Everton in the Moyes Derby was pretty stirring, though.
Then they got absolutely mullered late on by Newcastle. And clawed back a point from a game they led first against Liverpool.
12) Tottenham – 20 points
27 leads, 19 wins, 4 draws, 4 defeats
Spurs have still led as many games as Liverpool this season and four more than Villa, which feels very silly. The defeat to Wolves had been in the post for quite some time, but still represented the first time this season Spurs had failed to take the lead in a home game. Spurs’ title challenge lost its way when they developed a habit of going 1-0 up early in games and then bringing on all manner of self-inflicted misery to lose, a run they obviously snapped by salvaging a ludicrous 3-3 draw at Man City. Because, again: Spurs. And then they restarted it seamlessly at home to West Ham. Because, again: Spurs.
Largely abandoned the policy of going 1-0 up early and then tossing points away in favour of instead going 1-0 down early and winning points back. Better strategy, but the sight of West Ham again saw them revert to their late autumn type.
For all the many problems Spurs seem to currently have with ‘going to St James’ Park in April’ we can at least say with some certainty that throwing away a lead is not one of them. It’s… something. And there were no leads to throw away against Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool either. They’ve got it cracked, frankly.
11) Newcastle – 17 points
24 leads, 17 wins, 4 draws, 3 defeats
Don’t be 1-0 up with 10 minutes to go against 10-man Liverpool is the confusing lesson here; 1-1 against 10 or even nine is obviously fine. Trailed and led in a 2-2 draw at West Ham, and led twice before having to settle for a point at Wolves. Opened the scoring against Nottingham Forest before caving in to a Chris Wood-inspired side. Came from behind to lead Manchester City until Kevin de Bruyne’s hair and Oscar’s Bobb popped up in the closing stages. Lead, trailed and eventually drew with Luton, and required not one, not two but three leads to finally see off Nottingham Forest in the return clash against the Tricky Trees.
Dropped two more points late on against Everton but that’s a rare blip in a month that has brought three wins and reignited European hopes. They certainly didn’t appear likely to lose the lead against Spurs, let’s put it that way.
10) Manchester United – 17 points
23 leads, 16 wins, 4 draws, 3 defeats
Nobody dropped fewer points from winning positions last season than United, who won 23 of the 26 Premier League games in which they led. The Arsenal silliness put them on the back foot early doors this time around but the overall numbers are still solid despite general struggles. They were probably glad to only drop two points v Tottenham. And they tried their hardest to chuck away a two-goal lead at Wolves. Taking the lead early if indeed at all away at Manchester City always felt like a mistake. Taking the lead late v Brentford also turned out to be a less predictable mistake. Taking the lead against Chelsea and keeping it until the 98th minute was the least predictable of all mistakes. The draw against Liverpool was probably a point gained in the grand scheme of the silliness, but also two points dropped here. Definitely two points dropped against Burnley.
9) Chelsea – 15 points
23 leads, 16 wins, 6 draws, 1 defeat
Should have seen out a two-goal lead against Arsenal. Did not. Did hold on to their lead against nine-man Spurs so that’s something. They were leading once against Manchester City so technically dropped two points but it definitely felt like a point gained when the injury-time equaliser went in. Held on diligently with 10 men against Brighton.
They were surprisingly good at this specific thing, all things considered, until they took the lead against Wolves and then massively f***ed it up. Sensibly only took the lead very, very late on at Palace to minimise risk. Two points dropped at the Etihad is the most minor of irritants – you’re definitely taking a draw in that one before kick-off every single time. Drawing 2-2 at Brentford in a game you lead 1-0, not so much. The fans certainly weren’t happy. And nor were they v Burnley. That’s a bad old habit.
They were very much on course to drop three points from a winning position against Manchester United, but fortunately came up against an even less serious club than themselves. Then immediately tossed away the lead not once but twice at Sheffield United, because of course they did.
Looked set for more point-spaffing at Nottingham Forest before two late goals secured a 3-2 win from 1-0 up and 2-1 down.
7=) Everton – 14 points
18 leads, 12 wins, 4 draws, 2 defeats
If there’s one thing Sean Dyche typically knows how to do, it’s keep a lead. Unless it’s against the Treble winners. Or West Ham for some reason.
7=) Brighton – 12 points
18 leads, 12 wins, 4 draws, 2 defeats
Pretty much flawless for the first two games of the season. Less said about the West Ham game the better. Then demolished Newcastle, Man United and Bournemouth. Less said about the Aston Villa game the better. Liverpool game somewhere in between the previous feast and famine offerings, but did cost them their flawless record here. Then threw away leads against Fulham and, unforgivably, Sheffield United at home. Overturned a deficit at Forest, couldn’t do so against 10-man Chelsea and have on the quiet become quite a silly, albeit still good, football team.
Silly but good was definitely an apt description of the win over Spurs; silly and bad an apt description for their failure to hold on in the reverse fixture to leave only Liverpool and City standing with no defeats from winning positions this season. They then added another v Liverpool, and dropped a couple of points from 1-0 up at Newcastle.
6) Wolves – 12 points
18 leads, 13 wins, 3 draws, 2 defeats
Simply missed all their many, many chances when it was 0-0 at Old Trafford, thus avoiding the trap into which Nottingham Forest stumbled so foolishly, and then got thrashed by Brighton. When they did finally take a lead, they made sure to do so a) very late in the game and b) against an Everton side who at that time simply didn’t score any goals. Liverpool was a very different story. Wolves led early; missed a sitter before half-time; then caved in the second half. They then gave Luton their first point of the season by throwing away a one-goal lead. They looked like predictably doing the same against Manchester City but simply scored again after the champions equalised. Cleverly defended their lead against Spurs by simply not taking it until the last kick of the game. It is frankly a mystery why more teams don’t adopt this foolproof strategy more often. Carelessly went ahead far earlier against Spurs in the reverse fixture and were pegged back early in the second half. But then just scored again anyway to complete a double over the erstwhile title contenders. Were done by some West Ham set-pieces and more referee controversy before leading and trailing in a 2-2 draw with Forest.
5) Manchester City – 10 points
31 leads, 26 wins, 5 draws, 0 defeats
Three times they got their noses in front at Chelsea but each time they were dragged back in an astonishing game. Then they paid for failing to kill off Liverpool. Then they really paid for failing to kill off Tottenham in a game they led twice, as well as Crystal Palace in a game they led 2-0. Then they won a whole bunch of games in a row before needing a late equaliser in a slightly less silly but no less irritating reverse fixture with Chelsea. Then threw away two points v Liverpool but it could have been more.
4) Fulham – 9 points
16 leads, 12 wins, 3 draws, 1 defeat
On balance, they’re probably taking that point at the Emirates even after joining bafflingly long line of teams to score in the first minute against Arsenal in 2023. They twice tried to throw away two points v Wolves but eventually scored too late for the Midlanders to equalise for the third time. Lost for the first time after taking a lead in that very silly game at Anfield. Presumably thought they were pretty safe after scoring in the 80th minute to go ahead for the first time, but the Barclays is the land of the late goal this year and Liverpool its absolute masters. Made sure they didn’t throw away any points v Forest and West Ham by smashing them both for five. Held on pretty cosily to beat Arsenal after a run of three straight defeats in which Fulham not only never led but never even scored. Looked set to beat Burnley because most teams do. Then they chucked it away. Completed an impressive double against West Ham and for such an unpredictable team they are a curiously efficient one when leading; look at the company they’re keeping here. But they did get Jeffrey Schlupp’d.
3) Arsenal – 9 points
31 leads, 27 wins, 3 draws, 1 defeat
Throwing away leads against Fulham and then against Tottenham was sub-optimal. Taking the lead so late at Brentford was a smarter approach, and they held on against Wolves despite it getting a bit dicier than it ought. The Luton game was absolutely mental; for the purposes of this list they ‘held on’, but that’s not really what happened, is it? Had the lead at Anfield but Mo Salah soon put a stop to that. A pretty limp defeat to Fulham after Bukayo Saka’s early goal was Arsenal’s first defeat from a winning position since the 2021/22 season. Which is ages ago.
Showed against West Ham that a good way of not losing a lead away from home is to go 4-0 up before half-time. More teams should try it. We’ll never really understand why teams don’t just win games 6-0 all the time? Silly. Even Arsenal didn’t stick with it, following that up with a mere 5-0 win at Burnley. Sloppy. Nearly produced actual costly sloppiness as a 3-0 dreamlike cruise against Spurs threatened to turn into a nightmare at 3-2, but the Gunners held on for a famous if slightly scarier-than-it-ought-have been victory.
2) Liverpool – 8 points
27 leads, 23 wins, 4 draws, 0 defeats
The 3-0 win over Aston Villa marked the first time this season Liverpool went on to win after scoring the first goal of a game, four matches into their season. The first time they scored first was at Stamford Bridge, where it ended 1-1. The Spurs defeat was the first fixture in which the Reds failed to take a lead; bloody significant human error. Trailed and led in an entertaining and fair enough 2-2 draw at Brighton. Had then been entirely ruthless when in front until being the exact opposite of that at Old Trafford. Did manage to get one point back late on there, but couldn’t make it all three. Came from behind to lead against West Ham before drawing 2-2.
1) Aston Villa – 7 points
23 leads, 20 wins, 2 draws, 1 defeat
The opening-day aberration at Newcastle is forgotten, but at least that kind of thrashing does you no damage in this particular table. Subsequent comfy wins over Everton, Burnley, Brighton, West Ham and Fulham never really looked like doing so either. Coming from behind to beat Palace was a nice change as well, while they gratefully accepted the generous gifts offered by Spurs’ centre-backless wonders. Manchester City and Arsenal have both been vanquished 1-0 at Villa Park, although Sheffield United predictably proved a tougher nut to crack.
They were cruising at Man Utd but their sloppiness coincided with some rare character from the Red Devils to see the Villans drop points for the first time this term. Almost blew it against Burnley too. Then inexplicably chose to repeat that opening-day aberration and get trousered by Newcastle again. Odd decision.
Came close to dropping points from a winning position for only the second time this season – and curiously doing it again from 2-0 up at half-time – at Luton only for a late Lucas Digne goal to save the day. So the signs were there before they led 2-0, trailed 3-2 and eventually drew 3-3 with Brentford. Even a 2-0 lead at home wasn’t enough against this Chelsea side.
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