Adama the dribble king, and how did Kane not score? Premier League Round 3 player stats

The Wolves winger loves carrying the ball even if his team get hammered, while Harry was left totally frustrated

10:06am on Tuesday 29th September 2020
By Martin Macdonald

It was a crazy round of Premier League football; goals galore, penalties more, and some surprising results.

Let's look deeper at the player stats from Round 3.

EPL Round 3 Attacking Stats

Statistic	Player	Number
Goals	Jamie Vardy (Leicester	3
Shots	Harry Kane (Tottenham)	8
On Target	Harry Kane (Tottenham)	5
Touches In Box	Harry Kane (Tottenham)	15
xG	Jamie Vardy (Leicester)	1.9

Jamie Vardy's hat-trick at Man City contained two of those aforementioned penalties plus an inspired flick over Ederson sandwiched in between.

But the head-scratcher of the round comes from Harry Kane. He had the most shots of the weekend (8), the most on target (5) and the second-highest individual xG (1.55) yet still couldn't beat Karl Darlow, who made a stunning 11 saves to keep Tottenham at bay. He won't have many other days like that.

EPL Round 3 Creative Stats

Statistic	Player	Number
Assists	John McGinn (Aston Villa)	2
xA	Arthur Masuaku (West Ham	1.1
Big Chance	Arthur Masuaku (West Ham	2
Comp Passes	Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool	112
Final Third Pass	Kevin De Bruyne (Man City	41
Poss Lost	Phil Bardsley (Burnley	29
Crosses	Reece James (Chelsea	19

John McGinn's two assists helped Villa win away at Fulham - the first of which a sublime ball to Jack Grealish. For West Ham, Arthur Masuaku, of all people, was their most creative player, creating two Big Chances and recording 1.1 xA, the highest of the weekend.

Virgil van Dijk made the most completed passes and also the most long balls, showcasing his accuracy at any range, while Reece James pumped the ball into the box at Chelsea huffed and puffed their way to a 3-3 draw at West Brom, with a round-high 19 crosses.

EPL Round 3 Defending Stats

Statistic	Player	Number
FC Rating	Karl Darlow (Newcastle)	9.6
Saves	Karl Darlow (Newcastle)	11
Tackles Won	Matty Cash (Aston Villa)	6
Aerials Won	Jannik Vestergaard (Soton)	9
Clearances	Jannik Vestergaard (Soton)	13
Interceptions	Adam Lallana (Brighton	5
Recoveries	Declan Rice (West Ham)	13
Duels Won	Jack Grealish (Aston Villa	14

Darlow's performance really was quite something - to score a 9.6 FC Rating without keeping a clean sheet really is a stupendous effort and he should be commended. His saves were far from routine, either.

Jannik Vestergaard produced an excellent rearguard action to keep out Burnley, making the most clearances and winning the most headers while Declan Rice showed Chelsea's static midfielder what they might be missing, making a round-high 13 recoveries in the brilliant win over Wolves.