Ryan Benson

Jose Mourinho an absolute disgrace with his victim blaming of Vinicius Junior.

I'll also just point that out that Mark Clattenburg on Prime commentary said "[Vinicius] made this situation very, very difficult" 🤔

Grim.

More Adriano Than Neymar: Understanding Rayan, Bournemouth’s Latest Rough Diamond | Opta Analyst Bournemouth are preparing to unleash their latest prospect after signing him from Vasco da Gama to replace Antoine Semenyo. But why is Rayan so highly rated?

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐲𝐦𝐚𝐫

Bournemouth's latest rough diamond is Rayan.

A £25m signing from Vasco, he'd already been hailed "the most complete striker in Brazil" at the age of 19.

But what specifically alerted Bournemouth to him?

✍️ @rbenson92.bsky.social

theanalyst.com/articles/ray...

Ruben Amorim's last day on the job:

Mason Mount's best game for United. So good.

This has been absolutely pitiful from United. Wolves dreadful but United just don't look interested. Cunha and Mbeumo probably the worst of the bunch.

Peter Drury said "parish". Everyone drink.

‘Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal’: How Ruben Amorim Turned Man Utd Into Set-Piece Specialists | Opta Analyst Under Erik ten Hag, Man Utd were one of the least-inspiring teams in the Premier League at set-pieces. Things have changed since Ruben Amorim arrived.

𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐭𝐝: 𝐒𝐞𝐭-𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬?!

It wasn't so long ago that Man Utd were one of the least-inspiring sides in the Premier League when it came to attacking set-pieces.

Now, they're one of the most effective. How?

✍️ @rbenson92.bsky.social

theanalyst.com/articles/man...

United's resilience makes a nice change though. Four games in a row that they've scored in 81st minute or later, three of them result-altering goals.

United appalling in the second half. So passive and unimaginative in attack... But defeat would've been harsh.

Really enjoyable story to work on, and great to speak to some of the people involved.

Unfortunately Harry Maguire's winner has been ruined as I've seen non-Americans referring to it as "clutch". A real shame 😞

Bi*Witched

The xG Files: Investigating the Premier League's Early-Season Outliers | Opta Analyst After the first three matchdays of the 2025-26 Premier League season, we open The xG Files to break down the numbers behind the early performers.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐱𝐆 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬

Periodically through the 2025-26 Premier League season, we'll delve into Opta's xG-powered metrics to go beyond goals, assists and clean sheets.

Who's excelling? Who isn't? Which teams have been lucky? Which have been unlucky?

The xG Files are open...

theanalyst.com/articles/the...

Well done to @optaanalyst.optajoe.com named Website of the Year (Specialist/B2B) for 2025! #FutureMediaAwards sponsored by Stibo DX

Only five clubs in the top five leagues didn't pay a single transfer fee during the summer window (according to Transfermarkt):

Heidenheim, Le Havre, Angers, Genoa and Sevilla.

The absolute state of Sevilla's window:

Newcastle's Coup: Silky Giant Nick Woltemade Is a Reminder to Not Judge a Book by Its Cover | Opta Analyst Newcastle are close to signing Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart. Coveted by Bayern Munich, the Germany international's arrival would be an exciting addition.

𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞: 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐛𝐲 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫

Newcastle are closing in on the signing of Stuttgart's giant of a centre-forward, Nick Woltemade.

But don't let his enormous frame trick you into thinking he's a certain type of forward.

✍️ @rbenson92.bsky.social

theanalyst.com/articles/nic...

Wolves 0-4 Man City Stats: Inspirational Reijnders Steps Into De Bruyne’s Shoes on Classy Debut | Opta Analyst Tijjani Reijnders stole the show on his Manchester City debut. See how he played a vital role in a big win at Molineux with our Wolves vs Man City stats page.

𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐣𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬

He'll need to do more than tame Wolves to be truly anointed Kevin De Bruyne's heir at Manchester City.

But Tijjani Reijnders' Premier League debut couldn't have been much better as the Dutchman produced a classy showing.

✍️ @rbenson92.bsky.social

theanalyst.com/articles/wol...

How Scandinavia Became the Centre-Forward Capital of Men's Football | Opta Analyst There's a school of thought that the number nine is "dying out", but Norway, Sweden and Denmark are doing their best as conservationists.

well done if you're still with me.

This was my favourite piece of the summer, looking into the explosion of Scandinavian centre-forwards, speaking to experts who've worked extensively in the region.

theanalyst.com/articles/sca...

Man City 2025-26 Preview: Five Key Questions Ahead of the New Season | Opta Analyst The Premier League returns for the 2025-26 season this week. Ahead of the action commencing, we focus on Manchester City and their bid to regain the title.

... and Manchester City.

theanalyst.com/articles/man...

Man Utd 2025-26 Preview: Five Key Questions Ahead of the New Season | Opta Analyst The Premier League returns for the 2025-26 season this week. Ahead of the action commencing, we focus on Manchester United and their latest rebuild.

With another Man Utd rebuild/transition/renaissance in progress, I posed five key questions for them over 2025-26.

theanalyst.com/articles/man...

One Potential Breakout Star for Each Premier League Team in 2025-26 | Opta Analyst Ahead of the 2025-26 Premier League season, we picked one youngster from each club who could make a name for themselves in the next 12 months.

Here, the team collaborated to pick one potential breakout player for every Premier League club this season.

theanalyst.com/articles/pre...

Aaron Ramsdale's Newcastle Arrival Could Be Beginning of the End for Nick Pope | Opta Analyst Newcastle hope to sign Aaron Ramsdale on loan from Southampton. But they already have a good goalkeeper in Nick Pope, so what's behind this move?

Beginning of the end for Nick Pope?

Went deep on Aaron Ramsdale and Pope here, with a particular focus on their passing habits using various Opta Vision metrics.

You might be hearing quite a bit about Opta Vision this season...

theanalyst.com/articles/new...

Eight Premier League Players We’re Excited to Watch in 2025-26 | Opta Analyst The new Premier League season is very nearly here, and we're pumped for it to start. With that in mind, we've selected eight players we're particularly looking forward to watching.

Players we're excited to watch in 2025-26

@alitweedale.bsky.social and I picked some... well yeah, the above and the title pretty much tell you what this is about...

theanalyst.com/articles/pre...

Martín Zubimendi Could be the Key to Arsenal Freeing up Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard | Opta Analyst Arsenal have completed the signing of Spain midfielder Martín Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. Here, we analyse why he could be a shrewd acquisition by the Gunners.

Martín Zubimendi

"a very interesting statistical analysis of Zubimendi's game" - not my words, the words of Sid Lowe on Twitter.

So yeah 👍

theanalyst.com/articles/mar...

'Like A New Signing': Returning Premier League Players Who Could Star in 2025-26 | Opta Analyst Ahead of the 2025-26 Premier League season, we've identified eight players returning from injuries or loans who could be "like a new signing" to their team.

'Like a new signing'

Here, we picked out a bunch of players who missed a lot (or all) of last season that we're looking forward to watching in 2025-26.

theanalyst.com/articles/lik...

Which European Leagues and Clubs Put Most Faith in Young Players? | Opta Analyst Ever wondered how attitudes and priorities relating to young players vary across Europe? Well, wonder no longer...

Which European leagues and clubs put most faith in young players?

Sifting through all the numbers for this was fun and it includes some nice viz courtesy of Robbie Dunne and Jon Manuel.

theanalyst.com/articles/you...

Seems I've picked up about 90 followers in the past 24 hours. So, firstly, hiya. Secondly, in the interest of appeasing the fans and acknowledging the start of the Premier League today, this is a thread of some pieces I've particularly enjoyed working on for @optaanalyst.optajoe.com recently...

Which European Leagues and Clubs Put Most Faith in Young Players? | Opta Analyst Ever wondered how attitudes and priorities relating to young players vary across Europe? Well, wonder no longer...

𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡

Ever wondered which leagues and clubs put the most faith in young players? Well, @rbenson92.bsky.social has an article for that...

🏆 Youthful champions
🛣️ Consistent route to first team
🏡 Homegrown lifelines
👴 Experience preference

⬇️
theanalyst.com/articles/you...

How Scandinavia Became the Centre-Forward Capital of Men's Football | Opta Analyst There's a school of thought that the number nine is "dying out", but Norway, Sweden and Denmark are doing their best as conservationists.

𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐚'𝐬 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞-𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

🔓 "Freedom"
🧬 Genetics
⚖️ Socio-economic factors
🧠 'Vision'

After Scandinavian players scored more goals than ever (on record) in 2024-25, @rbenson92.bsky.social explored how they are developing youngsters in the region... ⬇️

theanalyst.com/articles/sca...