Sun 29 Sep 2024, 14:00

No Premier League defender has scored more in all competitions than Josko Gvardiol.

The Croatian netted his first goal of 2024/25 with an expertly taken finish in the 1-1 draw at Newcastle United on Saturday.

Underlapping winger Jack Grealish, Gvardiol received the ball in the box and chopped inside to roll it into the far corner.

It was his sixth goal as a City player, all coming in this calendar year.

That sets him apart from every other defender in the division, with the next most prolific being Newcastle's Fabian Schar and Arsenal's Gabriel, with five each.

With three assists too, he now has nine goal contributions in just 51 appearances for City.

Buy your Gvardiol shirt here

What's more for Gvardiol, five of his goals have come from his supposedly weaker right foot and just one with his head.

He is also incredibly efficient, with his shots so far generating just 3.5xG - meaning his six goals are far outperforming the expected rate of scoring for a player shooting from the positions he has.

Gvardiol's primary role is to keep goals out and he has performed that task incredibly well too, with his 55 tackles in the Premier League last season second only to Rodrigo amongst the City squad.

He has continued that this term, making 13 tackles so far - with only Mateo Kovacic ahead of him from City's perspective.

His latest Man of the Match performance came on a frustrating but potentially important afternoon as we earned a point at St James' Park.

City enjoyed 62% of the ball against Eddie Howe's side, having 16 shots compared to their 11.

In the end, Anthony Gordon's penalty was enough to level the scores.

Erling Haaland remains far ahead of all others in the race for the Golden Boot, with 10 strikes in six appearances. Cole Palmer, who scored four for Chelsea on Saturday, is second with six of his own.

Our 14 goals is now second in the division, with Chelsea scoring 15 so far.

We remain the Premier League's pass masters, completing 3,823 in our six games so far - with Liverpool next on 3,358. Manuel Akanji leads the way on that metric for us, passing 537 times to date.

We remain one of only two teams unbeaten so far, with Arsenal the other team yet to taste defeat.

Further reading

Taylor: Roord 'completely nailed' ACL recovery Women's Team

'Clever' Foden is getting back to his best - Pep Injury update: Rodri ruled out for season, says boss City to host FC Barcelona in UEFA Women's Champions League opener FIFA Club World Cup Stadiums announced Configuration of the Etihad Stadium's North Stand expansion revealed