Falling behind in a game of football is usually framed as the beginning of the end. When the opposition takes the advantage, they usually either manage to shut up shop defensively or go up through the attacking gears in the search of maximum points.
Usually but not always and this is why the Premier League is such an enthralling competition because nothing is ever truly over until the final whistle and even finding yourself a goal or two better off does not always mean victory.
Whether through resilience, tactical shifts or sheer necessity, there a handful of sides that have made a habit of recovering from losing positions. Managing to turn defeats into draws and on occasion, even snatching unlikely wins.
Which is where the Comeback Table comes into play and by tracking how teams perform after falling behind, it offers a different perspective on the league. Who are the most determined teams in this season’s Premier League? Who are those with a weak underbelly? The table below has the answers:
Rank | Team | Deficits | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points |
1 | Aston Villa | 17 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 19 |
2 | Sunderland | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 19 |
3 | Bournemouth | 17 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 16 |
4 | Man United | 16 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 15 |
5 | Brighton | 19 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 15 |
6 | Chelsea | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 13 |
7 | Fulham | 21 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 13 |
8 | Nottingham Forest | 22 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 13 |
9 | Arsenal | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
10 | Everton | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 9 |
11 | Leeds | 19 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 9 |
12 | West Ham | 21 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 9 |
13 | Burnley | 29 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 9 |
14 | Brentford | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 8 |
15 | Crystal Palace | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 8 |
16 | Tottenham | 23 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 7 |
17 | Liverpool | 13 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 |
18 | Wolves | 27 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 4 |
19 | Man City | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
20 | Newcastle | 17 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 3 |
Although both Aston Villa and Sunderland find themselves on 19 points each collected after going behind, it is the West Midlands outfit that are crowned champions by virtue of earning more wins in the process.
Unai Emery’s men have found themselves behind on 17 occasions this season, and although this has then meant 10 subsequent defeats, it is not all bad news for the Champions League hopefuls. Six wins have been engineered from behind with an additional draw added to good measure.
This means Villa have salvaged something from 41.1% of their deficits (7/17) and when you see how tight the race for a top-five finish could be at the end of the season, their act as comeback kings should not be overlooked.
While Sunderland have found themselves in a deficit position on 21 occasions, managing to salvage something from nine of them. Five wins and four draws have given Regis Le Bris’ men an additional 19 points to the league tally. Will it be enough to sneak into Europe, or are they now on the beach?
THE CHASING PACK
The top two are three points better off than Bournemouth in third, and just like how Aston Villa have found themselves in a deficit position on 17 occasions, the same can be said for the Cherries – the only difference is the quantity of wins that Andoni Iraola’s players have managed to carve out.
Whereas Villa have picked up six wins, Bournemouth have only managed three. Then again, their determination must be measured in their ability to grind out draws. They have picked up as many as seven from a losing position.
10 of those 17 matches have seen Bournemouth salvage something, a comeback ratio of 58.8% and their total of 16 points is one better than the pair of Manchester United and Brighton who sit fourth and fifth respectively.
The Red Devils have found themselves with the lowest number of deficit positions of all the top five teams in our Comeback Table – just 16 in total. Of those 16, they have only managed to end up on the winning side on three occasions.
They have however managed double that number when it comes to draws in this season’s Premier League. Nine salvages out of a possible 16, giving the Old Trafford outfit a comeback ratio of 56.3% for the season.
As for Brighton, they have found themselves behind on no fewer than 19 occasions and the bad news for the Seagulls is that they have managed to go on and lose 10 matches but like Man United above, they have also picked up three wins and six draws from losing positions.
While losing positions is something that the next three clubs have been used to throughout the campaign. Chelsea, Fulham and Nottingham Forest all having won three and drawn four games once behind, then there are varying degrees of difficulty thereafter,
The Blues have lost 12 of the 19 deficit positions that they have been in this season. The Cottagers have lost 14 out of 21 – meaning that two-thirds of Fulham’s deficits have ended in defeat and Forest have lost 13 out of 22.
THE TITLE CHALLENGERS
Which then leads us to the current league leaders Arsenal. Logically, you would not expect them to be too high in the Comeback Table by virtue of being able to impose their dominance on other teams more often than not.
By that logic it is perhaps no surprise that the Gunners find themselves in ninth after only finding themselves in a deficit position on 10 occasions this season. From there, they have managed to claw back nine points from behind. Everyone of them matters in the race for the title.
By contrast, their nearest rivals Manchester City have only found themselves in a deficit position on six separate occasions. However, from those six, they have only managed to claw back three points – losing five of those six games in the process.
They have not been behind all too often but when they are, they seemingly fail to claw themselves back in the game and this could be the big difference between now and the campaign. If they are to win the Premier League, they may have to be on the front foot in each of their encounters.
Then again, it makes for worse reading if you are a Newcastle supporter, as the Magpies find themselves at the bottom of the Comeback Table and although they have also picked up a single win from a losing position, they have been in that position a lot more than Manchester City.
NO FIGHT LEFT
Whereas the Etihad outfit where behind the proverbial eight ball on six separate occasions, Newcastle have been in the same pattern 17 times. One single win, no draws and 16 defeats, whatever the opposite of a comeback king is, it is most definitely the Magpies.
However, they will have good reason to point elsewhere and when you look at the records of both Tottenham and Wolves, the Tyneside outfit will perhaps feel hard done by. Neither Spurs nor the Molineux men have picked up a single win from a losing position.
Spurs recording an eye-watering 23 deficit positions this season, Wolves going four worse at 27. The North London outfit have at least managed to claw back seven points in their bid to stay up but have still recorded 16 losses once behind.
While Wolves by comparison have collected just four points – all of them coming from a position of stalemate. This means Rob Edwards’ side have lost 23 of their 27 matches where they find themselves in a deficit position. The fact they sit bottom of the table is obviously no coincidence.
