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Tag: ruthless
Burnley vs Leeds: Who comes out on top in a battle between a record-breaking defence and a ruthless attack? | Football News
One of the biggest games of the Championship season will kick-off at Turf Moor on Monday night, live on Sky Sports.
Burnley and Leeds were among the favourites to win promotion back to the Premier League before a ball was kicked this season and both have lived up to that billing.
Daniel Farke’s Leeds currently lead the Championship with 59 points, one point ahead of second-placed Sheffield Utd and three ahead of Monday’s opposition, Burnley.
Monday 27th January 7:00pm
Kick off 8:00pm
Burnley have won six points fewer than at the same stage of their last Championship season in 2022/23 when they were promoted as champions with 101 points.
While they may be disappointed at this stage to not occupy one of the two automatic promotions spots, this campaign has so far been a successful one at that is mostly down to their defence.
Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Leeds United and Norwich City
Burnley backline proving impossible to break down
The Clarets have conceded just nine goals in their 28 league games this season – the joint-fewest ever by any team at this stage of an English Football League season. The only team to match this feat was Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side of 2004-05, who went on to win the Premier League title, conceding a joint-English League record-low 15 goals.
Maxime Esteve has been a key part of Burnley’s defence
If Burnley continue conceding goals at this sparse rate of 0.32 per game, they would concede between 14 or 15 goals by the end of the season so could potentially beat that record set by Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2004-05 and Preston way back in the first ever league season in 1888-89.
Those were both set in seasons with less than 46 games. The lowest number of goals conceded in a 46-game season was 20 by Gillingham in Division 3 in 1995-96. To beat that record Scott Parker’s team have to concede less than 11 goals over their remaining 18 fixtures.
Burnley’s defence has clearly not been giving away anything this season, having not made an error leading to a single goal as of yet.
Burnley’s defensive numbers are made more impressive given they do let the opposition have chances. Parker’s team have faced 264 shots in the League this season – 24 teams have faced fewer in the top 4 tiers in 2024/25 with Leeds, interestingly, facing the fewest (180).
Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Plymouth and Burnley
However, 61 of the 70 shots on target Burnley have faced this season have been saved, giving the Clarets the best save ratio in the top 4 tiers in 2024-25 (87.1 per cent).
Unsurprisingly, Burnley come out on top across the top four tiers in English football for a number of defensive metrics with more clean sheets (19) and a better xG against (-14.48) than any other side.
Comparing Burnley’s defensive numbers to teams in Europe’s major Leagues, the Clarets achievements still stand up. Atletico Madrid have conceded the fewest goals across the major Leagues this season with 14 in 21 matches – five goals more than Burnley in seven fewer games.
League-leading Leeds will try and burst through Claret wall
Up against the country’s best defence on Monday night is statistically its best attack.
Whilst the stats above do show Leeds have performed well defensively this season, it is in attack where they have really shone.
Daniel Farke’s side have scored 53 goals this season – the most by any team in England’s top four tiers and six more than any other Championship team.
Leeds have scored the most goals in the Championship
Ahead of this weekend’s action, Leeds have also had the more shots (463) and shots on target (160) than any other team in senior English League football.
Again comparing from Europe’s major leagues, only Bayern Munich (58) have scored more League goals this season than Leeds.
And Leeds have had more shot and shots on target than any team from those Leagues this season.
When Leeds last won promotion from the Championship as title winners in 2019/20, Marcelo Bielsa’s team had seven points fewer at this stage than Farke’s side this season and had also scored 10 goals fewer.
Everything bodes well for Leeds’ efforts to gain promotion back to the Premier League after two seasons in the second tier. But if they are to increase the three-point gap on Burnley on Monday night, they will have to find a way to breach a defence only nine teams have managed to find a way past this season.
In one corner, we have Burnley with their record-breaking defence, having conceded just 39 goals in 38 Premier League matches last season. In the other corner, we have Leeds with their ruthless attack, scoring 62 goals in the same number of matches.It’s a clash of styles as Burnley’s resolute backline led by the likes of James Tarkowski and Ben Mee look to shut down Leeds’ dynamic attacking trio of Patrick Bamford, Jack Harrison, and Raphinha. Can Burnley’s defence stand strong against Leeds’ relentless pressure and creativity? Or will Leeds’ attacking prowess prove too much for Burnley to handle?
With both teams looking to make a statement early in the season, this match promises to be a thrilling encounter. Who will come out on top in this battle between defence and attack? Stay tuned to find out.
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Emma Raducanu exits Australian Open after defeat to ruthless Iga Swiatek | Australian Open 2025
Over the past few years of professional tennis, the sight of Iga Swiatek annihilating another poor, defenceless opponent has become as sure as the sun will rise. When Swiatek’s game is flowing and her mind is clear, the combined quality of her violent ball-striking, athleticism and unrelenting focus is so great that, at some point or another, she has rendered nearly all of the best players in the world spectators in their own matches.
On Saturday afternoon at Melbourne Park, it was Emma Raducanu’s turn to endure the unpleasant experience of entering the Swiatek bakery. Raducanu cut a lonely, solemn figure on one of the biggest tennis stadiums in the world in the face of a supreme Swiatek, who ploughed her way into the fourth round of the Australian Open by winning the final 11 games of her ruthless 6-1, 6-0 win.
“I think she played very well, but I also think that I didn’t play very well, so … I mean, it’s just not a great combination,” said Raducanu. “Of course, if a top player is playing perfect, it’s going to be a difficult match already. And yeah, I just want to work on certain things and make them better and more consistent.”
In her first tournament of the season, after back spasms significantly affected her pre-season preparation, Raducanu had arrived in the third round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career with two gritty straight-sets wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 26th seed, and Amanda Anisimova. Both times, the 22-year-old demonstrated her fighting spirit and court sense against an ultra-aggressive but inconsistent opponent, outmanoeuvring them to advance.
But there comes a time when no amount of fight can make up for the gulf in quality between two players. There was never any doubt that Swiatek, a five-time grand slam champion, was going to show up and produce a high level on Rod Laver Arena. The question was what exactly Raducanu could do to make her life difficult.
Emma Raducanu was outclassed in a 6-1, 6-0 defeat to Iga Swiatek in the third round of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Photograph: Robert Prange/Getty Images “I felt great,” said Swiatek. “I felt like the ball is listening to me. So just pretty loosened up. At the end I felt like all the tactics and everything I wanted to do, I was able to. So I just kept going.”
Against one of the very best players in the world in soaring form, there was little Raducanu could do. She does not have enough natural firepower to match Swiatek, whose wicked, heavy topspin forehand was even more difficult to deal with in such warm, lively conditions, and although she is a good athlete, she is not quite quick enough to pressure Swiatek with her defence.
Understandably, Raducanu looked out of ideas from early on. When she tried to force herself onto the front foot, injecting pace into her groundstrokes and aiming for the lines, her error count rose quickly. At the same time, when she tried to patiently build points, Swiatek completely outhit her. Her performance was simply a reflection of the limitations in her game compared to a player who is on the path to becoming an all-time great.
Although her tournament ended with a heavy defeat, Raducanu will leave Melbourne having made positive progress with two good wins over solid tennis players. She is clearly playing top 30-level tennis when she is actually able to compete and she has a solid base to work from. The real challenge is remaining fit enough to consistently build on her progress throughout the long season ahead.
“I think the biggest positive I would say is how I’ve approached every single day,” said Raducanu. “I think before the tournament, in tricky situations with Auckland and the back, how I handled myself going into the tournament not necessarily the most prepared. Then I’d say even how I kind of handled the match today, it’s quite different and I have to be proud of myself and give myself a pat on the back.
“I think one of my goals for this year is to just be consistent, ride with it. I think today is going to be a really good test in a sense, but also I’m going to look back and be like I learnt a lot from it and got a lot of feedback on what I need to do better.”
In a stunning turn of events at the Australian Open 2025, rising tennis star Emma Raducanu was knocked out of the tournament after a tough defeat against the ruthless Iga Swiatek.Raducanu, who had been the talk of the tennis world after her historic win at the US Open in 2021, was unable to overcome Swiatek’s powerful game and fell short in a hard-fought match.
Despite the loss, Raducanu showed incredible determination and skill on the court, proving that she is a force to be reckoned with in the world of tennis. Fans are no doubt eager to see what the future holds for this young talent.
As for Swiatek, she continues to impress with her dominant performances and is now one step closer to claiming the title at the Australian Open. It will be exciting to see how she fares in the rest of the tournament.
Stay tuned for more updates from the Australian Open 2025 as the competition heats up and the world’s best players battle it out for the coveted title.
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Exclusive: Piastri evaluates ‘ruthless’ Verstappen after criticism
Oscar Piastri has described Max Verstappen as a “ruthless” racer following criticism of his tactics this year.
Verstappen came under fire from some pundits for his aggression towards title rival Lando Norris in the United States and Mexico as they battled for the F1 title.
The Dutchman prevailed in the fight, winning his fourth F1 title in Las Vegas to join an exclusive list of the most successful drivers in the sport’s history.
Speaking exclusively to RacingNews365, Piastri hailed Verstappen’s abilities while acknowledging the merciless way the Red Bull driver conducts himself.
“You can’t take anything away from Max in terms of his ability, in terms of his success, his results,” Piastri said.
“He’s definitely an incredibly ruthless racer. It’s obvious from watching his career that he makes life incredibly tough and pushes the boundaries of the rules.
“Sometimes, yes, there have been times when he’s stepped over the limit.
“Hard racing is what we all come to expect. And I don’t think you’ll find anyone on the grid that’s easy to race against.”
Verstappen has long been one of the more aggressive drivers on the grid and has often demonstrated his lack of desire to yield.
Although he poses an aggressive threat, Piastri started his consistent nature makes it easier to judge how he will treat his rivals in wheel-to-wheel combat.
“Maybe Max is firmer, but it’s firmer from an already firm position,” Piastri said. “I’ve seen the incidents this year and just how Max has raced in general.
“Sometimes it has bordered on being a bit too far. For me, you always know what to expect, which is sometimes better than being up against someone who is unpredictable.
“The talent is undeniable. He’s a very deserving champion this year, and hopefully, we can come out the blocks strong and mount a challenge from the start.”
In a recent exclusive interview with Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri, the young Australian driver shared his thoughts on the recent criticism directed towards Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen.Piastri, who is set to make his Formula 1 debut with Alpine next season, described Verstappen as a “ruthless competitor” on the track. He praised the Red Bull driver for his aggressive driving style and relentless pursuit of victories, but also acknowledged that Verstappen’s approach has sometimes led to controversy.
“I think Max is one of the most talented drivers on the grid right now, and his determination to win is unmatched,” Piastri said. “But there have been moments where his aggressiveness has crossed the line, and he has faced criticism for his on-track behavior.”
Piastri went on to say that he believes Verstappen’s competitive nature is what sets him apart from other drivers, but emphasized the importance of staying within the boundaries of fair racing.
“It’s a fine line between being a fierce competitor and being reckless,” Piastri added. “I think Max is still learning how to navigate that line, but I have no doubt that he will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in Formula 1.”
As Piastri prepares to join the ranks of Formula 1 next season, he will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on Verstappen’s performances and learning from the Dutch driver’s approach to racing.
Stay tuned for more insights and updates from Piastri as he gears up for his debut season in Formula 1 with Alpine.
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