Spurs surrender two leads in a week as Aston Villa stand alone in resilience table

If you’ve ranked teams by points won from losing positions then you have literally no choice but to also rank them for points lost from winning positions. Even if one team still hasn’t been in any winning positions from which to lose points.

Anyway, on we go. That other, currently Liverpool-led, ranking can be found here.

20) Burnley – 11 points dropped
5 leads, 1 win, 1 draw, 3 defeats

Scored an early opener against Spurs. Drew v Nottingham Forest after taking a less-early lead. Then made that Spurs mistake by scoring within a quarter of an hour against Chelsea, only to lose by three goals again. Most damagingly, lost after taking another early lead against Bournemouth. And like Bournemouth, when you’ve won only once all season it seems particularly careless to be losing three games you’ve led.

19) Bournemouth – 11 points
6 leads, 2 wins, 1 draw, 3 defeats

Really, really silly to take the lead against Brighton. But caving in against Wolves was almost unforgivable. Finally have a first win of the season at the 10th attempt but still currently appear to be relying on ‘three teams being even worse’ as a survival strategy. That the Cherries are 17th suggests that might in fact be all that’s needed.

18) Brentford – 11 points
9 leads, 4 wins, 4 draws, 1 defeat

Brentford dropped 15 points from a winning position last season and lost only once in such a situation – Arsenal were the only team to avoid that fate altogether. Thomas Frank has some work to do. But battering Burnley was a step in the right direction, and pulling Chelsea’s pants down for their now traditional three points at Stamford Bridge even more so.

17) West Ham – 10 points
9 leads, 5 wins, 2 draws, 2 defeats

Being pegged back by Bournemouth on the opening day feels a long time ago now and there is no shame in losing a match to Manchester City after taking the lead. Nor in drawing with Newcastle after a late equaliser in a 1-0, 2-1 down scenario. Plenty in going from 1-0 to 1-2 and then 3-2 at Brentford, mind. They tried their hardest to chuck it away at Forest but Moyesball eventually prevailed.

16) Nottingham Forest – 8 points
6 leads, 3 wins, 1 draw, 2 defeats

Don’t go 2-0 up inside four minutes at Old Trafford is the confusing lesson here. Don’t capitulate to Luton was more straightforward and they were only in front for two minutes against West Ham.

15) Tottenham – 8 points
11 leads, 8 wins, 1 draw, 2 defeats

Should probably have won on the opening day at Brentford having led and trailed in a wild first half. Have been mighty impressive since, though. That game against Chelsea was so batsh*t that you almost forget that Tottenham were at one stage leading. And against Wolves, they lead going into added time before the f***ed it.

14) Wolves – 7 points
7 leads, 4 wins, 2 draws, 1 defeat

Simply missed all their many, many chances when it was 0-0 at Old Trafford, thus avoiding the trap into which Nottingham Forest stumbled so foolishly, and then got thrashed by Brighton. When they did finally take a lead, they made sure to do so a) very late in the game and b) against an Everton side who simply never, ever score any goals. Liverpool was a very different story. Wolves led early; missed a sitter before half-time; then caved in the second half. They then gave Luton their first point of the season by throwing away a one-goal lead. They looked like predictably doing the same against Manchester City but simply scored again after the champions equalised. Inexplicably moved away from that tactic in the Midlands derby against Villa.

13) Newcastle – 7 points
9 leads, 6 wins, 2 draws, 1 defeat

Don’t be 1-0 up with 10 minutes to go against 10-man Liverpool is the confusing lesson here; 1-1 against 10 or even nine is obviously fine. Trailed and led in a 2-2 draw at West Ham, and led twice before having to settle for a point at Wolves.

12) Brighton – 6 points
8 leads, 5 wins, 3 draws, 0 defeats

Pretty much flawless for the first two games of the season. Less said about the West Ham game the better. Then demolished Newcastle, Man United and Bournemouth. Less said about the Aston Villa game the better. Liverpool game somewhere in between the previous feast and famine offerings, but did cost them their flawless record here. Then threw away lead v Fulham and, unforgivably, Sheffield United at home.

11) Sheffield United – 5 points
3 leads, 1 wins, 1 draw, 1 defeat

Sheffield United and Everton getting together to win their first points from behind and lose their first points from ahead in the same game was a touching moment of unity in these troubled times. It is safe to say Paul Heckingbottom was not touched after his side lost at Tottenham, despite being 1-0 up going into injury time. They had not taken the lead since until facing Wolves, when they even managed to do it twice in victory.

=9) Everton – 4 points
6 leads, 4 wins, 2 draws, 0 defeats

If there’s one thing Sean Dyche typically knows how to do, it’s keep a lead. Establishing them has proven more difficult.

=9) Chelsea – 4 points
6 leads, 4 wins, 2 draws, 0 defeats

Should have seen out a two-goal lead against Arsenal. Did not. Did hold on to their lead against nine-man Spurs so that’s something. They were leading once against Manchester City so technically dropped two points but it definitely felt like a point gained when the injury-time equaliser went in.

=7) Liverpool – 4 points
10 leads, 8 wins, 2 draws, 0 defeats

The 3-0 win over Aston Villa marked the first time this season Liverpool have gone on to win after scoring the first goal of a game, four matches into their season. The Spurs defeat was the first fixture the Reds have failed to take a lead in so far; bloody significant human error. Trailed and led in an entertaining and fair enough 2-2 draw at Brighton.

=7) Arsenal – 4 points
10 leads, 8 wins, 2 draws, 0 defeats

Still on track to match last season’s achievement of never losing from a winning position, but throwing away leads against Fulham and then against Tottenham was sub-optimal.

6) Crystal Palace – 3 points
5 leads, 4 wins, 0 draws, 1 defeat

Held on for a 1-0 win at Sheffield United on the opening day, eventually saw off Wolves after being pegged back to 1-1, lost to Aston Villa after Odsonne Edouard’s opener and then Hodgsoned all over Old Trafford yet again.

5) Manchester United – 3 points
7 leads, 6 wins, 0 draws, 1 defeat

Nobody dropped fewer points from winning positions last season than United, who won 23 of the 26 Premier League games in which they led. The Arsenal silliness has put them on the back foot early doors this time around but the overall numbers are still solid despite general struggles.

4) Luton Town – 2 points
2 leads, 1 win, 1 draw, 0 defeats

Absolutely embarrassing. Just relegate them now. Pathetic, that.

3) Fulham – 2 points
4 leads, 3 wins, 1 draw, 0 defeats

On balance, they’re probably taking that point at the Emirates even after becoming the latest in a bafflingly long line of teams to score in the first minute against Arsenal this year.

2) Manchester City – 2 points
10 leads, 9 wins, 1 draw, 0 defeats

Three times they got their noses in front v Chelsea but each time they were dragged back in an astonishing game. They are fallible.

1) Aston Villa – 0 points
8 leads, 8 wins, 0 draws, 0 defeats

The opening-day aberration at Newcastle is forgotten, but at least that kind of thrashing does you no damage in this particular table. Subsequent comfy wins over Everton, Burnley, Brighton, West Ham and Fulham never really looked like doing so either. Coming from behind to beat Palace was a nice change as well.