Welcome to the latest edition of The Alternative Premier League Table, where each week, The Athletic analyses the entire division through a specific lens.
After looking at crosses in last week’s edition, this week we will dive into late goals, with 85 minutes into games our chosen threshold for a late strike throughout this article.
Matchday 27 saw six teams score in or after the 85th minute, taking the Premier League season tally up to 117. That already eclipses the totals from 2020-21 (112) and 2022-23 (114), is only one behind 2019-20, and on track to get close to 2024-25’s 156. The 195 late goals from 2023-24 might be hard to beat, though.
Key takeaways from this week’s table include:
- Liverpool lead the way with 10 late goals this season, but Arne Slot’s side have also conceded seven at the other end.
- No team has let in more late goals than Leeds United (12), while their three goals scored is joint second bottom.
- Aston Villa are the only team yet to concede a goal in or after the 85th minute this season.
- Wolves rank bottom for goals scored late with just two, but both have come against league leaders Arsenal.
As usual, the article that follows is long but detailed, so please settle down and enjoy it all — or use the index at the bottom of the page to jump to a specific club.
Liverpool
Liverpool’s lead in this category this season is hardly surprising. Since the start of 2018-19, their 88 goals scored in or after the 85th minute is 20 higher than Manchester City in second. Mohamed Salah, who has three late goals in 2025-26, leads this category, too, with 11 (level with Callum Wilson and Erling Haaland).
Five of their 10 goals, including Alexis Mac Allister’s strike against Nottingham Forest (after having one disallowed for handball earlier), have come with the game level. Three occurred in their first four games, resulting in wins over Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Burnley.
At the other end, their seven conceded represents a quarter of their total since 2018-19 (28). Four of those goals have also come with the game level, resulting in losses to City, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Alisson has conceded nearly two goals more than expected (six from 4.3 expected goals on target).
The other three have come when they were ahead, with Fulham and Leeds scoring deep into stoppage time to rescue draws. The other goal — from Newcastle’s Will Osula in the 87th minute in August — was rapidly superseded by Rio Ngumoha’s even later winner.
Rio Ngumoha celebrates his late winner at St James’ Park (George Wood/Getty Images)
Leeds United
Leeds have conceded 12 times late in games, with their 46 per cent duel success rate in this period the second worst in the league, only ahead of Bournemouth (44 per cent).
Dropping too deep, individual errors, and a league-worst four penalty goals conceded have meant opponents have converted 25 per cent of their shots (also league-worst) against Leeds in the dying moments.
Six of their late goals conceded, including Tammy Abraham’s strike at the weekend, have come when they have led. Aston Villa and Bournemouth came from a goal behind to draw, while Newcastle equalised and scored another to beat Leeds 4-3 a month ago.
Lucas Perri and Karl Darlow have both struggled late on, allowing over three goals more than expected (12 conceded from 15.3 xGOT).
Leeds’ only late goal to break a deadlock came against Fulham in January courtesy of Lukas Nmecha, a reversal on the 94th-minute Gabriel Gudmundsson own goal that saw Marco Silva’s side win in September. Manchester City and Newcastle were the other teams to score late on to snatch a point away from Leeds.
Aston Villa
Villa have been one of the league’s best teams when defending late in games and are yet to concede in or after the 85th minute in 2025-26. In fact, since Unai Emery’s arrival at the dugout in November 2022, their 20 goals conceded late on ranks only behind Arsenal and Liverpool among the 17 teams to not be promoted or relegated.
Villa have controlled games late on better than most. They have had a field tilt (share of total touches in the attacking third) of 53 per cent while also managing a league-best 85 per cent passing accuracy in the final third.
At the other end, Villa scored late from the chaos caused by a corner to draw against Leeds and benefited from a similar situation from open play before Emiliano Buendia scored the winner against Arsenal in December. Their other late game-winner also came from a corner, with Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood putting through his own net earlier this month.
Emi Buendia scored late on in Aston Villa’s win against Arsenal (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Wolves
Bottom-placed Wolves’ only late goals this season have both come against leaders Arsenal. Tolu Arokodare scored a late equaliser in the first meeting at the Emirates, before their second own goal of the game gave the league leaders a fortunate win. Tom Edozie’s late goal last week rescued a point, while also adding to the drama at the top.
Wolves have twice conceded late equalisers to Brighton’s Jan-Paul van Hecke and Tottenham Hotspur’s Joao Palhinha, dropping four valuable points.
They have also conceded late winners on two occasions other than Yerson Mosquera’s own goal at Arsenal. Burnley punished Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s errant pass in October, while Joao Gomes failed to track Evann Guessand’s run in the weekend loss to Crystal Palace.
Manchester United
Manchester United have fewer expected goals at the end of games than any other side — 3.6. Two of their four goals allowed — from Fulham’s Kevin and Brentford’s Mathias Jensen — were from outside the box, while the other two (against Brighton and Spurs) came from set pieces.
At the other end, their three late match-winners ranks second behind Liverpool’s five. Benjamin Sesko was the hero against Fulham, while Matheus Cunha helped inflict Arsenal’s only home defeat in 2025-26 last month. In August, Bruno Fernandes scored a 97th-minute penalty to seal a 3-2 win at Burnley.
Fernandes leads all players for chances created at the death with 13, recording two assists. His 56 chances created in the final stages of matches since 2021-22 is 11 more than James Ward-Prowse in second place.
Bryan Mbeumo, who has netted just one late goal this season, is only behind Erling Haaland (11) in late goals scored since 2021-22 with eight. He also has six assists, which only trails Mohamed Salah (eight).
West Ham United
Since the start of 2018-19, no player has scored more late match-winners than Tomas Soucek’s five. Two of those came against Everton in January 2021 and March 2024.
Of West Ham’s six goals scored in or after the 85th minute in 2025-26, four have come with them already ahead, including two in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest. The other two came within a week of each other in victories over Newcastle (3-1) and Burnley (3-2).
West Ham’s only late match-winner came against Spurs last month from Callum Wilson, whose 11 late goals since 2018-19 is the joint-most with Haaland and Salah.
Defensively, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side rank bottom for shots on target conceded in the closing minutes, with 24, nine of which have ended in goals. They have made seven errors leading to a shot, the most, with two leading to a goal.
The first one against Burnley did not result in a loss, but Ollie Scarles’ missed clearance against Fulham in December led to Harry Wilson assisting Raul Jimenez’s winner.
Manchester City
Manchester City have typically taken the sting out of games late on with long spells of passing, but their 56 per cent possession in or after the 85th minute in 2025-26 is their lowest in the last eight seasons, while their direct speed of 1.5 meters per second (a measure of how quickly a team moves the ball towards the opposition goal-line) is at its highest.
City are the only team to not score or concede when trailing in matches. They have netted three times when ahead, all through Erling Haaland in the 3-0 win over Palace in December and twice in the 5-1 win over Burnley in September. Haaland’s 14 shots at the end of games is the highest in the league, with 71 per cent of them on target.
City have also had two late game-winners that have kept them in the thick of the title race. Haaland’s late penalty against Liverpool this month followed Phil Foden’s strike in the 3-2 win over Leeds in November.
At the other end, City have twice conceded when ahead, leading to draws against Chelsea and Arsenal. They averaged 42 per cent possession in the closing moments of both games, retreating deeper and deeper and creating just four combined chances in the final half hours of both games.
They have also conceded one late winner, against Brighton in August.
Erling Haaland’s first Premier League goal at Anfield came late on (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Brighton and Hove Albion
Brighton lead the division for goals from corners at the end of games with four, even if their overall set-piece record is middle of the road (ninth in xG per 100 set pieces, with 4.5).
Three of those have won them points. Georginio Rutter equalised from a goalmouth scramble against West Ham, Jan-Paul van Hecke headed home the leveller against Wolves, and Maxim De Cuyper did the same for the winner against Chelsea, both goals coming from well-worked short corners.
Brighton have also conceded late twice from set pieces. Jack Hinshelwood scored into his own net in the 1-0 loss to Villa in February, while Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz scored in the 97th minute on the opening day. Fulham inflicted further pain in January, with Harry Wilson scoring a 92nd-minute free kick.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side have scored four late goals while trailing, only behind Burnley’s six. Apart from Rutter’s goal against West Ham and Van Hecke’s against Wolves, Charalampos Kostoulas scored one of the goals of the season with a bicycle kick against Bournemouth.
Newcastle United
Bruno Guimaraes’ 10 chances created in or after the 85th minute only trails Bruno Fernandes’ 13, while he has added three late goals from just seven shots, too. Ahead of him, Harvey Barnes is second for shots at the death, with 11 (behind Haaland’s 14).
Newcastle have already eclipsed their late goal tally of four from 2024-25, with six. They have conceded more, too (nine vs six last season), with less control in midfield a key reason.
They have twice conceded late when ahead, with Cristian Romero’s late equaliser from a bicycle kick stealing two points from them in December. They have also conceded three late winners, with defensive breakdowns leading to goals scored by Dango Ouattara and Ngumoha. Gabriel’s winner for Arsenal in September came from a corner.
Newcastle have scored two late game-winners: Barnes’ 102nd-minute strike to beat Leeds 4-3 and Guimaraes’ instinctive finish to seal a 2-1 win over Fulham. Anthony Gordon’s 86th-minute penalty should have seen Newcastle beat Spurs, but Cristian Romero’s acrobatic effort cancelled it out.
Brentford
Brentford only trail Liverpool (10) for goals scored in or after the 85th minute with nine.
Six of those strikes have come at home, the best in the league, four of which capped off convincing wins over Manchester United, Newcastle, Burnley (all 3-1) and Bournemouth (4-1).
Brentford have been one of the league’s best teams in transition and that has particularly shone late in games, with tired opponents leaving more space for them to exploit. Their three late goals from fast breaks leads the league, along with Sunderland.
At the other end, Brentford have conceded late three times — all while leading games — and won on all three occasions. Everton and Liverpool scored late when 4-1 and 3-1 down, while Zian Flemming’s 85th-minute equaliser was swiftly followed by goals from Igor Thiago and Ouattara.
That is a continuation of 2024-25, when Brentford conceded late when ahead on six occasions, winning five times. They are excellent at building leads, but if these are threatened, they are superb at punching back, too.
Arsenal
Five of Arsenal’s eight late goals in 2025-26 have come with them leading in games, with Viktor Gyokeres scoring three (against Leeds in August and Sunderland and Spurs this month). They have scored a late equaliser just once — in the home draw with Manchester City — and a late winner twice, through a Yerson Mosquera own goal against Wolves and Gabriel’s header against Newcastle.
The more concerning trend for Arsenal is conceding late. Their six goals allowed in or after the 85th minute is more than they allowed in any of the last six completed seasons, matching their season tally from 2018-19.
Four of those have come with them leading, the second-most, behind Leeds (six). Ollie Watkins’ strike for Aston Villa was a consolation with Arsenal 4-0 up, while Arokodare’s goal at the Emirates was cancelled out by Mosquera’s own goal.
But 94th-minute goals from Wolves’ Edozie at Molineux and Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey at the Stadium of Light meant Arsenal dropped four points.
Drops in concentration have been a factor, with Arsenal struggling to control games.
Their possession percentage drops from 58 in the first 84 minutes to 53 per cent in the closing moments. David Raya’s save rate stands at 70 per cent in the first 84 minutes, but has dropped to 50 per cent in the closing moments, with the Arsenal goalkeeper conceding six late goals from 4.4 xGOT.
Viktor Gyokeres’ second goal against Spurs came in the fourth minute of injury time (Glyn Kirk/AFP)
Burnley
Burnley have struggled late in games, with only West Ham (25) allowing more shots on target in the dying moments than their 23. Their three errors leading to goals — twice in the 5-1 loss to Manchester City in September and once in the 3-1 defeat to Newcastle in December — is the most in the league.
Martin Dubravka is sixth overall for goals prevented, at 2.7 (48 excluding own goals from 50.7 xGOT), with a save rate of 65 per cent. That number would be much better if not for his struggles late on, when he has conceded 10 goals from 8.6 xGOT, the fourth-worst mark, with a save rate of 57 per cent.
Burnley have shown signs of promise going forward, with their eight goals ranking joint third. Six of those have come with the team trailing, with the last two — against Chelsea at the weekend and Bournemouth in December — helping the team rescue a point apiece. Lyle Foster scored a 95th-minute winner at Wolves in October, too.
But Burnley have been unable to keep teams out once their defence is broken through, conceding six goals while trailing late — four while behind by one goal — removing their chances of making a comeback. They have scored just once while ahead late: against Sunderland back in August to seal a rare 2-0 win.
Crystal Palace
No goalkeeper has prevented more goals at the end of games than Dean Henderson, who has conceded just five times from an xGOT of 7.9. Multiple big saves, including the one below from Fulham’s Timothy Castagne, have secured important points for Palace late on in games.
Of the five they have conceded, only one — from Everton’s Jack Grealish in October — was a game-winner. Bournemouth notably scored in the 89th minute to go 3-2 up 13 days after that Everton defeat, but Jean-Philippe Mateta equalised eight minutes later.
They have only conceded once while leading, with Liverpool’s Federico Chiesa equalising in the 87th minute back in September. But Eddie Nketiah responded in the 97th minute to seal a 2-1 win.
Palace have scored six late goals, most recently through Guessand in the 90th minute against Wolves at the weekend. Marc Guehi scored a game-winner against Fulham in December, though that was followed by a nine-match winless run that only ended this month.
Chelsea
Chelsea have recorded the highest xG in the closing moments of games at 8.5, but their lack of composure in front of goal has been an issue. They have directed just 29 per cent of their shots on target (second lowest), while missing 11 of their 14 big chances.
Cole Palmer’s late miss against Leeds is perhaps the most memorable example. But Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens missed two golden chances towards the end of their 1-0 win over Spurs in November, while Enzo Fernandez headed an excellent Estevao cross wide against Liverpool in October.
Estevao went on to score the winner deep into stoppage time, and Fernandez added their other game-winner against West Ham in late January. Their other late goal to break a deadlock was Moises Caicedo’s 85th-minute strike against Brentford in September, but Fabio Carvalho levelled late on.
Chelsea have also conceded 7.3 xG late in games, the third most behind Leeds (8.1) and Burnley (7.8), with their organisation from long throws and corners a cause for concern.
Four of their six goals allowed, including Carvalho’s strike and Zian Flemming’s header for Burnley at the weekend, have come from set pieces, the second most behind Liverpool (five). Brighton’s late winner at Stamford Bridge in September came from a corner, too.
Bournemouth
Bournemouth led the league for late goals in 2024-25, with 16. Nine of those came when they trailed in games, the highest by a team across a campaign in the last eight seasons. That included five equalisers as well, two of which led to memorable late wins against Ipswich Town and Everton in August 2024.
But Eli Junior Kroupi has scored their only late equaliser this term, volleying home in the 93rd minute against Leeds in September. Bournemouth have struck two late winners, too, with Amine Adli scoring from a throw-in against Liverpool and Antoine Semenyo striking from distance against Spurs in his final game, with both ending 3-2.
Defensively, Bournemouth have allowed 58 shots late in games, the third most behind Sunderland (70) and West Ham (63).
Four of their six late goals conceded have resulted in dropped points. Crystal Palace, Burnley and Brighton all scored late equalisers, while Salah scored a late go-ahead goal on the opening night of the season after Semenyo had clawed them level from 2-0 down.
Sunderland
Sunderland are one of only three teams, along with Aston Villa and Everton, not to concede late on when leading or drawing in games.
They are first for shots allowed in these phases with 52, but 24 of those have been blocked, the most in the league, and 42 per cent of those shots have come from outside the box (behind only 44 per cent for Villa). Their 3.2 xG allowed is 13th.
The three goals Sunderland have conceded late have all come when they have been forced to chase games while trailing. Two of those have occurred this month, with Viktor Gyokeres scoring with Arsenal 2-0 up and Alex Iwobi wrapping up a 3-1 win for Fulham over the weekend.
At the other end, Sunderland have attempted a league-low 27 shots in the final moments of games but have directed 11 of those on target (41 per cent accuracy, third best in the league).
Their only late equaliser was Brobbey’s goal at home against Arsenal. Regis Le Bris’ side have scored two late winners through Wilson Isidor against Brentford in August and Chemsdine Talbi against Chelsea in October.
Six of their nine wins have been by one goal, and they have built on their late leads just twice. Isidor capped off their 3-0 opening-day win over West Ham with a 92nd-minute strike, while Ladislav Krejci scored a late own goal to seal a 2-0 win over Wolves in October.
Brian Brobbey’s late goal against Arsenal is one of Sunderland’s most-celebrated of the season so far (George Wood/Getty Images)
Everton
Everton have delivered some memorable late moments for their fans in recent years. James Tarkowski’s equaliser in the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, Abdoulaye Doucoure’s 94th-minute winner at Nottingham Forest in 2024, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header against Crystal Palace to secure their top-flight status in May 2022 all stand out.
Simultaneously, they have also suffered heartbreaks, conceding six or more late goals in three of the last four completed seasons. In 2024-25, Bournemouth scored three times after the 86th minute in August, and Adam Armstrong scored late to give Southampton one of just two wins all season.
Everton have defended much better late in games in 2025-26, conceding just twice. Both instances — in the 4-2 defeat to Brentford and 3-0 loss to Tottenham — came with them chasing games.
Of their three goals scored, two have been memorable. Jack Grealish and Beto both turned home rebounds in stoppage time against Crystal Palace (2-1 win) and Brighton (1-1) respectively.
Fulham
Since returning to the Premier League in 2022, Fulham have been involved in the games with the second-highest number of late goals (68), behind Brentford and Brighton (69). They are the only team with a perfect balance in this stretch, with 34 scored and 34 conceded.
Five of Rodrigo Muniz’s 18 Premier League goals have come late on, including a memorable winner at Chelsea last season. He also scored the first of their eight late goals in 2025-26, knocking the ball home to rescue a point against Brighton in the first week.
Six of their other seven have come while they were trailing in or drawing games. Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson scored match-winners against West Ham in December and Brighton in January respectively, while Gabriel Gudmundsson’s own goal proved pivotal against Leeds in September. Harrison Reed got a memorable long-distance equaliser against Liverpool.
Jimenez and Kevin both scored late on to draw Fulham level at Old Trafford recently, but Benjamin Sesko won it for the home side.
In fact, Fulham’s five go-ahead goals conceded in the final moments is the most in the league. Reed’s goal secured a point against Liverpool after Cody Gakpo put them ahead in the 94th minute. But Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Leeds (in the reverse fixture) and Manchester United all scored to steal late wins.
Nottingham Forest
Forest scored seven late goals in 2024-25, but four of those came with them already leading by two or more goals. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side thrived at taking early leads and defending resolutely, needing to stage just one late comeback, scoring in the 87th and 93rd minutes to beat Villa 2-1 in December 2024.
They have scored just three late goals in 2025-26. Two were penalties, with Elliot Anderson adding the gloss to a 3-1 win over Leeds in November and Morgan Gibbs-White securing a 2-1 win against West Ham in January. Their other late goal, scored by Lorenzo Lucca, came in the 3-1 defeat to Leeds this month.
Lucca’s goal notably came from an open-play cross, Forest’s preferred weapon late in games. They have recorded 77 such attempts this season — only behind Wolves (79) — but these have often been hopeful rather than accurate. They have created just two chances with these crosses.
Crosses have been a theme at the other end, too. Forest’s opponents have completed 32 per cent of their open-play cross attempts late on in games, the highest mark in the division. One of those led to Alexis Mac Allister’s 97th-minute winner at the weekend, while Callum Wilson scored from one for Nuno’s current side, West Ham, in August to seal a 3-0 win.
Of their other two late goals conceded, one came from a Murillo error against Brighton in a game they were trailing 1-0, while the other was a penalty by Lucas Paqueta minutes before Wilson’s header.
Morgan Gibbs-White’s late winner at West Ham could yet prove pivotal in the Premier League relegation battle (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs were an exciting watch late on in games during Ange Postecoglou’s first season, scoring 12 times and conceding 10 more. A drop off followed in 2024-25 and has continued this season, with a middling output of five scored and five conceded in or after the 85th minute.
Tottenham have not won a game after conceding late. They drew 2-2 with Manchester United and Newcastle, having scored late in both games through Richarlison (before Matthijs de Ligt’s equalizer) and Cristian Romero (after Anthony Gordon’s penalty).
Two of the three remaining goals conceded were winners from Bournemouth and West Ham, while Viktor Gyokeres capped their humiliation over the weekend with Arsenal’s fourth.
At the other end, only Sunderland (2.95), Leeds (3.4) and Wolves (3.95) have less xG than Spurs’ 4.1 late on in games.
Only one of their five late goals has brought them a win — against Everton in October when they were already 2-0 up. Joao Palhinha rescued a late point against Wolves in September, while Romero added to his goal at Newcastle with a 90th-minute strike to secure a 2-2 draw with Burnley last month.
The Arsenal defeat highlighted two of their major concerns: the lack of bravery and conviction in midfield and glaring errors in defence. Spurs have completed just 66 per cent of their passes into the final third late in games, while giving possession away in their own third on 149 occasions (only behind Palace’s 158).