Marvin Sordell holds which unenviable Premier League record?

Former centre-forward represented England at under-20 and under-21 level and played for Team GB, under Stuart Pearce, at the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, he retired in July 2019, at the relatively young age of 28 having struggled with depression and, at one point, attempted suicide. At the time of his retirement, Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough said, “We are sure Marvin has a massive amount to contribute in helping people with their mental wellbeing and we look forward to seeing all that he achieves in the future.”

Born in Pinner, northwest London, on February 17, 1991, Sordell played youth football for Fulham between 2004 and 2007 and for Watford between 2007 and 2009. He made his professional debut for the Hornets, in the Championship, during the 2009/10, which also included a brief loan spell with Tranmere Rovers in League One.

After scoring at a rate of one goal every three games in 81 appearances for Watford, Sordell was transferred, for £3.6 million, to Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League on January 31, 2012. However, he made just three Premier League appearances for the Trotters, who were relegated at the end of the season, and subsequently the whole of the 2013/14 season on loan to Championship rivals Charlton Athletic.

At the end of his that loan spell, Sordell joined newly-promoted Burnley, back in the Premier League, albeit for a reduced transfer fee of £630,000. He made 14 Premier League appearances for the Clarets, mainly from the bench, but his contract was cancelled on September 1, 2015. The uncoveted record that he holds is that of having made the most appearances in the Premier League, 17, without ever being on the winning side.

How many teams have scored nine goals in a Premier League match?

At the time of writing, no team has scored ten or more goals in a Premier League match, but four teams have scored nine goals and one them has the distinction of having done so twice. That team, Manchester United, also became the first to do so when, on March 4, 1995, they routed Ipswich Town 9-0 at Old Trafford. In the absence of Eric Cantona, suspended after “kung fu” kicking a Crystal Palace fan on January 25, Andew Cole, signed from Newcastle United that same month, scored five goals and was joined on the scoresheet by striking partner Mark Hughes, with a brace, and Roy Keane and Paul Ince, with a goal apiece.

The Red Devils equalled their own, by then joint, record scoreline 26 years later against Southampton at Old Trafford on February 2, 2021, in a match played behind closed doors. Seven different United players found the net, including second-half half substitute Anthony Martial, who scored twice, and Saints’ centre-back Jan Bednarek put through his own goal after 34 minutes to add to the ignominy.

That was, in fact, the second time that Southampton had been drubbed 9-0 in the Premier League, having previously done so against Leicester City at St. Mary’s Stadium on October 25, 2019. Ayoze Pérez Gutiérrez and Jamie Vardy both scored hat-tricks for the visitors on that occasion. Before that, Tottenham Hotspur beat Wigan Athletic 9-1 at White Hart Lane on November 22, 2009, with Jermaine Defoe scoring five goals. More recently, Liverpool equalled the record for the biggest victory in Premier League history with a 9-0 demolition of newly-promoted Bournemouth at Anfield on August 27, 2022.

Where, and when did Antonin Panenka score his signature penalty?

In his heyday, Antonin Panenka was an attacking playmaker renowned for the quality of his passing, free kicks and goals, of which he scored 17 goals in 59 games for his native Czechoslovakia. However, for the last five decades or so, any mention of the name ‘Panenka’ has inevitably led to thoughts of the signature penalty that he scored in the final of the UEFA European Football Championship in 1976.

Ironically, the final, between West Germany and Czechoslovakia played at Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, on June 20, 1976 was originally destined to go to a replay, two days later, if the scores remained level after extra time. However, at the behest of the German Football Association, an immediate penalty shootout was introduced at the last minute and the rest, as they say, is history.

A last-minute equaliser from West German winger Bernd Hölzenbein levelled the scores 2-2 and to took the game into extra time. With the deadlock still unbroken after 120 minutes, penalties followed and, ahead with Czechoslovakia leading 4-3, Panenka had the chance to win the match for the rank underdogs.

In an apparently well-rehearsed, but hitherto unnoticed, move, Panenka took a long, fast, uninterrupted run-up but, rather than whacking the ball with his instep, side-footed what was later described as a “falling leaf” chip into the centre of the goal. Goalkeeper Josef Dieter “Sepp” Maier (one of the finest custodians in the history of the game) dived away to his left, to no avail, and Panenka wheeled away, arms aloft, to celebrate his “genius” moment and a 5-3 victory for Czechoslovakia.

Which was the highest scoring match in the history of the UEFA European Football Championship?

The UEFA European Football Championship was inaugurated as the 1960 European Nations’ Cup, although it is worth noting that the first qualifying match for the tournament was played on September 28, 1958. The tournament was unsatisfactory insofar that it was boycotted by the likes of England, Italy, Netherlands and West Germany and Spain was disqualified after refusing to travel to the Soviet Union, on political grounds, at the quarter-final stage.

Nevertheless, after a series of two-legged knockout ties, Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union (who were awarded a walkover victory against Spain) and Yugoslavia joined fellow quarter-final winner, and eventual hosts, France for the finals tournament, whiich began with semi-final matches on July 6, 1960. Indeed, it was the first of the semi-final matches, between France and Yugoslavia, which kicked at the Parc des Princes, Paris at 20:00, that set a record for the highest-scoring finals match that still stands.

Yugoslav striker Milan Galić opened the scoring with a powerful drive after 11 minutes, only seen to his cancelled out by a glancing header from French winger Jean Vincent a minute later. The scores remained level at 1-1 until half-time, but a flurry of second-half goals made for a hugely entertaining spectacle. France led 2-1, 3-1 and 4-2, thanks to a brace of goals from François Heutte and another from his striking partner Marian Wisniewski and, with 15 minutes to play, the hosts look set for a comfortable victory. However, Yugoslavia had other ideas and scored three late goals, including two from striker Dražan Jerković, in the space of four minutes to claim an unlikely 5-4 victory.

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