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Five teams with the most goals from outside the box in Premier League history

There are few better sights than an attacker leathering the ball into the net from outside the box.

The Premier League, a league famed for its entertainment, has featured some great players down the years, but what sticks with fans more than the individuals themselves are the amazing moments they create. Many younger fans will know little about Tony Yeboah aside from that he once scored an incredible volley. Likewise Steven Reid.

It is these moments, seared into our brains by Sky Sports daytime programming, that make us love the Premier League. And there are few better things about the Premier League than a shot from outside the area. As a national team, England has always celebrated shooters over passers, and while that may not have brought the team widespread success over the last 50 years it sure was fun to watch Stephen Gerrard scoring screamers.

The five clubs with the most goals from outside the box in Premier League history:

5. Manchester United

Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson are the team with which the Premier League will forever be associated and given the fact that that combination led to 13 top flight titles, it is something of a surprise that the Red Devils aren’t top of this list.

In the 26 seasons of the Premier League that have been completed, few players could strike a ball from distance like David Beckham, Eric Cantona or Paul Scholes, while Cristiano Ronaldo also had his fair share of long-rangers. However, down in fifth spot with 137 goals from outside the area sit Manchester United, with Beckham against Wimbledon, Cantona against Sunderland and Ronaldo against Portsmouth some of the highlights.

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Maybe their decline in recent years has taken hold more than expected or maybe the fact that Ruud Van Nistelrooy played at Old Trafford for five years held them back, the Dutchman famously only scoring one of his 150 United goals from outside the box. However, what is clear is that United’s inability to score from outside the area with the same regularity as their rivals never held them back when it came to winning trophies, while they also are way out in front when it comes to the total number of goals scored in the Premier League era.

4. Liverpool

Just ahead of Manchester United in fourth place are their old rivals Liverpool. With players like Stephen Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Patrik Berger and urm Neil Mellor gracing the Anfield turf over the years, it is no surprise to see the Anfield club so high on this list.

The Merseyside club have always had a penchant for the dramatic, last-minute long-range goal, but many of those famous moments have come away from the Premier League – think Gerrard against Olympiacos. Like United, Liverpool actually rank lower in this list than they do in the overall goals list, where they come third, with 147 goals from outside the penalty area.

However, they are only 16 efforts separating them from top spot. Honourable mentions aside from Mellor’s moment in the sun against Arsenal include Alonso against Newcastle United and any goal ever scored by John Arne Riise.

3. Chelsea

Coming in third on this list are five-time Premier League champions Chelsea. While real success hadn’t been seen at Stamford Bridge for a number of years that all changed in 2003 when Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the club. Since, Chelsea have been one of the most successful teams in the country, with numerous world class players and managers representing the west London club.

In that time Chelsea have scored some wonderful goals too, 149 from outside the box in fact, for which players like Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Juan Mata, Willian and Eden Hazard are responsible. However, in my view the following goal from Alex beats the lot. Enjoy.

2. Tottenham Hotspur

Strangely enough, it is the second least prolific team in terms of goals that rank second in terms of most long-range efforts. In many ways Tottenham are the least successful team on this list, with no Premier League titles and just three top three finishes. However, Spurs players seem to have an uncanny knack from outside the area, with 152 of their 1,583 goals coming from outside the box. Players with such a knack include Gareth Bale, Rafael Van Der Vaart, David Ginola, Jamie Redknapp, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane and of course Danny Rose.

1. Manchester City

Funnily enough, in first place is the team that has spent the fewest league seasons in the Premier League and scored the fewest goals of any side on this list. Of the 1,436 goals Manchester City have scored since the Premier League was introduced in 1992, 163 of those have come from outside the box. That means that more than 11% of goals scored by the Cityzens have been from outside the area, which is pretty ludicrous.

Consider that in comparison to Arsenal, a team not even on this list, for whom less than 6% of their goals have come from outside the area. I mean, we know Arsenal always try and walk it in, but that is some difference.

Of those 163, Kevin De Bruyne, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Carlos Tevez have all played their part, but this from Vincent Kompany has to be one of the best.

 

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