The Premier League is the most popular league in the world, and has been sold on paper and the most entertaining show on earth. In fact, one of the reasons of why the Premier League is considered so entertaining is because of the memorable comebacks that occur in the Premier League.

What is a comeback?

A comeback is when a team overcomes a disadvantage in a game, and the disadvantage that’s overcomed in this case is points & goals. In this case, a comeback is measured by scoring the final goal that changes the result from a loss to a win or a loss to a draw.

This Spurs-Manchester United encounter is known to be one of the greatest comebacks in Premier League history

The characteristics of a comeback

Extra Motivated

One of the potential reasons that could explain why the team performs better when they are trailing is because the players are extra motivated to perform. When they’re trailing, the team has more to lose and are at a higher risk of getting no point from the match, therefore amping up their performance when trailing. This is be explained through a motivator like points & money a critical factor. Because points & money are forms of extrinsic motivation, this means that most players will perform in the hope of gaining points or money, rather than self-motivation.

2. Attacking ability

Why is it that Manchester United in 2 of their last 3 games have completed a comeback from 2–0 down? Because they have the attacking ability alongside other factors to completely turn the game around. For example, against league leaders Manchester City, Manchester United’s 2nd half performance strong highlights their attacking ability when trailing. Because at that stage of the match, Manchester United had to be more attacking in their approach, this meant that they had more players going forward and creating chances, as seen with Paul Pogba’s 2 goals. Sometimes in football, it’s not just motivation & determination but also possessing attacking talent.

3. Opposing team’s defensive vulnerabilities & weak mentality

As good as the team looking to complete a comeback may be going forward, a the opposing team may also have defensive vulnerabilities to help contribute to a comeback. Despite the fact that Manchester City have completed 5 comebacks this season, none of their comebacks have occurred against the top 6 sides and only against teams that currently lie in the bottom half of the table. As good as Manchester City have been the season, the only times they trailed against a top 6 side resulted in defeat both times, which could highlight the other team’s defensive vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the teams that Manchester City have completed a comeback against this season (Everton, Bournemouth, Huddersfield, and West Ham), each of those teams have conceded more than 50 goals this season. What this stat proves is that for comebacks, it’s not just the attacking team’s quality, but also the opposing team’s defensive flaws.

The comeback kings this season