The numbers behind City’s PL2 title win | OneFootball

On Friday 25 April, City’s Elite Development Squad will begin our journey in the Premier League 2 play-offs with a Round of 16 clash against Liverpool at the Joie Stadium.

Ben Wilkinson’s side have enjoyed an outstanding campaign so far, qualifying for the knockout stages after finishing top of the PL2 league phase.

Ahead of the play-offs, we looked at some of the fantastic statistics accrued by our young boys in blue over the past eight months…

LEADING THE WAY

After our title triumph, City have now won PL2 four times, more than any other club.

Adding to our three-in-a-row in 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23, this is the first time City has won the competition’s league phase in its new format.

Following in second are Manchester United with three, and in joint third are Chelsea and Everton with two apiece.

WIN RATIO

After a tough start to the campaign, which saw us fall to a 3-1 defeat to Friday’s opponents Liverpool, Wilkinson’s side found our feet.

An impressive 10-game winning run would follow that opening day loss, with City eventually winning 15 of our 20 matches to fly to the top of the PL2 table.

Our final fixtures of the league phase included two draws and two more defeats to see us end with 47 points and a 75% win ratio.

It's a record points haul since the reformatting of the competition, with City surpassing Tottenham Hotspur’ 46-point tally from last year.

GOALS SCORED

Keeping on the thread of breaking records, City also found the net more than any other side in PL2 history.

The highest goal tally was previously set by Manchester United with 56, but City's total of 61 this season overtook our rivals, averaging out at just over three a game.

And after conceding just 23 at the other end, our goal difference stood at an eye-catching 38 after the final Gameweek – 12 higher than last season’s record.

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Leading the charge for City in attack was Divin Mubama, who finished as our top PL2 scorer with 11, while Emilio Lawrence has assisted the most, showing his creative spark in the final third with seven.

A combined seven clean sheets between Oliver Whatmuff and Spike Brits mean City also share the joint highest shutout record with West Ham.

TENACITY

It’s fair to say last season was a difficult campaign for our young PL2 outfit who struggled against older sides, which in turn saw us fail to qualify for the playoffs.

But a positive progression in Wilkinson’s team this time around has been the ability to turn a game on its head.

Indeed, City have clawed back 10 points from losing positions, the third highest in the league.

For all of the Blues' famous free-flowing football, there's a substance to match that style.

UNSUNG HERO

In the current format of the PL2, versatile defender Lakyle Samuel has featured an impressive 45 times for the EDS across the past two campaigns, 10 more than any current players.

Of those 45, 19 have come in 2024/25, with Jaden Heskey the only other City player able to match that tally across the campaign.

But Heskey just pips Samuel for minutes played, with the former on 1,662 minutes compared to Samuel’s 1,648.

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Predominantly deployed at right-back, a lot of Samuel’s role has seen him step into midfield when City have been in possession and, as a result of that, he has completed the highest number of interceptions in the squad (23).

And alongside his defensive team-mates Max Alleyne, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Seb Naylor, our seven clean sheets would not have been possible without the hard work of City’s entire backline.

SHOT STOPPER

Our goalkeepers have also been vital in us topping the PL2 league phase.

Oliver Whatmuff moved up to the Under-18s squad last summer and after injuries to Spike Brits and Jack Wint, the 17-year-old has taken the challenge of playing EDS football in his stride.

The England youth international has the highest save percentage of all PL2 goalkeepers to have played a minimum of eight games, coming in at an incredible 76.9%.

He's also conceded just nine goals in his eight appearances - an incredible feat for the exciting shot stopper.