Having sent records tumbling through their first four games as an Isuzu UTE A-League club, aleagues.com.au breaks down the numbers behind Auckland FC’s incredible surge to the top of the table – and the records still left to be broken.
The Black Knights are new to the Isuzu UTE A-League in 2024-25 and despite being one of five teams to have served a bye through the first five rounds of the season, sit on top of the table with four wins from four games.
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No new club had ever won four consecutive games in their debut Isuzu UTE A-League history prior to Auckland’s arrival this season. Better yet for Steve Corica’s side, they’ve done so without conceding a single goal – another league record for a new club.
A deep dive into the statistics shows just how head coach Corica has orchestrated Auckland’s record-breaking entrance into the league, and the players who have been key to the Black Knights’ early-season success.
Consistency in personnel has been key for Corica thus far; the Auckland boss has used just 18 players to date this season, making only two changes to his starting XI through four games in a consistent start to the campaign.
Auckland have taken just 2379 touches this season at an average of 594 per game – only Perth Glory (537 touches per 90) have enjoyed less of the ball so far this season.
Auckland’s passing numbers are equally low, with just 1456 the lowest of all teams with Glory’s 1743 the second-least in the league.
In each of their four victories so far this season, Auckland have had less possession than their opponents – but the tendency to cede control of the ball through their first four games has only highlighted Auckland’s organisation and comfort out of possession as one of their biggest strengths.
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Through four games, Auckland have faced just 44 shots – the equal-least in the league, and allowed just 14 shots on target. Just two teams – Melbourne City (12) and Central Coast (13) – have conceded fewer shots on target than the Black Knights.
Auckland’s Expected Goals Against (xGA) tally is 3.6 – that’s the equal-lowest figure in the competition, level with Melbourne Victory who have played five games to Auckland’s four. Having conceded zero goals, the differential between goals conceded and Expected Goals Against is -3.6 – better than any other team in the competition.
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Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen has been crucial to Auckland’s stellar defensive numbers. The AFC Bournemouth loanee has made 14 saves to date, including four saves to deny what Opta defines as “big chances” presented to opposing teams, on the way to recording four clean sheets in his first four appearances as a Black Knight.
Only Wellington Phoenix keeper Josh Oluwayemi has been busier in goal this season, making 17 saves. Oluwayemi’s save percentage of 85.7% is second only to Paulsen’s 100% record to date among all keepers who have received minutes in the 2024-25 campaign.
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Equally important to Auckland’s defensive success has been a backline led by captain Hiroki Sakai but the early-season numbers point to centre-back and New Zealand international Nando Pijnaker providing the most important contribution to the solidity of the Black Knight’s rearguard.
Pijnaker has made 39 clearances to date (a league-high); 29 of those have been headed clearances. He’s made the most attempted passes (191) and the most blocks (seven) of any Auckland player to date – and has a goal to his name, too.
Pijnaker’s 97th-minute backheel against Sydney FC decided Auckland’s 1-0 victory over the Sky Blues in dramatic fashion; leaving it late has become a key feature of Auckland’s success through their first four games in the 2024-25 season.
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Three of their six goals to date have come in the 88th minute or later, including Jake Brimmer’s dramatic double in a 2-0 win over Wellington Phoenix in Round 3. Auckland are yet to score a goal inside the first 30 minutes of an Isuzu UTE A-League fixture, barring Brisbane Roar defender Harry Van der Saag’s early own goal in a Round 1 loss to the Black Knights.
When analysing Auckland’s red-hot start to life in the Isuzu UTE A-League, it’s impossible to ignore the impact of 25-year-old central midfielder Louis Verstraete who, through his first four games in the league, has quickly become one of the league’s best-performing players.
Entrusted with a vital role in Auckland’s starting XI, the former Belgium U-21 international has bossed the middle of the park for the Black Knights and his underlying statistics point to the importance of Verstraete’s presence in midfield.
No player has made more tackles than Verstraete (23) so far this season. Of all outfield players in the league, Verstraete has made the most ball recoveries (42) – four more than impressive Sydney FC midfielder Leo Sena who is second among all outfielders, behind the Auckland star.
Winning possession at an average of 10.7 times per 90 minutes, and making 13 defensive actions per 90 minutes has made Verstraete pivotal to Auckland’s success.
This weekend, Auckland return home to take on the Jets at Go Media Stadium, buoyed by a 1-0 win over Macarthur FC in Unite Round which kept their perfect record alive after five rounds of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
If Auckland keep another clean sheet, then another piece of history will be theirs: 17 years ago, Central Coast Mariners set an all-time record of five-straight clean sheets through their first five games of season 2007-08; the Mariners went on to win the Premiers Plate in that particular campaign, and fell just short of the Premiership/Championship double when they lost 1-0 to Newcastle Jets in the Grand Final.
Corica and his high-flying Auckland, however, will not be looking further ahead than the next game in front of them: Saturday afternoon’s clash with the Jets at Go Media Stadium (3pm kick-off AEDT). But with another bumper home crowd expected for their fourth home fixture of the season, expectations are rising in the City of Sails as the Black Knights lead the way with a run of form never before seen by an Isuzu UTE A-League newcomer.
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