Back in 1994, in the first leg of the European Cup Winners Cup semifinal in Paris, the Pet Shop Boys version of Go West played out over the speakers at the Parc des Princes. It was a popular beat amongst the PSG fans, who sung Allez, Paris Saint Germain during the chorus, which prompted the visiting Arsenal fans to respond One Nil, to the Arse-a-nal reminding them of the score after 45 minutes. The lead didnt last long so the chant ended that night in Paris, but when Arsenal won the second leg and the final by 1-0 scorelines, an anthem was born amongst Arsenal fans. Arsenal, under manager George Graham, were known for keeping his team very defensive and One Nil, to the Arse-a-nal was a message to visiting players and fans that there was a very good chance the game was over. The song continues to be sung every now and then at The Emirates but with the likes of Lee Dixon, Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Nigel Winterburn all on television talking about the game, rather than playing it, Arsenal have allowed 1-0 leads to slip much more than they did two decades ago. A 1-0 lead, however, still remains close to an advantage globally as it was when Ian Wright was scoring goals for Arsenal. Football managers talk about the edge their team can get when they score the opening goal of a game. Not only does it give the side confidence, while affecting their opponents mentally, but, the longer the game goes on, it allows a team to sit deeper to protect a lead and play a counter-attacking style. Getting the opening goal in a game is similar to capturing your opponents queen in chess; the first one to do it wins a lot more often, and the earlier you get it, the easier it is to dictate your own style. Last season in the Premier League there were 33 matches that ended scoreless, and, subsequently, 347 occasions when a team took a 1-0 lead. The minute in which the goals were scored matters, of course, but of those 347 1-0 leads, only 54 times did those leads give the winning team no points. This means a team who took a 1-0 lead, had a 84.4 per cent chance of not losing the match, while the trailing team had just over a 15 per cent chance of winning the game. 15 per cent. It is no wonder many teams naturally try and defend what they have when they are winning 1-0, but what of those teams trailing? Just how hard is their task and how important is it to play at your best when you are trailing? Winning a match in 90 minutes after going down 1-0 has always been difficult. Major finals are obviously tighter and cagier than league games, but it is worth noting that no team has won a World Cup final that way since West Germany beat the Netherlands in 1974. From 1974 to now, no team has done it in 10 European Championship finals or 12 Copa America finals. In the last 40 European Cup/Champions League finals, from 1974-2013, it has happened just three times. The last victims? Ironically, Arsenal in Paris in 2006. The victors that day were Barcelona whose performance significantly improved after they equalized, leading them to score the games defining third goal soon after. That is what happened to Manchester United on Saturday at Sunderland. Down 1-0 early, United found themselves trailing in a league match for the fourth time in their last five games. The previous three had all led to defeats, something no one was used to. Those defeats to Liverpool, Manchester City and West Brom, meant United had achieved 0 points from losing positions, despite spending 186 minutes playing behind - remarkable numbers for a successful club used to winning games from losing positions. United gave up 1-0 leads in five of their first six league games last season, under Sir Alex Ferguson, yet still won three of them. Through six games they had trailed in a total of 140 minutes but gained nine points. They went on to trail in 16 matches last season, and for a total of 419 minutes, but won back a startling 29 points from losing positions (nine wins, two draws), which was the second most in Premier League history, behind the 31 won by Newcastle United in 2001-02. When Adnan Januzaj scored his and Uniteds second goal at Sunderland, not only was this significant in terms of helping the club win a match, but, as it came just six minutes after his first, gave United a look of old, something we hadnt seen so far this season. Last year they scored 17 league goals ten minutes or less after they had just scored, which played a large role in their ability to be the comeback kings of the Premier League. Not one time last season did United, trailing 1-0, draw level and then lose the match, something they did against West Brom this season. Even more impressive, when they did draw level at 1-1, they didnt even draw until April, winning these matches nine times in a row from August to March. Their nine wins from 1-0 deficits contributed to 16.6 per cent of the entire leagues wins in that category and they did it from 16 attempts, for a remarkable 56 per cent win rate, when the league average was slightly more than 15 per cent. A look at the rest of the teams in the top seven and how they struggled to win a game when down 1-0 shows just how impressive Uniteds comebacks were. Manchester United – 9 wins from 16 attempts (56 per cent)Chelsea - 4 wins from 10 attempts (40 per cent)Tottenham - 5 wins from 13 attempts (38 per cent)Everton - 5 wins from 16 attempts (31 per cent)Arsenal - 4 wins from 14 attempts (29 per cent) Manchester City - 3 wins from 11 attempts (27 per cent)Liverpool - 2 wins from 14 attempts (14 per cent) Another example of Liverpools improvement in the second half, saw both their wins come in the last two months of the season while, highlighting their regression, all of Manchester Citys came before the end of November. Uniteds 29 points gained from 1-0 deficits was the major reason for them defeating their closest rivals so easily. City, like United, lost five games when trailing 1-0, but all five of them came in their last five attempts, after they picked up 12 points (three wins, three draws) from their first six 0-1 deficits. This season, United will certainly hope not to trail in as many games as 16 (although this number certainly highlights some flaws with that title-winning team David Moyes took over) but it is likely they will come close to that and it is at that time – more than any - when they must look like a Ferguson team. No Premier League team can go through a season never falling behind 1-0. Even Arsenals Invincibles of 2003-04 did so nine times, winning six and drawing three. Januzajs double certainly is a good start for United in this area and, ironically, came on the same day as rivals Manchester Citys first win from losing 1-0, after they won 3-1 at home to Everton. The season is still young but early indications, through 70 Premier League games, is that it is even harder to win such matches with just eight teams, having fallen behind 1-0, winning (11.8 per cent). Its a sin if managers dont say these opportunities are always on my mind if they want to perform miracles and become a winner. 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Thats exactly what happened. And they enjoyed every moment. Durant remained sizzling with 33 points, Serge Ibaka added 22 and the Thunder roared back from an abysmal start -- they trailed 22-4 early -- to embarrass the Miami Heat 112-95 on Wednesday night, erasing that big deficit out of the gate by outscoring the two-time defending champions by 43 points over a 33-minute span.(SportsNetwork.com) - The start of a six-game homestand went as expected for the Golden State Warriors and now theyll turn their attention to the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday at Oracle Arena. The Warriors ended a two-game slide with Saturdays 110-97 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves and were led by Stephen Currys 25 points. Klay Thompson scored 21 points and the quartet of David Lee, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Marreese Speights scored 10 points. Golden State shot 46.6 percent, scored 36 points on 25 Minnesota turnovers and posted a 30-19 scoring advantage in the third quarter. Lot of good stuff offensively. But I told our guys, if we want to win in May and June, we have to play every possession. You cant just completely lose focus, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. Kerrs squad has won nine in a row at home and is 11-1 at Oracle Arena. The only loss at home occurred on Nov. 11 versus San Antonio. Golden State is 8-0 against Eastern Conference foes and won 10 in a row as the host back in 1994. It is 16-0 when scoring 100 or more points and averaging 107.4 ppg this season. The Warriors have a field goal percentage of 47.9. The Warriors, who are 19-3 in the last 22 games, will also host Toronto, Oklahoma City, Indiana and Cleveland on the homestand and lead the NBA with a 24-5 record (.828). Only Portland has more wins with a 25-7 mark (.781). Opponents are shooting a league-low 42.2 percent against Golden State. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is shooting an NBA-worst 41.2 percent aand averaging a league-low 90.dddddddddddd8 ppg. The Sixers are allowing 102.6 ppg and turning the ball over 17.9 times, which is also last in the NBA. The 76ers are 2-2 on a seven-game road trip and lost for the seventh time in the last nine tries with Saturdays 88-71 setback to the Utah Jazz. Tony Wroten scored a game-high 20 points and Robert Covington chipped in 17 for the Sixers, who shot 32.4 percent and made just 5-of-26 3-pointers. Philly trailed 69-66 with 6:02 remaining, but was outscored 19-5 the rest of the way. Michael Carter-Williams was held to eight points on 2-of-20 shooting and handed out six assists I credit some of their defense, but we just have a hard time scoring, said Sixers coach Brett Brown. Philadelphia is 4-11 on the road and still has stops to make in Phoenix and Los Angeles (Clippers). The Sixers were 9-32 on the road in 2013-14. The 76ers have failed to score 100 points in each of the last six games. They are 1-5 when hitting the century mark in scoring. In injury news, forward Luc Mbah a Moute (calf) is doubtful Tuesday and forward Nerlens Noel (ankle) is listed as questionable against the Warriors. Golden State and Philadelphia will play the first of two meetings this season and are scheduled to tip off again Feb. 9 in south Philly. The Warriors took both matchups with the Sixers a season ago recorded a 123-80 beating on Feb. 10 at Oracle Arena, where former Sixer Speights had 32 points. The Sixers are just 3-10 in the last 13 visits to Golden State. ' ' '