An international football manager sparked controversy last week with his claim that female players are prone to capitulating because they are more emotional than men. Kenny Shiels, boss of the Northern Ireland women’s team, insisted the statistics backed him up too after his side had been hammered 5-0 by England.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the reverse is true and that Premier League footballers actually succumb to a thrashing more rapidly than their female counterparts.
A comparison of the Premier League and the top flight of women’s football this season found men concede their third, fourth and fifth goals more quickly than the women.