Premier League quiz: how well do you know English football's top flight?

All illustrations by Oliver Holmes.

1. Who scored the first ever Premier League goal?

   1. Micky Quinn

   2. Brian Deane

   3. Andy Cole

   4. Ian Wright

2. Why are Sunderland called the Black Cats?

   1. One ran across the pitch in a game in the 1970s, they won and the nickname was attached

   2. Supporters voted for it in a poll when they moved to the Stadium of Light

   3. They have had such bad luck a former owner bestowed the moniker upon them

   4. The club’s old stadium, Roker Park, was next to an animal shelter

3. 

   Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich made 178 top flight appearances for Aston Villa, but in three seasons at Chelsea how many times did he play in the league?

   1. 0

   2. 5

   3. 23

   4. 28

4. Alex Ferguson’s last game in charge of Manchester United was the first Premier League game to finish 5-5. Who did they play?

   1. Birmingham City

   2. Burnley

   3. West Bromwich Albion

   4. West Ham United

5. Which of these four former Premier League clubs is the odd one out?

   1. Coventry

   2. Oldham

   3. Sheffield United

   4. Swindon Town

6. 

   At which stadium did Phil Brown, then of Hull City, deliver his infamous half-time team talk on the pitch?

   1. Anfield

   2. Etihad Stadium

   3. Stamford Bridge

   4. St Mary's

7. What was thrown by an Arsenal player – rumoured to be Cesc Fàbregas – at Alex Ferguson following Manchester United’s 2-0 win at Old Trafford in October 2004?

   1. A boot

   2. Pizza

   3. Coffee

   4. A ball

8. The highest scoring Premier League game finished 7-4. Which two teams played?

   1. Aston Villa v Southampton

   2. Chelsea v Coventry City

   3. Tottenham v Swansea

   4. Portsmouth v Reading

9. 

   Which one of these quotes are not attributed to Eric Cantona?

   1. "If someone is too perfect they won't look good. Imperfection is important."

   2. "I see the world become so uniform. Everybody has to be the same. I like people who are different."

   3. "No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness."

   4. "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea."

10. Manchester United hold the record for the biggest win but who was it against and what was the scoreline?

    1. Barnsley 7-0

    2. Coventry 9-1

    3. Ipswich 9-0

    4. Nottingham Forest 8-1

11. 

    As of the end of the 2015-16 season, how many Australian players have appeared in the Premier League?

    1. 36

    2. 40

    3. 48

    4. 64

12. With how many games to spare did Arsenal guarantee the title during their invincible season in 2003-04?

    1. 4

    2. 2

    3. 7

    4. 6

13. What makes the veteran Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer unique?

    1. He was the first player to move to England from Germany’s Bundesliga

    2. He is the only non-British player to make more than 500 Premier League appearances

    3. He is the top goalscoring keeper to have played in the top flight

    4. Nobody else has played for five different clubs

14. Which defender holds the unwanted title for most own goals conceded?

    1. Richard Dunne

    2. Derek Mountfield

    3. Jamie Carragher

    4. Zat Knight

15. 

    When Blackburn won the league in 1994-95, Alan Shearer was their top scorer. But who was his sidekick up front?

    1. Kevin Gallacher

    2. Andy Cole

    3. Chris Sutton

    4. Mike Newell

16. What was the final score in Arsène Wenger's 1,000th game in charge of Arsenal?

    1. 0-0

    2. 7-1

    3. 3-3

    4. 0-6

17. Which manager has been promoted to the Premier League a record four times?

    1. Steve Bruce

    2. Tony Pulis

    3. Mark Hughes

    4. Sean Dyche

18. 

    When Roy Keane told Patrick Vieira “I’ll see you out there” along with numerous expletives in the Highbury tunnel before the reverse fixture in February 2005, which team-mate was he backing up?

    1. Ruud van Nistelrooy

    2. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

    3. Roy Carroll

    4. Gary Neville

19. Who was José Mourinho’s first signing at Chelsea?

    1. Arjen Robben

    2. Paulo Ferreira

    3. Didier Drogba

    4. Petr Cech

20. Tim Cahill scored 56 goals in eight seasons at Everton but in which campaign did he score the most?

    1. 2004-05

    2. 2006-07

    3. 2007-08

    4. 2011-12

Solutions

1:B - He scored for Sheffield United against Manchester United in a 2-1 win, 2:B, 3:B - All in the 2001-02 season; he also played twice in cup competitions, 4:C, 5:D - The other three played in the inaugural season, 6:B - On 26 December 2008, with Hull 4-0 down to Manchester City, he sat his listless players down on the pitch and wagged his finger at them, 7:B - "They say it was Cesc Fàbregas who threw the pizza at me,” Ferguson wrote in his autobiography, “but, to this day, I have no idea who the culprit is.", 8:D, 9:C - King Eric may be the most philosophical of footballers but this one is of course Aristotle, 10:C, 11:C, 12:A - Although Robbie Keane scored an injury time equaliser from the penalty spot, the 2-2 draw at Tottenham ensured the title was won in the 34th game, 13:B, 14:A - The Irishman put the ball in his own net 10 times. Caragher and Knight scored seven own goals, Mountfield just the six, 15:C - The one-time England striker scored 15 times in 40 appearances, 16:D - The milestone became a millstone for Wenger, who suffered the first 6-0 defeat of his career to Chelsea, led by his arch nemesis José Mourinho, 17:A - He has brought Hull back up for a second time through the playoffs, having also won promotion twice at Birmingham, 18:D - Since retiring Keane and Vieira have worked together as TV pundits and are said to be friendly, 19:B - Signed on 23 June 2004 for £13.2m from Porto. The other three joined later in the summer, 20:A - 12

Scores

1. 20 and above.

   Champion!

2. 19 and above.

   Title contender

3. 18 and above.

   Title contender

4. 17 and above.

   Title contender

5. 16 and above.

   Title contender

6. 15 and above.

   Pushing for Europe

7. 14 and above.

   Pushing for Europe

8. 13 and above.

   Pushing for Europe

9. 12 and above.

   Mid-table mediocrity

10. 11 and above.

    Mid-table mediocrity

11. 10 and above.

    Mid-table mediocrity

12. 9 and above.

    Making up the numbers

13. 8 and above.

    Making up the numbers

14. 7 and above.

    Making up the numbers

15. 6 and above.

    Relegation contender

16. 5 and above.

    Relegation contender

17. 4 and above.

    Relegation contender

18. 3 and above.

    Hardly top flight material

19. 2 and above.

    Hardly top flight material

20. 0 and above.

    Hardly top flight material

21. 1 and above.

    Hardly top flight material