Defensive coaches across the Premier League can look back on Gameweek 7 with a sense of pride, after six of the round’s ten fixtures delivered clean sheets.

There were no scoreless draws among those matches, either, meaning each shut-out resulted in all three points for those with a watertight rearguard.

Chelsea kicked off the weekend in resilient fashion, beating Everton 2-0 in Saturday’s early kick-off at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Then it was the turn of Fulham and Aston Villa, who each registered 1-0 wins against Hull City and Newcastle United, respectively.

Sunday delivered ten goals over four matches – but three of those encounters still yielded clean sheets, as Brighton hammered rivals Crystal Palace (5-0), Bournemouth secured a crucial victory at home to Bournemouth (2-0) and Arsenal edged past Nottingham Forest (1-0).

As we reflect on a host of brilliant back line showings, here’s everything you need to know about the key defensive stats from Gameweek 7 in England’s top flight…

Premier League Most Tackles: Schlager interventions can’t stop Gunners

Nottingham Forest came agonisingly close to frustrating reigning champions Arsenal at the City Ground, only to be undone by a late goal from substitute Noni Madueke.

They had defended diligently until then, though, with central midfielder Xaver Schlager making more tackles than any other Premier League player this weekend (7).

He made one more challenge than Aston Villa’s Emiliano Buendía (6), who defended from the front as his side registered a 1-0 win at out-of-form Newcastle United.

It is a testament to the dogged nature of Unai Emery’s unit that a second Villians player also ranked highly on the tackle front, with Boubacar Kamara racking up five interventions across the 90 minutes.

That figure was matched by Ipswich Town duo Dara O'Shea and Exequiel Palacios, though even their relentless endeavour couldn’t stop the Tractor Boys falling to a 3-2 defeat versus table-toppers Manchester City.

Chema Andrés enjoyed a better weekend, however, with Brighton’s Spanish summer arrival making five challenges to match their 5-0 scoreline against Crystal Palace.

Manchester United’s Amad Diallo did likewise, even if Michael Carrick’s outfit were unable to hold on to their lead in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United.

Premier League Most Interceptions: Jacquet joy as Liverpool mount comeback

Three players topped the charts for interceptions in Gameweek 7, but only one of them ended up on the winning side.

That individual was Jérémy Jacquet, who continued a strong start to his Liverpool career by helping the Reds to a 2-1 comeback victory at nine-man Brentford.

He made four interceptions at the Gtech Community Stadium, which was matched by Lewis Hall (Newcastle United) and Issa Diop (Ipswich Town) – even if the three-point haul was not.

Just behind that trio, a whopping eight players were level on three interceptions apiece.

The list includes two inclusions from Brighton in Lewis Dunk and Luka Vušković, as well as Coventry City pair Caleb Yirenkyi and Brandon Thomas-Asante.

Enzo Fernández (Manchester City), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) and Michael Kayode (Brentford) round off the top performers when it came to cutting out opposition passes over the weekend.

Premier League Most Clearances: Top-performing trio have pivotal parts to play

Liverpool’s Jacquet may have won plaudits for his high volume of interceptions in West London, but his centre-back partner was similarly influential.

Veteran defender Virgil van Dijk was the joint-leader for clearances completed during this round of matches, averting danger on 11 separate occasions against Brentford.

That feat was matched by Victor Lindelöf (Aston Villa) and António Silva (Bournemouth), who were both also rewarded with valuable wins for their teams.

In the case of Silva, that victory came at the expense of Sunderland (2-0) – despite the best efforts of Nordi Mukiele, who placed just behind the aforementioned trio with ten clearances on the South Coast.

John Egan (Hull City) and Levi Colwill (Chelsea) deserve honourable mentions for each clearing the ball on nine occasions, though the former couldn’t stop Álvaro Arbeloa’s Fulham claiming their first win of the season at Craven Cottage (1-0).

And let’s not ignore Trai Hume (Sunderland), Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford) and Leny Yoro (Manchester United) on eight apiece, even if none of those three players ended up on the winning side during Gameweek 7.

Premier League Most Aerial Duels Won: Vušković shows his value to Seagulls

Brighton’s five-star attack will receive plenty of attention after their dismantling of Crystal Palace on Sunday.

But it would be remiss not to give some credit to Croatian colossus Vušković, who won more aerial duels than anybody else in the top-flight this weekend (10).

In fact, he was the only player to reach double figures for that metric, though Manchester United’s Dalot wasn’t far behind with nine successful duels in the air.

That duo are a little way ahead of the rest of the pack, with five of the league’s top defensive performers tied on seven aerial duels won just below them.

They include Bournemouth’s Silva – who produced a strong all-round display against Sunderland – and fellow Cherries defender James Hill.

Tosin Adarabioyo (Tottenham Hotspur) and Sven Botman (Newcastle United) made the cut, too, though it wasn’t strictly defensive-minded players who performed well.

Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin demonstrated his supreme skills in the air by amassing seven successful aerial duels, as well as getting on the scoresheet against Manchester United.

Premier League Most Defensive Third Regains: Leeds duo make the difference in draw

Talking of Leeds United, two of their right-sided players performed particularly well when it came to possession regains in the defensive third at Elland Road.

Wing-back Jayden Bogle and James Justin – operating on the right of a back three – each registered a league-leading six regains close to their own goal in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United, though they weren’t the only ones to do so.

Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest) and Hall (Newcastle United) reached that figure too, as did Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher.

Seven players placed just below those top performers on five defensive third regains each, including plenty of names who have featured in the various other stat categories above.

There are two entrants who haven’t, though, in Harry Maguire (Manchester United) and Arsenal’s Ezri Konsa.

The latter will be delighted with a win and a clean sheet against Nottingham Forest, as the Gunners secured their fourth league shut-out of the campaign.