With the European leagues finished, Opta investigate the differing styles of play on offer in each nation.
With the five major domestic leagues in Europe now finished, Opta investigate the differing styles of play on offer in each nation, as well as the Champions League, starting with shooting.
The Bundesliga saw the most goals (2.93 per game), while Ligue 1 recorded the fewest (2.41 per game), whilst these two countries likewise had the highest goals-to-shots ratio and lowest in domestic leagues.
This is likely a reflection of German sides pushing forwards: the Bundesliga recorded over six offsides per game compared to 4.3 in France (see below), as well as the highest proportion of shots coming from inside the area.
It would seem that defensively, Champions League sides were amongst the most organised in Europe this season. The chance conversion rate in the competition was the lowest, likely as a result of the fact that teams found it difficult to get inside the box to get shots off.
Category |
England |
France |
Germany |
Italy |
Spain |
C League |
Shots per game |
21.1 |
20.0 |
20.4 |
20.6 |
20.7 |
21.7 |
Goals per game |
2.77 |
2.41 |
2.83 |
2.61 |
2.71 |
2.56 |
Shooting accuracy |
43.7% |
42.6% |
46.0% |
43.9% |
45.3% |
42.9% |
Chance conversion |
13.1% |
12.1% |
13.8% |
12.7% |
13.1% |
11.8% |
% shots from inside the box |
59.3% |
56.1% |
59.3% |
53.9% |
59.3% |
52.8% |
% goals from inside the box |
86.6% |
84.4% |
83.0% |
86.2% |
85.0% |
78.9% |
Saves to shots % |
69.5% |
71.4% |
69.5% |
71.0% |
70.7% |
72.3% |
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* CL data is up to date as of 17/05/2010
Indeed, Internazionale, who famously frustrated Barcelona in the semi-final, almost certainly learnt this tactic of keeping the opposition out of their area in their domestic league: outside of the Champions League, Serie A saw the lowest proportion of shots coming from inside the area.
Category |
England |
France |
Germany |
Italy |
Spain |
C League |
% goals from set pieces |
36.7% |
34.8% |
33.5% |
32.0% |
31.3% |
30.5% |
% headed goals |
18.3% |
18.8% |
18.5% |
18.6% |
18.6% |
17.0% |
% goals in last 15 minutes |
23.5% |
24.9% |
22.1% |
20.0% |
22.9% |
25.2% |
% goals scored by native players |
36.3% |
46.8% |
35.7% |
53.8% |
52.9% |
N/A |
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As regards how the goals were scored, England lead the way in terms of goals scored from set pieces, with 37% coming this way compared to 31% in the Champions League.
Most leagues saw a similar proportion of goals coming via headers, though the Champions League was the place to witness late drama, with over a quarter of goals coming in the final 15 minutes of matches, whereas the Italians were best at shutting up shop.
Surprisingly, in light of accusations often levelled at the division, the Premier League did not have the lowest proportion of goals scored by players native to the country, as the Bundesliga did.Next up, passing:
Category |
England |
France |
Germany |
Italy |
Spain |
C League |
Passes per game |
772 |
751 |
816 |
780 |
760 |
838 |
Passing Accuracy |
73.8% |
75.1% |
77.1% |
78.1% |
75.4% |
79.4% |
Crossing Accuracy |
20.8% |
19.9% |
22.3% |
20.2% |
21.0% |
20.4% |
Dribbles per game |
28.4 |
29.2 |
34.6 |
28.7 |
30.7 |
34.5 |
Dribble success |
73.8% |
75.1% |
77.1% |
78.1% |
75.4% |
79.4% |
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Though the English and Spanish leagues have the reputation of being two of the fastest-paced in the modern game, it is Bundesliga matches that saw the most passes per game in 2009/10 (after the Champions League).
Indeed, Premier League sides averaged the lowest pass completion rate in all six competitions this season at just 73.8%, significantly behind the Bundesliga, Serie A and the Champions League.
Players in England also seem to have been the poorest dribblers, attempting fewer of these than in any other competition, as well as completing fewer, whilst the Champions League and Bundesliga seem to have been the two sides that most favour dribbling.
Category |
England |
France |
Germany |
Italy |
Spain |
C League |
Ave fouls per game |
26.3 |
32.5 |
33.9 |
35.3 |
31.7 |
30.7 |
Ave yellow cards per game |
3.17 |
3.53 |
3.47 |
4.74 |
5.08 |
3.56 |
Ave red cards per game |
0.18 |
0.23 |
0.13 |
0.31 |
0.39 |
0.22 |
Ave fouls per card |
7.85 |
8.64 |
9.41 |
7.01 |
5.80 |
8.13 |
Ave penalties per game |
0.29 |
0.23 |
0.18 |
0.32 |
0.21 |
0.15 |
Ave off-sides per game |
4.61 |
4.31 |
6.27 |
6.15 |
5.89 |
5.60 |
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Despite the roughhouse reputation of English football, it is interesting to note that fewer fouls were seen per game in the Premier League than in the other five leagues, whereas Serie A saw the most, as well as the most penalties.
Spanish referees were perhaps the strictest. Despite awarding fewer fouls per game than three of the other four domestic leagues, referees in La Liga gave more yellow and more red cards than anywhere else, as well as brandishing a card for every 5.8 fouls, significantly fewer than the others.
Finally, changes of managers:
Competition |
Changes of managers |
Serie A |
16 |
Bundesliga |
10 |
La Liga |
9 |
Premier League |
6 |
France |
3 |
|
Premier League includes Gianfranco Zola and Phil Brown. Does not include caretakers.
The toughest place to manage this season appears to have been Serie A, where amongst the 20 teams there were no fewer than 16 changes of managers.
The Premier League enjoyed a fairly calm campaign, with only six managerial switches. The last time there were fewer was back in 1995/96, when only five bosses left their jobs.