The 2016/17 season has seen the goals flow in, with a stunning 4622 goals in all of Europe’s Top 5 leagues this season. La Liga lead the way with 1014 goals, followed by 973 goals in Serie A of all places. The Premier League is close behind with 950 goals, and then the 904 goals of Ligue 1, with Bundesliga eons behind with 781 goals.
Here are the 5 best attacking forces in all of Europe’s top 5 leagues:
#5 Napoli – 2.29 Goals per Game
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It’s not often that a Serie A side makes it into the best attacks of Europe, but Napoli have been superb going forward this season. The Partonopei faced a big problem in the summer, with Maurizio Sarri wondering where the goals would come from after Gonzalo Higuain left for Juventus. Perhaps the biggest vindication for the cigarette-smoking manager has been that Napoli have outscored Juventus in the same number of games so far.
With 78 goals in 34 games, Napoli have the best strike rate in all of Serie A, at a rate of 2.29 goals per game. To put it in perspective, only 3 teams in Serie average more than 2 goals per game (Juventus, Roma and Napoli), with the rest of the league averaging out at 1.4 goals per game.
Dries Mertens has been the standout performer for Napoli this season, topping the scoring charts with 22 goals so far. However, the south Italian club also have spread the goals around – as Lorenzo Insigne (14), Marek Hamsik (11) and Jose Callejon (11) have all reached double figures this season.
#4 Bayern Munich – 2.54 Goals per Game
Not much of a surprise here, as the Bundesliga giants continue their dominance of their league, having already wrapped up the league title. After a slow start to the season, Bayern Munich have pulverised the minnows, as Wolfsburg (11 goals conceded), Augsburg (9 goals conceded), Hamburger SV (9 goals conceded) and Werder Bremen (8 goals conceded) were all put to the sword – they account for a staggering 37 goals (46.83%) of the Bavarian’s goals in just 8 games.
They've scored 79 goals in 31 games this season, at a superb rate of 2.54 goals per game, miles ahead of Borussia Dortmund at 2.09 goals per game. It’s almost twice the rate of the average in the Bundesliga (1.39 goals per game), which reveals just how dominant ‘FC Hollywood’ are.
With 28 goals in the league, Robert Lewandowski has scored a staggering 35.88% of Bayern’s goals this season. He’s far and away their best goalscorer, with Arjen Robben the only other player to reach double digits with 11 goals.
#3 Real Madrid – 2.70 Goals per Game
Real Madrid are on an incredible scoring streak of 58 games in a row, thus it is no surprise to find them in this list. Los Blancos have turned into an incredibly efficient team under Zinedine Zidane’s stewardship, and are the team to have scored the most late goals in all of Europe.
With 92 goals in 34 games so far, Real Madrid are a superb attacking force in the league, at a rate of 2.70 goals per game. They are far ahead of La Liga's average which is 1.45 goals per game, which is the best of all of Europe’s top 5 leagues.
To no one’s surprise, Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way for Real Madrid with 20 goals in 26 appearances for the club. However, it is the person in second place who raises eyebrows – Alvaro Morata has scored 13 goals in just 12 league appearances. A true advantage of Real Madrid is that they spread out the goals, with 19 different scorers this season.
#2 AS Monaco – 2.8 Goals per Game
The Ligue 1 side have quickly become the darlings of the neutrals with their exhilarating performances in the UEFA Champions League this season. Les Monegasques had averaged over 3 goals per game for much of the season, but as fatigue struck a young and inexperienced side, they’ve been unable to keep up.
Yet, they’ve scored an incredible 95 goals in 34 league games so far this season – rate of 2.8 goals per game. PSG are way behind them, scoring at a rate of 2 goals per game, with the rest of the league averaging 1.3 goals a game – they say defence wins you titles, but AS Monaco do not conform to normal footballing logic.
Kylian Mbappe is the very embodiment of that – In 14 appearances for Monaco this season, he’s scored 14 goals. Falcao tops the scoring charts for the Ligue 1 side with 19 goals, with Valerie Germain in 3rd place on 9 goals.
#1 Barcelona – 2.97 Goals per Game
Barcelona have conspired to disappoint this season, as they’re out of the UEFA Champions League and second-favourites to win La Liga, behind rivals Real Madrid. Yet, it is clear that their attack has not been the disappointment of the season, as the Blaugrana have plundered in the most goals in all of Europe.
With 104 goals in 35 games so far, Barcelona are just 1 shy of averaging an incredible 3 goals every game. Their 2.97 goal per game ratio is comfortably the best in the league, almost twice the average of the high-scoring leage that is La Liga.
Lionel Messi leads the way with 33 goals for Barcelona in a stunning 29 appearances, followed closely behind by Luis Suarez with 26 goals in 31 games. Neymar is way behind in 3rd place, with just 9 goals in 27 appearances. MSN thus account for an incredible 65% of all of Barcelona’s league goals this season.
