Why this EPL season is turning into a goal fest

A fiesta in every sense

Bolt like strikes searing past the goalkeeper and onto the back of the net, bewildered defenders who seem as lost as Dorothy in Kansas and a crowd enjoying the goal fest that follows – these are scenes that have been part and parcel of this Premier League season’s action, a far cry from previous seasons where, as Sir Alex Ferguson said, “a 1-0 score line seemed possible.”

An unusually large number of goals are being scored in this season’s EPL. Every match is witnessing an extreme level of attack, unprecedented in EPL history. Many would derive conclusions regarding the inferior quality of goalkeeping but frankly speaking, all such conclusions are nothing but hogwash. In a league where you have goalkeepers like David De Gea, Pepe Reina, Petr Cech and Joe Hart, you can seldom expect goalkeeping howlers from their side.

Safe Hands (De Gea, Reina, Hart, Cech) L to R

Then where does the problem lie? The answer is the lax defence coupled with an increase in the number of quality strikers in the EPL.

Let’s elucidate the above hypothesis with some statistics. Till this past weekend, the average number of goals scored per match this season is 2.98 compared to 2.80 last year. Manchester City, the team at the apex of the league as of today has averaged an astonishing 3.55 goals per match, a far cry from the 2 goals per match average that Manchester United finished with at the end of last season.

Now let us move on to the playmaking aspect of this discussion, the lack of synchronisation in the defence and the stark increase in the number of attackers. Liverpool got Suarez, Rooney came back to form, Man City got Aguero, Dzeko and Silva and many more teams were fortunate enough to avail the services of the some of the most talented footballers of our generation. Hence we were witness to score-lines like 8-2, 6-1, 4-0, 5-0 etc.

Luis Suarez, rated as one of the top strikers of this EPL seaon, in action

Former Portsmouth defender Linvoy Primus was of the following opinion

“There have been defensive mistakes but this is largely down to the rise in quality of creative players in the Premier League. Sergio Agüero and Juan Mata have come in, while the likes of David Silva and Luiz Suárez are improving. These are players who not only score goals but create them too, and such is their threat that defenders are struggling to stop them.”

Now what about the matches where the score-line was as close as 3-2 or 5-3?

That is where we talk about the complete lack of discipline exhibited by the defenders this season. This “attribute” of sorts is promptly exploited by the strikers in their endeavour to score. The match between Chelsea and Arsenal which ended 3-5 in favour of Arsenal is a prime example. The way Djorou and Mertesacker were found loitering around rather than marking opponent players, allowing Chelsea to score was something that you wouldn’t expect from a league known for its paramount quality. In the same breath, the complete lack of co-ordination in the Chelsea defence (Terry slipped – in every sense), was also shocking. Manchester United has also been victim to defensive lapses; their 6-1 demolition is an experience not to be forgotten. Liverpool have also had their fair share of debacles like the 4-0 defeat to Tottenham.

Chelsea defenders look on as Van Persie scores another one.

Said Ray Houghton, a former Ireland midfielder

“”It’s hard to pinpoint why this has happened, but ultimately it comes down to how teams are being coached. Perhaps they are not doing much defensive work, perhaps the defensive coaches are not good enough.”

An analysis from the fan’s point of view suggests an increase in the level of adventure in the playing style of the teams. A team, in the heat of the relentless attack, tends to move forward a lot. It’s defence therefore becomes more vulnerable to a counter attack and when exposed to one, capitulates.

When United capitulated to their city neighbours

As spectators, you can’t deny the fact that our hearts start beating with joy every time the ball hits the back of the net, everyone loves a goal-fest but as a true football fan, the absence of overall football in the league really does pinch. All we can hope for is that the defences, now in tatters, start getting a grip over proceedings so that we are no more witness to such crazy and outrageous score lines.

The race to this trophy should be a little more fascinating