The Premier League is good, but if you really want goals you need to go Dutch

Published 14:13 28/09/09

A staggering 33 goals were scored in nine Premier League matches this weekend as Liverpool smacked Hull for six, while Tottenham and Sunderland netted five apiece against Burnley and Wolves respectively.

So surely that proves the English game is the most exciting in Europe. Or does it?

MirrorFootball investigates...

The general consensus has it that England and Spain are the most engaging leagues in Europe, given their propensity for the sort of attack-minded and heavy goalscoring football embraced by Manchester United and Barcelona.

Italy's Serie A, meanwhile, is widely regarded as the ugly sister of European football - frozen in the Catenaccio mentality that places the avoidance of defeat above everything else.

There is no doubt that this season the Premier League has got off to a flier. Arsenal set the tone on the opening day with a 6-1 thrashing of Everton, and we've since had goals galore, as well as one of the most exciting derbies in living memory as Manchester United beat Manchester City 4-3 at Eastlands earlier this month.

The English top-flight's goal average of 2.95 so far this season is the highest in the history of the competition, and unsurprisingly puts it head and shoulders ahead of its European counterparts.

Spanish football lies second, with Barcelona and Real Madrid having scored 16 goals apiece as both have clocked up five wins on the bounce, helping La Liga to average 2.86 goals a game so far this season.

Of Europe's Big Six, the Bundesliga, after seven matches, is third after returning 2.79 goals a game, the Dutch Eredivisie (eight) has mustered 2.75, France's Ligue 1 (seven) has managed 2.51 and Serie A (five) has eked out a paltry 2.38.

However, it would be wrong to assume that the current status quo is the norm because a glance at the statistics over the last five seasons shows that the Premier League has consistently failed to keep up with the rest of Europe in the goalscoring stakes.

In fact, if it's goal you want, you need to get over to Holland and Germany.

Last season the Premier League scored a meagre 2.47 goals a game - a tally only Ligue 1 (2.25) failed to beat. Furthermore, in the four previous seasons, the English top-flight has never come higher than fourth in Europe's goalscoring table.

Similarly, La Liga, despite consistently outscoring the Premier League, has also trailed the Dutch Eredivisie and German Bundesliga over recent seasons - with the exception of last year.

Of course, oodles of goals does not necessarily translate into exciting football. Were that the case then we would all be watching the SPL every week and Setanta would still be giving Sky Sports a run for their money.

But what these results do suggest is that this season's high-scoring start to the Premier League is an anomaly.

Which raises an altogether different question: in a season when the August transfer window was dominated by big money being spent on defenders, why have we seen so many goals being scored in the Premier League?

Europe's top scoring leagues... (average goals per game)

2009/10 - so far
1. Premier League 2.95 (7 matches)
2. La Liga 2.86 (5 matches)
3. Bundesliga 2.79 (7 matches)
4. Eredivisie 2.75 (8 matches)
5. Ligue 1 2.51 (7 matches)
7. Serie A 2.38 (5 matches)

2008/09
1. Bundesliga 2.92
2. La Liga 2.88
3. Eredivisie 2.84
4. Serie A 2.60
5. Premier League 2.47
6. Ligue 1 2.25

2007/08
1. Eredivisie 3.12
2. Bundesliga 2.81
3. La Liga 2.69
4. Premier League 2.64
5. Serie A 2.55
6. Ligue 1 2.28

2006/07
1. Eredivisie 2.99
2. Bundesliga 2.74
3. Serie A 2.55
4. La Liga 2.48
5. Premier League 2.45
6. Ligue 1 2.25

2005/06
1. Eredivisie 2.98
2. Bundesliga 2.81
3. Serie A 2.61
4. Premier League 2.48
5. La Liga 2.46
6. Ligue 1 2.13

2004/05
1. Eredivisie 3.10
2. Bundesliga 2.91
3. La Liga 2.58
4. Premier League 2.57
5. Serie A 2.53
6. Ligue 1 2.17

2003/04
1. Eredivisie 2.98
2. Bundesliga 2.97
3. Serie A 2.67
4. La Liga 2.67
5. Premier League 2.66
6. Ligue 1 2.33