bundesliga

Where the Bundesliga is best in Europe

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Harry Kane and Bayern Munich, Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen and others have helped the Bundesliga into the top two UEFA country coefficients at the halfway stage of the 2023/24 season. When it comes to goals and fans, the Bundesliga has been at the very top of the pile.

bundesliga.com takes a closer look…

Data correct as of 21 December 2023

Goals galore

A massive 480 goals have been smashed in the Bundesliga's 16 matchdays so far this season (143 games in total). A comparison of Europe's five biggest leagues shows the Bundesliga to be clearly the highest-scoring so far this season with an average of 3.36 goals per game - almost an entire goal per match more than Ligue 1 (2.50). Although the Bundesliga has regularly averaged more than three goals per match in recent years, it has not seen nets bulged at such a frigthening frequency since way back in 1984/85.

A cool 42 goals were fired in a phenomenal Matchday 9 alone in October. That saw a certain Harry Kane slot in perhaps the most memorable of those 480 strikes to date, a strike from within his own half as Bayern Munich dismantled Darmstadt 8-0 with eight second-half goals. 

Watch: Kane scores from own half as Bayern beat Bochum 8-0

Goalscorers grab the limelight

Kane arrived in Germany with a huge reputation - and he has fully lived up to that and then some with a record-breaking start to the season that saw him smash a staggering 21 goals in his first 16 appearances.

The England captain has scored more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues so far this season - but then again he has more goals as an individual than 43 teams across those leagues have managed! 

If many forecast the staggering start of Kane, almost nobody at the beginning of the season would have dared to predict the impact of one of the Bundesliga's previously lesser-known talents. VfB Stuttgart's Serhou Guirassy has been simply sensational - only Kane and Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe boast more than his 17 goals so far.

Watch: The best of Serhou Guirassy

League leaders Bayer Leverkusen have also been one of the standout stories this season - for good reason, as no other side in Europe's top five leagues remains unbeaten at Christmas, and no team can match their incredible run of 25 games undefeated in all competitions so far this campaign.

Bayern and Leverkusen take the top two spots of the 96 teams in Europe's five biggest leagues for goals scored per match this season - at 3.27 and 2.88, respectively. They have played a key role in the great German goal glut. If you consider that the Bundesliga boasts the most shots per match in any of the major leagues (27.4), the most 'big chances' per match (5.2) and the best chance conversion rate (16.4%) - the German top flight is quite simply the league to watch for entertainment across the board.

Small wonder that the fans flock in bigger numbers than anywhere else. The Bundesliga average attendance of 39,458 this season is greater than any other major European league, while Bundesliga 2 is not far behind with 28,203 - putting it close to Spain's La Liga and ahead of France's Ligue 1.