The standout trends of the 2022/23 Bundesliga season
Bayern Munich may have won the Bundesliga title for a record-extending 11th straight year, but the 2022/23 campaign was different to anything in the past. bundesliga.com looks back on the trends of the recently ended season.
Down to the wire!
6 - For just the sixth time in Bundesliga history, the team at the top of the table prior to Matchday 34 did not end up winning the title. The last time that happened was 23 years ago when Unterhaching beat leaders Bayer Leverkusen 2-0, allowing Bayern to pip Die Werkself to the crown.
7 – The Bundesliga title was decided on goal difference for just the seventh time overall. Bayern and Borussia Dortmund both ended up with 71 points, but Bayern’s goal difference of +54 was far superior to BVB’s (+39).
9 – Nine minutes stood between Freiburg and a maiden place in the UEFA Champions League as the battle for a top-four finish also went down to the final day. The Black Forest club were leading Frankfurt 1-0, while rivals Union Berlin were drawing 0-0 with Werder Bremen. However, Rani Khedira’s 81st-minute strike lifted Union into fourth on goal difference. Freiburg went on to lose in Frankfurt to finish fifth, allowing Union to qualify for the Champions League for the first time ever.
Watch: A tactical analysis of Bayern's class of 2022/23
5 – Hertha Berlin were the only team whose relegation was confirmed ahead of Matchday 34. Schalke, VfB Stuttgart, Bochum, Augsburg and Hoffenheim – who were virtually assured of staying up thanks to their superior goal difference – were all battling for survival on the final day. Schalke fought back from 2-0 down to equalise at 2-2 in Leipzig, before ultimately losing 4-2 to finish 17th.
22 – Darmstadt had topped the Bundesliga 2 standings for 22 matchdays going into the last round of fixtures, but their 4-0 loss against Greuther Fürth opened the door for them to be overtaken. Heidenheim snatched top spot on goal difference after scoring twice in stoppage time to beat Regensburg, leaving Hamburg in the relegation/promotion play-offs.
Fans galore
13.1M – Over 13.1 million fans flocked through the turnstyles to watch Bundesliga matches in 2022/23, a big increase on previous years impacted by Covid-19 restrictions (there were just 6.4 million spectators in 2021/22).
43,019 – The average number of fans per game in the Bundesliga, reaching pre-pandemic levels.
47 per cent – The return of fans also meant an uptick in the percentage of home wins, which had dropped dramatically in 2019/20 and 2020/21. A total of 145 matches were won by home teams, equating to 47 per cent, while there were 86 away wins and 75 draws.
33 – Bayern’s tally of points accrued away from home was the highest in the league. Hertha collected just eight points on their travels (W2, D2, L13), putting them bottom of that category.
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Goals galore - again
971 – The total number of goals scored in the Bundesliga across the season, 17 more than the previous year.
568 – The total number of goals scored by home teams, the highest such quota in 35 years.
3.17 – The average number of goals per game in the Bundesliga. As such it was the only one of Europe’s top five leagues to break the three-goal barrier, for the fifth successive year. England’s Premier League was second with 2.85.
103 – The number of times teams that were losing fought back to claim at least a point.
8 – Bayern dropped points from winning positions on eight separate occasions in 2022/23, more than they have done every year since 1991/92 (10 times). Augsburg were the only team unable to hold on to a lead more frequently last term, dropping points in nine matches.
10 – Leverkusen were the Bundesliga’s best counter-attacking team, scoring a league-high 10 goals on the break.
15 – There were only 15 goalless draws in 2022/23. Five of those games involved Cologne and another five Schalke. Seven teams did not experience a 0-0 draw at all.
Watch: The best long-range goals of the season
261 – The number of different scorers throughout the season. Only once in league history has the total been higher: 262 in 1998/99.
16 – The total number of goals registered by top scorers Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Füllkrug. It is the lowest tally ever to win the prize. Füllkrug is the first player from a newly promoted side to finish as top scorer since Bochum's Theofanis Gekas in 2006/07 (20).
12 – Raphael Guerreiro ended the campaign as the league’s best assist provider with 12.
26 – Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani was the most dangerous player in the final third, ending the season with more direct goal involvements than anyone else (15 scored, 11 assisted). Bayern’s Jamal Musiala was next with 22 (12, 10), followed by Füllkrug (16, five) and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Jonas Hofmann (12, nine).
Supersubs!
151 – More goals were scored than ever before by substitutes, although the fact that each team is now allowed five changes per game obviously contributed to that.
14 – Dortmund were top of that particular pile with 14 goals from players off the bench.
5 – Gio Reyna and Lars Stindl were the league’s best supersubs with five goals apiece.
34 – Nils Petersen is the Bundesliga’s top all-time supersub, having found the net 34 times as a substitute. Now set to hang up his boots for good, the veteran forward netted his most recent of those in his final home game for Freiburg in the 2-0 win over Wolfsburg on Matchday 33.
Watch: All of Nkunku's goals this season
Penalties
109 – The number of penalties awarded throughout the season, up from 84 in 2021/22.
14 - A whopping 14 of them were awarded against Bochum, the second-highest amount in history after Hannover 96, who conceded 17 penalties in 1985/86.
4 – Freiburg’s 4-1 win over Union Berlin on Matchday 15 was the first time since April 1987 that four penalties were awarded in one game. Three of them were given inside the first 20 minutes – a Bundesliga first.
6,907 – The total number of fouls registered across the season, the second-lowest tally since detailed data collection began in 1991/92. The ‘fairest’ season in this regard was 2018/19 with 6,832.
43 – The total number of red cards shown, up from 24 in 2021/22.
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