New Delhi: Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal, Manchester City 5-1 Tottenham, Real Madrid 6-0 Real Zaragoza, Barcelona 5-0 Villarreal.
It's been raining goals in the Premier League and La Liga over the weekend, with the big teams scoring for fun. Even the rest joined the party - 30 goals were scored on the opening weekend in Spain, while EPL teams found the back of the net 31 times.
In fact, high-scoring games are becoming more and more common. 72 goals have been scored in the first three rounds of the Premier League. Naturally, champions Manchester United lead the early charts, with 13 goals, after the mauling of Arsenal on Sunday. However, local rivals and title challengers Manchester City are not far behind, after impressive wins over Swansea (4-0), Bolton (3-2) and Spurs. Even Bolton Wanderers have seven, with promoted side Swansea City the only side yet to score in the league this season.
It isn't just about the numbers though. More exciting for the fans has been the attacking play and adventurous mindset displayed by most of the teams. The case of Manchester City especially comes to mind. Roberto Mancini was often accused of adopting far too negative tactics last season, despite the talent at his disposal. Having made further additions to an already-strong squad - Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri already have three goals and three assists, respectively - Mancini seems to have abandoned the earlier caution. The result? 12 goals and nine points in three matches, and all that without even requiring the services of Carlos Tevez.
What has made the English league more open though, has been the positive intent displayed by even the relatively weaker teams, like Bolton, Wolves and Swansea, or in past seasons, Blackpool, Hull City and Burnley. The attempt to play passing football may not always be a pragmatic approach for teams fighting relegation, but it certainly makes for better games for the viewing audiences.
This recent trend has been attributed to the concurrent success of Spain at the international level, with the team having won the last two major international tournaments (Euros 2008, World Cup 2010). Of course, a large part of that Spanish national side plays for Champions League winners Barcelona, so the style of play is hardly a surprise.
The La Liga, in fact, has always been seen as promoting a more free-flowing game, with the emphasis of teams on technique and open play. A whopping 1,042 goals were scored over the course of last season, Madrid at least getting the better of eventual champions Barcelona by scoring 102 goals as compared to the 95 scored by the Catalans.
Interestingly though, more goals were scored in England in the same period - 1,063 in the 760 games. There were 2.80 goals per game on average in the 2010-11 season - the highest ratio in Premier League history. The last English top-flight season to see a higher goals-per-game rate was 1967-68 (3.03). What's more, there were fewer clean sheets (191) in last year's EPL than any other campaign.
In the 2009-10 season, 1,053 goals were scored, which was only seven short of the record number in a 20-team season, set in 1999-2000. Meanwhile, Chelsea (103 goals) became the first side to score more than 100 goals in an English top-flight season since Spurs hit 111 in 1962 63.
Of course, there are always more goals at the start of a new season than towards the business end, when player fatigue and injuries are on the rise and there is more at stake in the games played. Statistics have shown a decrease in the average number of goals per game as the season progresses.
So what do all these numbers mean? Well, perhaps not much except that the start of the season is more likely to produce more exciting, high-scoring games. So goal-wise, this is the best time to have fun! And while there are many moments of pure joy for fans during a football game, be it a defence-splitting pass or a finger-tip save, nothing quite compares to the thrill of scoring a goal. Of course, the supporters and goalkeepers of the clubs they are scored against will disagree!
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