By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of the eighth round of matches in the 2023/24 season, the Bundesliga is proving to be Europe's leading goal factory.
222 goals, at an average of 3.52 per game, represents the highest number of goals per game among the leading 12 European leagues. The 18 German clubs scored an average of over 31 goals on each of the seven matchdays.
Switzerland (184 goals/3.17 per game/58 games), the Netherlands (221/3.16/70), and Portugal (219/3.04/72) follow closely.
England (240/3.00/80), Spain (259/2.91/89), France (200/2.82/71) and Italy (209/2.61/80) are ranked in lower positions.
Three Bundesliga sides - Bayer Leverkusen (23), Bayern Munich (23) and Stuttgart (22) - have scored at least 22 goals.
The Bundesliga's top scorer, Stuttgart's Guinean striker Serhou Guirassy, has already scored 13 goals, with Harry Kane (8 goals), Victor Boniface (8) and Jonas Wind (7) following behind.
Only three times since the league began life in 1963 have teams scored more goals after seven matchdays, namely 1984/85 (240), 1973/74 (237) and 1983/84 (225).
While fans are enjoying the goal-fest, there is a flip side to the coin.
"From a coach's perspective, you would say the teams are allowing far too many chances for opposing sides," said Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac, with Werder Bremen sporting director Frank Baumann bemoaning the decreasing quality of defending in recent years. ■
