A Deep Dive into Big 5 European Soccer Leagues 23/24
In the world of soccer, numbers tell a story as compelling as the game itself. Today, we’re diving into a treasure trove of data from Europe’s top five leagues, courtesy of a Streamlit dashboard I developed that offers insights into team performances, player statistics, and league-wide trends. Whether you’re a die-hard fan, a fantasy league enthusiast, or just curious about the beautiful game, this analysis will give you a fresh perspective on the 2023/24 season.
Special thanks to FBREF for the data.
Europe’s Elite Leagues at a Glance
The dashboard kicks off with a comprehensive overview of the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, and French Ligue 1. Users can filter data by country, allowing for easy comparisons across leagues. The league table provides a quick snapshot of each team’s performance, including wins, losses, goals scored, and points accumulated.
Key Insights:
1. Dominance Across Borders: Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, Real Madrid in Spain, Inter Milan in Italy, Manchester City in England, and Paris Saint-Germain in France have established themselves as the powerhouses in their respective leagues.
2. Goal-Scoring Machines: Manchester City leads the pack with an impressive 96 goals scored, closely followed by Bayern Munich with 94 and Arsenal with 91, showcasing the offensive firepower in the Premier League and Bundesliga.
3. Defensive Fortresses: Inter Milan has conceded the fewest goals (22) across all leagues, followed closely by Bayer Leverkusen (24) and Real Madrid (26), highlighting the importance of a solid backline in championship-winning seasons.
Top Scorers: The Sharpshooters of Europe
A dedicated section of the dashboard spotlights the top goal-scorers in each league, offering insights into individual brilliance that often shapes team success.
Notable Performances:
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich): Leading the Bundesliga with 36 goals, Kane has made an immediate impact in his debut season in Germany.
- Kylian Mbappé (PSG) and Erling Haaland (Manchester City): Both have netted 27 goals in their respective leagues, continuing their reputations as two of the most prolific young strikers in world football.
- Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan): Topping the Serie A charts with 24 goals, Martínez has been instrumental in Inter’s title charge.
Beyond the Basics: Advanced Performance Metrics
What sets this dashboard apart is its deep dive into advanced statistics, offering a more nuanced understanding of team and player performances.
Expected Goals (xG) and Expected Goals Against (xGA):
These metrics provide insight into the quality of chances created and conceded by each team. The dashboard allows users to compare actual goals with expected goals, revealing which teams are overperforming or underperforming based on the quality of their chances.
Overachievers: Teams like Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan have significantly outperformed their xG, indicating clinical finishing and possibly some good fortune.
Underperformers: Some teams, despite creating good chances, have struggled to convert them into goals, suggesting areas for improvement in finishing or possibly just a run of bad luck.
Performance Efficiency Analysis
One of the most intriguing features is the Performance Efficiency chart, which plots teams based on their offensive efficiency (Goals/xG) and defensive efficiency (xGA/Goals Against). The app is interactive therefore you can hover around the points to get info about the teams performace.
All-Round Performers: Teams in the top-right quadrant, such as Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen, are excelling both offensively and defensively.
Offensive Powerhouses: Teams in the bottom-right quadrant are scoring more than expected but conceding more as well, suggesting an attack-first strategy.
Defensive Specialists: The top-left quadrant houses teams that are strong defensively but struggle to convert chances.
The Impact of Attendance
An interesting addition to the analysis is the exploration of the relationship between average attendance and team performance. While there’s often a correlation between higher attendance and better performance, the dashboard reveals some fascinating exceptions:
Some teams with relatively lower attendance, like Girona in La Liga, have managed to punch above their weight.
Conversely, some traditionally big clubs with high attendance have underperformed, highlighting that fan support, while important, isn’t the sole determinant of success.
League-Wide Trends and Comparisons
The dashboard excels in providing cross-league comparisons, allowing users to identify trends and differences between Europe’s top competitions:
Competitive Balance: The spread of points and goal differences varies significantly between leagues, with some showing a clear hierarchy and others demonstrating more parity.
Offensive vs. Defensive Leagues: By comparing goals scored and conceded across leagues, users can identify which competitions tend to be more attack-oriented or defensively solid.
Conclusion
This Streamlit dashboard offers a resource for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of European soccer. By combining traditional statistics with advanced metrics, it provides a holistic view of team and player performances across the continent’s top leagues.
Whether you’re analyzing your favorite team’s chances of success, scouting for fantasy leagues, or simply appreciating the nuances of the sport, this tool offers insights that go far beyond the scoreline. It reminds us that in soccer, as in life, there’s always more than meets the eye — and sometimes, the real stories are hidden in the data.
