Which teams are the worst (and best) defensive teams in the big leagues of European soccer? Let's take a look at defensive performance so far this year - since it's roughly the halfway mark everywhere, these numbers should be more or less comparable across teams and leagues (assuming that the leagues are similar in important ways, which we know to be sorta true from previous analyses I've posted here ...).
I'm measuring defensive production in a very straightforward way by calculating the average number of goals conceded per match (as of Dec.23). Below you can see the number of goals conceded at home (graph 1) and away (graph 2). Take a look.
As in offensive production, there is considerable variation across clubs, from fewer than .5 goals conceded per home match to almost 2.5 per match (the average is 1.12 across all teams).
Here are the extremes: Only four teams have conceded more than 2 goals per match at home, on average (so about twice what the average team conceded). These include
Moenchengladbach (which "leads" the group with nearly 2.5 goals), followed by Zaragoza, Malaga, and Almeria. No surprise that M'Gladbach and Malaga have feverishly been scouring the transfer market, with Gladbach signing two defenders so far, and Malaga just taking on DeMichelis from Bayern as well, and there's talk of Arsenal's Almunia joining them (don't know what Zaragoza and Almeria have been up to, but I'd be surprised if they're not looking for defensive reinforcements).On the other end of the defensive production table, Mallorca, Real Madrid, and Villareal all have been spectacularly stingy, allowing only .375 goals when playing at home. Other teams conceding half a goal or less so far this season include Parma, Chelsea, Bundesliga leades Dortmund, and Sampdoria.
So are these the same teams that concede many or few goals away from home? Let's take a look.
The quick answer is, by and large, yes, with some interesting exceptions. So, for example, Moenchengladbach's defensive has been a complete sieve, at home and away. They have the unfortunate distinction of being the worst defensive teams of the Big 4 leagues so far this season, and with some distance to spare. They have conceded the most goals at home and away, at slightly over 3 when playing on the road (3.125 to be exact). This is almost exactly twice the Big 4 average (which runs at 1.58). Staying with the Bundesliga for a moment, league leaders Dortmund are again among the best defenses in all of Europe, regardless of whether they play at home or away, with around .5 goals conceded when playing away from the Westfalenstadion (aka Signal Iduna Park).
Overall, the best defensive team on the road so far this year has been Barcelona, followed by Juventus and Dortmund, while the worst have been Gladbach, Bremen, and Lecce. Among the interesting exceptions and surprises for me are Tottenham's very average performance on defense (statistically speaking, of course), as well as Chelsea's consistently good performance, which is not reflected in their league standing at the moment.
I'll take a more in depth look at shot and goal ratios before too long. Until then, enjoy the second half of the season!
