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18 matches are still to be played – and it remains to be seen who will win the Bundesliga title, who will qualify for Europe and who will avoid relegation. The next two weekends promise plenty of excitement as the 2018-19 Bundesliga season draws to a close. The match data and facts from the previous 32 match days show that 18 May will mark the end of an enthralling season.
Spectacle:
With an average of 3.14 goals per match, the Bundesliga is the European top league with the most goals in the 2018-19 season – ahead of the Premier League (2.80), Serie A (2.66), La Liga (2.57) and Ligue 1 (2.55). In the 2017-18 season, the Bundesliga already had the highest average among the five European top leagues at 2.8 goals per match. With the exception of the 2016-17 season, the Bundesliga has now been the European top league with the most goals per match for the last 29 years.
The 32 Bundesliga match days to date have seen a total of 905 goals – more than in each of the four previous full seasons. This is partly because the 288 fixtures in the German top flight this season have seen just 15 no-score draws. At 5.2 percent, this is the lowest figure among the five European top leagues. Meanwhile, ten percent of Bundesliga matches have seen six goals or more.
Suspense:
With two match days left until the season ends, the destination of the Bundesliga title is still unknown. The battle for the championship between FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund is one of the highlights of the season. The clubs have switched places at the top of the table five times, and they are separated by just four points after the 32nd match day.
The fight for the European places is no less enthralling, with a number of clubs still in the running to qualify for the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League. There are currently just three points between Eintracht Frankfurt in fourth place and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in eighth – the closest these five positions have been since the three-point rule was introduced.
Strength:
The Bundesliga’s shot conversion rate of 15.4 percent is the highest among the five European top leagues. As well as goals, the Bundesliga offers attractive, flowing, high-tempo football: With 27 shots on goal per game, there are more chances than in England, Spain or France. 74 percent of Bundesliga goals come from open play – the highest rate among the five top leagues. The average pass completion rate of 83 percent is higher than in previous seasons. Flowing football is also ensured by the number of fouls per match, which is a low 22.3 compared with 41.5 in the 2002-03 season.
Status:
In the first half of the current 2018-19 season, an average of 42,217 tickets were sold per match, well over 4,000 more than the Premier League. Demand for tickets in all of the other top leagues was below 30,000 per match. The second half of the season continued with the Bundesliga again averaging more than 40,000 fans per match. Reporting by national media partners is extremely popular, and the Bundesliga remains extremely attractive internationally: On each of the 32 match days to date, there were fixtures broadcast in more than 200 FIFA member countries.
Stories:
This has been another Bundesliga season that will remain long in the memory thanks to numerous personal success stories. To name just a few examples in connection with landmark goals: Robert Lewandowski of FC Bayern München became the first foreign player to score more than 200 times in the Bundesliga. Claudio Pizarro of SV Werder Bremen (see photo below) succeeded Mirko Votava as the oldest Bundesliga goalscorer of all time, subsequently extending his own record to 40 years and 213 days on the 32nd match day.
In the first half of his first season in German professional football, Paco Alcácer of Borussia Dortmund already broke the record for the most goals scored as a substitute in a single season. At 20 years and 300 days, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Luka Jovic became the youngest Bundesliga player to score five goals in one match. And Andrej Kramaric of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Nils Petersen of Sport-Club Freiburg and Alfreð Finnbogason of FC Augsburg became the all-time record Bundesliga goalscorers for their respective clubs.
