Lies, damn lies and statistics. It’s an old saying that suggests that stats can be manipulated in order to add weight to an argument that they don’t necessarily support. But some statistics are impossible to ignore, so here’s a numbers-led fact that cannot be disputed: the Premier League has become more entertaining since Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp came to manage in the EPL.
Some would argue that there’s not a causal link between the two notions, but the attacking tactics of Pep and Klopp – allied to high pressing and more advanced defensive lines – has meant that more goals are being scored in the Premier League than ever before. Exhibit A? The 1,115 plundered during the 2024/25 season was the second highest tally notched in a single campaign since the First Division was rebranded to the Premier League more than three decades ago.
Exhibit B: the record was set as recently as 2023/24, when 1,246 were netted. The case rests, your honour.
The Modern Way
Pep Guardiola was announced as the head coach of Manchester City for the 2016/17 season, bringing with him a mentality and tactical approach schooled at European giants like Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Jürgen Klopp, meanwhile, was appointed Liverpool boss in October 2015; so, in a sense, the 2016/17 season was his first full campaign having had time to bed in his heavy metal tactics and bring in some of his own players.
Now here’s a look at the highest scoring Premier League seasons (involving those with 20 teams) in chronological order since the inaugural edition in 1992/93:
- #1 – 2023/24 (1,246)
- #2 – 2024/25 (1,115)
- #3 – 2022/23 (1,084)
- #4 – 2021/22 (1,071)
- #5 – 2011/12 (1,066)
Maybe that’s just coincidence, but the reality is that the four highest-scoring seasons in Premier League history have come since Pep and Klopp oversaw their tactical revolution in English football. Of course, it helps that they have had great players at Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as cash rich owners not afraid to open up their purse strings.
But it’s the style of their successes that has been most impressive; winning while playing, often, an eye-catching, possession heavy brand of the game. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and now other clubs are trying to adapt their style in a Pep or Klopp stylised fashion. High defensive lines, aggressive pressing, playing out from the back… you’re as likely to see those traits at Molineux and Selhurst Park these days as you are at the Etihad and Anfield.
To offer some context, the number of long passes being played has diminished to the point that Everton – who were the most prolific long ball merchants in 2024/25 under Sean Dyche and David Moyes – would have ranked as the second-lowest team for that metric in the Premier League in 2017/18.
Klopp has now long gone from English football, while Manchester City have just experienced their worst season of the Pep era. OPTA revealed that City’s ‘slow and intricate’ style, characterised by more passes per sequence of play, has now been usurped by a faster, more direct edict – beating the high press with one simple ball.
Perhaps the influence of Pepification is waning… but there’s no doubt that his tactical innovations have changed the face of the Premier League; possibly for good. And the upshot? More goals are being scored than ever before, which is great news for Match of the Day viewers.
Time, Gentlemen
Lies, damn lies and statistics. You’d be hard pressed to argue that tactics in the Premier League haven’t changed in a way that makes attacking play more dangerous, with goals being the obvious output. But there’s another factor at work in the record-breaking amount of goals being scored, and it’s one that no manager or head coach has any control over.
For the World Cup in 2022, new rules were initiated that saw referees add on more injury time than ever before – accounting for stoppages, substitutions, injuries and goal celebrations, amongst other things.
At the time, there was uproar that a game of football could last 100+ minutes in total. Now, it’s simply par for the course. In fact, the average Premier League game lasts four-and-a-half minutes longer than it would have a decade ago.
More time being played in games means, you guessed it, more goals being scored. Here’s a rundown of all the Premier League seasons in history with the most goals scored after the 90th minute:
- #1 – 2023/24 (112)
- #2 – 2024/25 (94)
- #3 – 2021/22 (85)
- #4 – 2018/19 (85)
- #5 – 2007/08 (81)
And so, since the new injury time rules were introduced, the number of goals scored in stoppage time has increased significantly – around 30% more, in fact, compared to previously prolific seasons such as 2018/19 and 2021/22.
More time played and a new tactical dawn… the Premier League is witnessing more goals than ever.
What Are the Highest Scoring Leagues in World Football?
The 2024/25 Premier League season saw an average of 2.93 goals scored per game. That was down on the extraordinary 3.28 goals per game witnessed during 2023/24, but still ranks the EPL as one of the highest-scoring domestic leagues in world football.
If goals equal entertainment, then the Premier League outstrips two of the other ‘Big Five’ domestic divisions in Europe: the Italian Serie A (2.56 goals per game in 2024/25) and the Spanish La Liga (2.62). But even if more goals are being scored in the Premier League these days than ever before, the competition still ranks behind some of its peers when it comes to net finding. The Scottish Premiership witnessed an average of 2.96 goals per game in 2024/25, while France’s Ligue 1 was up to 2.98.
Leading the charge for Europe’s big five was the German Bundesliga, which served up an epic 3.13 goals per game, on average, during the 2024/25 campaign. But even that mighty haul has been bettered by senior competitions. Denmark’s Superligaen delivered 3.14 goals per game last season, while taking top spot is the Australian A-League: an extraordinary 3.29 goals per game were witnessed Down Under.
