Harry Watkinson
The most efficient attacking teams from Europe’s ‘big five’
As the old saying goes: if you don’t shoot, you don’t score. But the truth is if you don’t score… shooting doesn’t count for much. But these teams don’t have to worry about that.
In this article, we’ve ranked the teams from the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 with the best shot conversion rate from the 2021-22 season, noting their league finishing position so you can see how these stats correlate.
There are some obvious teams in there, but plenty of shocks too. Check out this list to see which of Europe’s attacks are the most efficient.
Premier League
Antonio Conte has undoubtedly had a big positive impact on Tottenham Hotspur since joining in November 2021 and one stat he can be proud of is that his side has the best shot conversion rate in the Premier League.
The dominant front three which the Italian boss went with for the majority of his tenure: Son, Kane and Kulusevski, all three very capable finishers, definitely helped.
It’s also somewhat surprising to see the likes of Leicester City and West Ham United in the top five most efficient attacks in the division. Perhaps if their forwards were given more good quality service, we’d be looking at a different 2021-22 league table.
Tottenham Hotspur (4th)
Total Shots: 639
Shots per game: 16.8
Goals: 69
Conversion rate: 10.8%
Leicester City (8th)
Total Shots: 580
Shots per game: 9.35
Goals: 62
Conversion rate: 10.7%
Manchester City (1st)
Total Shots: 958
Shots per game: 25.21
Goals: 99
Conversion rate: 10.3%
Chelsea (3rd)
Total Shots: 760
Shots per game: 20
Goals: 76
Conversion rate: 10%
West Ham United (7th)
Total Shots: 614
Shots per game: 16.16
Goals: 60
Conversion rate: 9.8%
La Liga
Villarreal enjoyed a fantastic Champions League campaign, narrowly losing to Liverpool in the semi-finals. While their league position didn’t reflect their show of quality in Europe, their conversion rate certainly did.
Despite taking the least shots of any of the La Liga teams in the top five, their consistency has to be respected, with a 10.1% conversion rate, they netted 63 goals in 2021-22 – the fourth-best in the Spanish top flight.
Mention must also be made of Real Betis, who have had an outstanding season, with an 8.8% conversion rate to help secure their highest league finish since 2004; Manuel Pellegrini must be doing something right.
Villarreal CF (7th)
Total Shots: 623
Shots per game: 16.39
Goals: 63
Conversion rate: 10.1%
Atletico Madrid (3rd)
Total Shots: 659
Shots per game: 17.34
Goals: 65
Conversion rate: 9.9%
Real Madrid (1st)
Total Shots: 835
Shots per game: 21.97
Goals: 80
Conversion rate: 9.6%
FC Barcelona (2nd)
Total Shots: 737
Shots per game: 19.39
Goals: 737
Conversion rate: 9.2%
Real Betis (5th)
Total Shots: 702
Shots per game: 18.47
Goals: 62
Conversion rate: 8.8%
Euro qualifiers: England Under-21s’ most prolific attackers
Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund have finished in the top four of the Bundesliga for seven consecutive seasons and this has been thanks to an incredibly efficient attack.
The 2021-22 season saw 25 goals from Haaland, 12 from Reus and nine a-piece from Brandt and Malen, helping BVB to a 14.3% shot conversion rate throughout the season – the highest of all of Europe’s ‘big five’ league teams.
It will be interesting to see if Edin Terzic’s men can keep those numbers now that Haaland has made the switch to Manchester City.
Borussia Dortmund (2nd)
Total Shots: 594
Shots per game: 15.63
Goals: 85
Conversion rate: 14.3%
Bayer Leverkusen (3rd)
Total Shots: 616
Shots per game: 16.21
Goals: 72
Conversion rate: 13%
RB Leipzig (4th)
Total Shots: 580
Shots per game: 15.26
Goals: 72
Conversion rate: 12.4%
Bayern Munich (1st)
Total Shots: 925
Shots per game: 24.34
Goals: 97
Conversion rate: 10.5%
TSG Hoffenheim (9th)
Total Shots: 640
Shots per game: 16.84
Goals: 58
Conversion rate: 9.1%
Serie A
Ciro Immobile was crowned the Serie A top scorer for the 2021-22 season and his 25 goals played a big role in Lazio having the best shot conversion rate in Italy, with 12.6%, helping them secure a spot in the Europa League next season.
We also cannot overlook Hellas Verona, who, despite finishing in a somewhat disappointing 9th place, managed to achieve a 10.7% shot conversion rate. Giovanni Simeone’s 17-goal campaign (the son of Diego), was key to their success.
They will be desperately trying to sign the striker permanently after his loan deal from Cagliari expired this summer.
Lazio (5th)
Total Shots: 611
Shots per game: 16.08
Goals: 77
Conversion rate: 12.6%
Hellas Verona (9th)
Total Shots: 605
Shots per game: 15.92
Goals: 65
Conversion rate: 10.7%
Napoli (3rd)
Total Shots: 759
Shots per game: 19.97
Goals: 74
Conversion rate: 9.7%
Inter Milan (2nd)
Total Shots: 882
Shots per game: 16.84
Goals: 84
Conversion rate: 9.5%
Fiorentina (7th)
Total Shots: 670
Shots per game: 17.63
Goals: 59
Conversion rate: 8.8%
Ligue 1
The only team to have the best conversion rate (11.5) and win the league, Paris Saint Germain have once again stamped their authority on Ligue 1.
But, when you boast a 20 shot per game average with players like Mbappe, Messi, Di Maria and Neymar leading the line, that’s to be expected, right?
The French champions have confirmed their status as one of the best attacking outfits in Europe. Whether we can say that about their defence… is another story.
Paris Saint Germain (1st)
Total Shots: 785
Shots per game: 20.66
Goals: 90
Conversion rate: 11.5%
Stade Rennais (4th)
Total Shots: 761
Shots per game: 20.03
Goals: 82
Conversion rate: 10.8%
AS Monaco (3rd)
Total Shots: 615
Shots per game: 16.18
Goals: 65
Conversion rate: 10.6%
FC Nantes (9th)
Total Shots: 606
Shots per game: 15.95
Goals: 55
Conversion rate: 9.1%
Olympique Marseille (2nd)
Total Shots: 698
Shots per game: 18.37
Goals: 63
Conversion rate: 9%
