Nine matches, thirty goals. That was the Europa League's contribution to a weekend that had no shortage of them, and it made the competition the busiest scoreboard in Europe over the last day of action. At 3.3 goals per game, it was not even the most efficient league on the books, but the sheer volume set it apart from everything else on the card.
Ligue 2 and La Liga both matched each other for average output, 3.0 goals per game, though on very different sample sizes. Ligue 2 got there across six matches and eighteen goals, while La Liga needed only three fixtures to reach nine.
The rate-per-game leaders
Strip away raw totals and a different picture emerges. The Challenger Pro League, Belgium's second tier, averaged 4.5 goals per game across just two matches, the highest strike rate of any competition in the data. Categoria Primera A was close behind at 4.0 per game from two matches and eight goals.
- Challenger Pro League: 9 goals in 2 matches (4.5 per game)
- Categoria Primera A: 8 goals in 2 matches (4.0 per game)
- Europa League: 30 goals in 9 matches (3.3 per game)
- Ligue 2: 18 goals in 6 matches (3.0 per game)
- La Liga: 9 goals in 3 matches (3.0 per game)
- Veikkausliiga: 8 goals in 4 matches (2.0 per game)
At the other end, Finland's Veikkausliiga was the tightest of the group, with eight goals spread over four matches for an average of 2.0 per game, still enough to keep it firmly in credit compared to a truly stingy night elsewhere.
Taken together, the numbers tell two stories at once. The Europa League supplied the spectacle in bulk, thirty goals is thirty goals, but on a per-match basis it was the smaller leagues, the Challenger Pro League and Categoria Primera A, that actually delivered the more chaotic football. Anyone tracking goal trends across Europe and South America this weekend had plenty to work with either way.