5 teams with the most league goals in a calendar year

The old adage goes - attack wins games, but defences win championships. That could be true. But over the years, title-winning teams have generally been ones that have combined a robust attack with a stout defense.

There are many examples, especially in the last two decades, of teams winning leagues, thanks to a blistering attack. Some notable examples in this regard are Real Madrid (2011-12), Barcelona (2015-16), Manchester City (2017-18) and Bayern Munich (2012-13).

On that note, let's take a look at five teams with the most league goals in a calendar year:

#5 Barcelona (2010) - 113

Pep Guardiola's Barcelona were on a tear in 2010.

Pep Guardiola's rampant Barcelona team were on a tear in 2010. They successfully defended their league title in the summer, scoring a plethora of goals. However, they were eliminated by eventual winners Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinals.

The Blaugrana scored a whopping 98 league goals to hold off a rampant Real Madrid side that scored over a hundred.

Barcelona continued to dominate in the 2010-11 season as well. Guardiola's men brought up a 100 league goals for the year, racking up 51 in the new season as 2010 drew to a close.

Barcelona went on to win their third league title later that campaign, keeping Real Madrid at bay in another titanic La Liga race.

#4 Barcelona (2016) - 113

Barcelona had another goal-rich year in 2016. For the fourth time in seven years, the Blaugrana scored over a hundred league goals.

Lionel Messi and co. started the year slowly with a goalless draw against Espanyol. However, they picked up momentum soon after and did not have to look back. They plundered 72 league goals - 24 in their last five games - racking up 112 for the season, to beat Real Madrid by a solitary point. The Merengues scored only two fewer league goals than the Blaugrana that season.

After their blistering start to the year, Barcelona scored 41 goals in the first half of 2016-17 to close the year with over 100 league goals. Despite upping the pace in the second half of the season, Blaugrana were denied a La Liga three-peat by a determined Real Madrid side.

#3 Real Madrid (2011) - 119

Real Madrid were on a different level in 2011. After their arch-rivals Barcelona roared to successive league titles, the Merengues were determined to foil their bid for a three-peat.

Madrid scored 63 league goals since the turn of the year. But they fell short by four points in a titanic title race, with both teams garnering over 90 points. Merengues breached the 100-goal mark in La Liga that season.

Continuing from where they left off, Madrid scored 56 goals to close the year with over 110 league strikes. After Matchday 10, Jose Mourinho's men never left the top spot on the league table as Real Madrid denied Barcelona a La Liga four-peat. The Merengues would score 121 times in the 2011-12 season to romp to their first league title in four years.

#2 Barcelona (2017) - 120

Barcelona were rampant in 2017, but narrowly failed to win the La Liga title.

Having won the last two league titles, Barcelona were determined to complete a three-peat. They plundered a staggering 75 league goals in the first half of 2017. However, the Blaugrana (90) fell short by three points in another brilliant La Liga title race.

Far from being disheartened by that setback, the Blaugrana scored 45 league goals to end the year comfortably atop the table. In fact, they never let go off the top spot after the third matchday.

Lionel Messi and co. almost became the first La Liga team to go unbeaten in an entire campaign. Their 5-4 reverse on Matchday 37 came after they sealed another league title, eventually winning the league by 14 points.

#1 Barcelona (2012) - 121

Lionel Messi produced a memorable year for Barcelona.

The year 2012 would be remembered for Lionel Messi's jaw-dropping exploits. The then-Barcelona player ended the first half of the season with a staggering 50 league goals.

That made him the first player across Europe's top five leagues to plunder a half-century of strikes in a league campaign. It was a shame when Barcelona were beaten to the league title by Cristiano Ronaldo and co. by nine points.

The Blaugrana were beaten by eventual winners Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals as well. They had to be content with the Copa Del Rey title, despite Messi amassing 73 strikes across all competitions.

Messi continued his staggering exploits in the second half of the year. He closed the year with 91 strikes to beat Gerd Muller's record of most goals (85) for club and country in a calendar year.

Unsurprisingly, Barcelona romped to the league title in 2012-13 as Messi won an unprecedented fourth-straight Ballon d'Or title.

During the year, Barcelona scored 121 league goals, with Messi contributing almost half of them (59).

About the author

Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Diptanil