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The team that scores most number of goals on that particular day wins the match, but scoring most number of goals in a league does not win you the championship. More often than not, one would assume that when a team scores 100+ goals in a season, the league is won. Generalising this assumption would be foolish. Scoring 100+ goals is an achievement in itself, but the objective is not fulfilled.Here’s a look at some of the instances that happened lately where a team has scored goals in excess of hundred.
#10 Barcelona in 2013/14 - 100 goals
Top Goal Scorer: Lionel Messi (27 Goals in 19 appearances)
Manager: Gerardo Martino
La Liga: Runners-up
Though Barcelona scored 100 goals in the season, it wasn’t good enough for them to win the title. In fact, they finished the season trophyless, coming close to winning the title at home on the last day. But Atletico held on to a draw to close out an exciting title race.
Lionel Messi, as usual was the top scorer for Barcelona with 28 Goals. After sealing the transfer of Neymar, worth €87 million, he chipped in with just 9 Goals in 26 appearances.
Barcelona lost the title to Atletico Madrid who scored 23 goals less than them.
#9 Liverpool in 2013/14 - 101 goals
Top Goal Scorer: Luis Suarez (31 Goals in 33 Appearances)
Manager: Brendan Rodgers
Premier League: Runners-up
Liverpool enjoyed a memorable season, scoring 101 league goals, the highest number of goals scored by a Premier League runner-up and also the highest number of goals ever scored by the club in the top flight.
Luis Suarez finished as the league's top scorer with 31 goals, winning the Premier League Golden Boot as well as the PFA Player of the Year, while Steven Gerrard finished with the most assists, with 13.
Their title hopes were snatched away after a loss to Chelsea and a dramatic draw when Crystal Palace scored three goals in the last 10 minutes of the game from 0-3 down. Liverpool finished second on the final day, finishing behind Manchester City by only two points. This was the first time Liverpool finished inside the top 4 since 2008-09.
This season recorded an all-time high mark of goals scored by Liverpool not only in Premier League season, but in all their English top flight seasons. Only in 1895-96 Division 2 did the Reds score more league goals in a course of a season – 106 versus 101 they netted in this season.
#8 Real Madrid in 2010/11 - 102 goals
Top Goal scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (40 Goals in 34 Appearances)
Manager: José Mourinho
La Liga: Runners-up
Real Madrid did well to win the Copa del Rey this season, which was Jose Mourinho’s only goal for the club this year. They did come close to winning La Liga, and they did make it to the semi-finals of the Champions League, so it was a successful season.
Ronaldo scored an astonishing 53 goals in La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League combined. He set a new La Liga record for most goals scored in a season – 40, breaking the previous record of 38. He scored an average of 1.73 goals per game (he appeared for Real Madrid 34 times).
He had eight braces, four hat-tricks, and two games where he scored four goals throughout the La Liga season. As a result, he has also won the 2011 Golden Boot Award across all European leagues. It is noteworthy that there were 5 El Clasicos in this season.
#7 Manchester City in 2013/14 - 102 goals
Top Goal Scorer: Yaya Toure (20 Goals in 35 Appearances)
Manager: Manuel Pellegrini
Premier League: Champions
The season was notable for City's goal-scoring performances. On 18 January versus Cardiff City, Manchester City became the fastest club in Premier League history to score 100 competitive goals in all competitions and the first to complete this feat before the end of January.
Their 100th Premier League goal of the season was scored in the 4-0 victory over Aston Villa on 7 May 2014. This was the first time City had scored more than 100 league goals in the top English division in a season since 1957-58.
The final tally of 102 league goals was at the time the second highest Premier League season total and 1 goal short of Chelsea's 2009-10 record. On 11 May 2014, they won the Premier League for the second time in three seasons with a 2-0 win over West Ham United.
City's move to bring in the pragmatic Manuel Pellegrini to replace the confrontational Roberto Mancini, who even so had led the club to their first title in 44 years, were rewarded.
#6 Real Madrid in 2012/13 - 103 goals
Top Goal Scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (34 Goals in 34 Appearances)
Manager: José Mourinho
La Liga: Runners-up
After the record-breaking La Liga campaign the previous year, Real Madrid failed to fulfill any of its expectations this season. The season was marred with innumerable controversies which ended when Jose Mourinho left for Chelsea.
In a season which saw Cristiano Ronaldo openly expressing that he was unhappy with the club, he was still Real Madrid’s best player by a very long distance scoring 46 of the 103 goals. Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema and Mesut Ozil were the other major contributors with a combined tally of 36 goals.
Overall, the season didn’t go quite well as the Madrid fans had expected it to go. The second spot doesn’t sound that bad as they say, but it’s Real Madrid we are talking about here and it was quiet frankly a poor performance by the team.
The team couldn’t win its much awaited tenth Champions League trophy and succumbed to defeat in the domestic cup final. The league was long lost and the team was always in the news for the wrong reasons.
#5 Chelsea in 2009/10 - 103 goals
Top Goal scorer: Didier Drogba (29 goals in 31 Appearances)
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti
Premier League: Winners
Chelsea managed to do more than just reclaim their Premier League title. The club had the most successful season in its history, winning the Premier League for a third time and retaining the FA Cup for the first time, therefore becoming the seventh English club to complete the Double. It was the first season coached by Carlo Ancelotti.
This was the first time a team scored 100+ goals in the Premier League era. Not since Tottenham Hotspur in 1962/63 has an English top devision team scored in excess of 100 goals in a season.
Chelsea beat Wigan 8-0 and topped the charts by a single point over Manchester United, which came in second with 85 points. Didier Drogba was the star for Chelsea with 29 goals and also won the golden boot.
#4 Real Madrid in 2013/14 - 104 goals
Top Goal Scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (31 Goals in 30 Appearances)
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti
La Liga: Second (tied with Barcelona)
Real Madrid finished the season third in La Liga in spite of scoring more goals than any other team that season.
Cristiano Ronaldo was again the star for Real madrid as he netted 31 out of the 104 goals scored by them. Setting out his own system and asking that certain individuals give more to the cause, Carlo Ancelotti has once again proven his credentials as one of the best coaches in world football.
Sticking with a 4-3-3 for much of the season, with Luka Modric and Angel Di Maria flourishing in the midfield trio courtesy of the balance given by the experienced presence of Xabi Alonso, Madrid had become one of the most efficient sides in Spain. Although they finished third, on the head-to-head record behind Barcelona, Ancelotti’s side had a realistic chance of winning the league up until a shock draw against Real Valladolid.
However, Real Madrid went on to win their 10th Champions League title, when they defeated Atletico Madrid 4-1 in the final.
#3 Barcelona in 2012/13 - 112 goals
Top Goal Scorer: Lionel Messi (46 Goals in 32 Appearances)
Manager: Tito Vilanova
La Liga: Champions
The season marked the managerial debut of Titi Vilanova, who served as Pep Guardiola's longtime assistant. Vilanova assumed management of the club after Guardiola, who had managed Barcelona for four seasons prior to that, declined to renew his contract.
Messi scored the majority of the goals with 46 to his name. Cesc Fabregas scored 11 and David Villa scored 10, helping the Catalan club to take the overall tally to 112 goals. Andres Iniesta had an excellent season; though his goal tally dropped, he made up for it with a number of assists.
It was evident that it was going to be a special year for Iniesta simply from the opening few games of the season where apart from Lionel Messi, there was nobody better on the pitch. Barcelona clinched their 22nd La Liga title, after Real Madrid's draw against Espanyol at the Cornellà-El Prat.
The result gave Barcelona an 8 point lead with two matches remaining, which ensured that they would finish top of the table. Barcelona were at the top of the league table for the entirety of the season, and only lost two matches en route to winning the title.
#2 Barcelona in 2011/12 - 114 goals
Top Goal Scorer: Lionel Messi (50 Goals in 37 Appearances)
Manager: Pep Guardiola
La Liga: Runners-up
Barcelona went through a lot of twists and turns in 2011/12, and ended the season with the Guardiola era coming to an end.
Coming into the season, Barcelona were unsuccessful in defending two major trophies. They ended the La Liga season as runners-up, 9 points behind winners Real Madrid who finished with 100 points.
When a team has names as big as Lionel Messi, David Villa, Alexis Sanchez, Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas, 114 goals is not a surprise at all and neither is Lionel Messi scoring 50 goals.
That season under Guardiola provided the blueprint of how good this team was and how good this team could become. It was a season of evolution; all about evolving and playing football the way no one else had played nor envisioned.
#1 Real Madrid in 2011/12 - 121 goals
Top Goal Scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (46 Goals in 38 Appearances)
Manager: José Mourinho
La Liga: Champions
This had been an unprecedented season for Real Madrid. Despite failing to win the Champions League, Madrid’s players and supporters will likely still regard the 2011-12 season as a success. They recorded 100 league points in a single season, scoring 121 goals and recording a +89 goal differential along the way.
Real Madrid also set records with 32 wins in total (16 away wins) in the season. When your offense scores 121 goals in a season, there's clearly not much room for improvement. On the defensive end, however, Real Madrid's tally of 32 goals conceded was not that impressive and surely had to be improved on.
For any other club, winning the domestic league title fighting arguably one of the best club sides ever, securing a record number of goals and points in the process, will be something to behold and all failures will be swept under the rug.
But, Madrid is no ordinary club. Its a club with a desire to win everything. So, a Champions League semi-final loss against Bayern Munich puts a stain on a stellar campaign that was astounding in every other way.
