The numbers that show this has been a season like no other

The 2023/24 Premier League season has been one of the most exciting of all-time and as the dust settles, we share some standout numbers from the campaign that demonstrate this.

Goals galore!

An incredible 1,246 goals were scored in the 380 Premier League matches, breaking the record of 1,222 goals - scored over 462 matches in a 22-team league in 1992/93. 

For the first time in Premier League history, the average number of goals per match exceeded three, at 3.28 goals per match. 

There were more high-scoring matches than any other Premier League season, with 23 per cent of matches ending with five goals scored or more, beating the previous record of 17 per cent in 2021/22. 

To back this up further, analysts found that the average non-penalty Expected Goals (xG) per match is at 3.2. So on average, 3.2 goals were expected to be scored from each match in open play, a 14 per cent rise on last season and 23 per cent higher than the average for the past seven seasons. 

But while goals provide entertainment, it is scoring goals at both ends that adds to that and this season, fans were treated to thrilling turnarounds galore in the 2023/24. 

There were 63 wins from teams who were losing, more than any other Premier League campaign. There were 225 equalising goals, which is the second-most in the Premier League era and the most since 1993/94, when there were 237.

Aston Villa became the eighth different Premier League team to qualify for the UEFA Champions League over the last three seasons. 

Thrilling title race

For the third time in the last six seasons, the Premier League title race went down to the final day, and the 10th time overall. 

This title race was the closest in Premier League history. The average points gap between first and second was 1.5 points across the season. Since 1992/93, no other season has had a smaller average gap between the top two.

Seven different teams led the Premier League this season. 

Most days at the top of the table 23/24

Home-grown stars shining

It wasn't just foreign stars who are making the competition so exciting. The 67 home-grown players who made their Premier League debut this season was the highest total for four seasons. 

Also the 369 goals scored by English players was the highest such total since 2001/02 – with six English players inside the top 10 scorers in the league. 

Players from 70 countries were represented across the first-team squads of all 20 clubs this season. Since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, 128 nationalities have been represented. 

The average player age this season was 26 years 172 days – the lowest since 2008/09 and fourth-lowest in the Premier League era. 

Popularity among fans

Stadiums were 98.8 per cent full at Premier League matches in 2023/24, beating the previous record utilisation figure that was set last season. Of the 20 clubs, 18 had stadium utilisation of over 97 per cent. 

There were 10 live matches with a TV audience over 3million in the UK this season, the highest amount on record - one more than was recorded in 2019/20.

In total, 36m individuals watched live matches and the BBC’s Match of the Day highlights, equivalent to 59 per cent of the total UK TV audience. 

International reach

The Premier League has become one of the UK’s biggest and most-popular global exports. It is broadcast to 189 countries out of 193 UN member states, with 900m homes across the world able to watch Premier League football.

An incredible 1.87bn people follow the Premier League worldwide, interacting at least weekly through the media. Thirty-four per cent of Premier League followers have become interested in the past four years. 

The Manchester City v Arsenal match on 31 March became the most-watched Premier League match in United States history, with 2.12m viewers across NBC’s platforms. Five of the six most-watched Premier League matches in U.S. history have aired this season.