Correlation FC

The goals of 2024-25

Everybody loves goals. In 2024-25, the Gtech was known as the place to see goals, a place for great entertainment. This is a story of overindulgence, in understanding, detailing and visualising Brentford's goals in numerous ways. This will forever allow you to answer inane questions and win bar trivia about "that goal" from 2024-25. In the fashion of any great exposition, we will look at all of the angles to understand the who, what, when, where, why and how of goals this season. Here we go.

Who?

Who scored Premier League goals for and against?

We'll start by taking a look at which teams scored the most and conceded the fewest across the Premier League this season. The teams are sorted from best to worst goal differential.

Premier League goal differentials in the 2024-25 season (source FBref.com)

The goals table doesn't have a lot of surprises. The top teams in the league were generally among the ones who scored the most and conceded the fewest. The usual suspects of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City were at the top. At the other end of the spectrum, the 3 relegated teams scored the fewest and conceded the most. One surprise that stands out – Everton was among the best with only 44 goals conceded. However, their low total of only 42 goals for left them with a negative goal differential and resulted in them finishing 13th in the final league table. Brentford finished the year 66 goals for, with a goal differential of +9.

Who scored for Brentford?

Brentford's front 3 of Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade combined for 50 of Brentford's 66 goals in the Premier League.

Brentford's top goal scorers in the 2024-25 Premier League season (source Correlation FC)

Captain Christian Norgaard added another 5. "The rest" was made up of goals by Fabio Carvalho (2), Nathan Collins (2), Mikkel Damsgaard (2 or 3*), Ethan Pinnock (2), Vitaly Janelt (1) and Keane Lewis-Potter (1). Damsgaard officially scored 2 goals, but Correlation FC has also awarded him a 3rd goal, because nobody likes own goals.

What?

What difference did it make?

We've established that a lot of goals were scored. Looking a layer deeper, we try to understand what difference the goals made.

We can see that nearly half of Brentford's goals put them into the lead in games. Once behind in a game, they scored 10 goals that levelled the score. However, once already ahead, the Bees attacking mentality led them to score 20 goals to pad the lead and stay ahead.

The role of Brentford's goals in 2024-25 (source Correlation FC)

Situation	Quantity	Rate	Description
Go ahead	32	48%	Tie-breaking goals that put Brentford in the lead
Stay ahead	20	30%	Goals scored while Brentford was already leading
Tying	10	15%	Goals scored to tie the game when the opposition was ahead
Catch up	4	6%	Goals scored when Brentford was 2 or more goals behind

Meanwhile with Brentford's many early goals in the 2024-25 season, opponents spent a lot of time catching up, with some success, tying the game on 15 occasions.

The role of the opposition's goals in 2024-25 (source Correlation FC)

Situation	Quantity	Rate	Description
Go ahead	24	42%	Tie-breaking goals that put the opposition in the lead
Stay ahead	11	19%	Goals scored while the opposition was already leading
Tying	15	26%	Goals scored to tie the game when Brentford had been leading was ahead
Catch up	7	12%	Goals scored when the opposition was trailing by 2 or more goals

What were they wearing when they scored?

Brentford earned most of their points while wearing red and white in the past season, but what were they wearing when they scored? What about their opposition?

What colour were they wearing when they scored in 2024-25? (source Correlation FC)

The top of the chart shows the first half of the season, when Brentford started the season with an 8 game undefeated streak at home, and plenty of goals while wearing red (and white). The second half of the season also saw lots of goals, but with an increased number coming while wearing green and pink.

When?

When in the game did Brentford score and concede?

Early in the season, everybody was talking about Brentford's first and second minute goals. But as the season played out, they continued to score early and were on of the top first half scorers in the league.

Goal timeline for Brentford's goals for and against (source Correlation FC)

The Bees were very efficient in first half stoppage time. Second half scoring was more balanced between Brentford and their opposition.

Where?

Where in the country were goals scored?

We know that a lot of goals were scored in Brentford – more goals at the Gtech Community Stadium than any other Premier League stadium in the country. Where else were goals scored?

Where in the country were Premier League goals scored? (source Correlation FC)

Perhaps not surprisingly, the teams with the best goals for and against differential at home were among the most successful teams in the league. The relegated teams again struggled in this area. Despite the strong seasons by both Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, it seems that The City Ground and Vitality Stadium saw their share of low scoring affairs.

Where on the pitch were goals scored from?

Brentford have a clear strategy to get the ball as close to the goal as they can before shooting, relying heavily on passing and crosses into the box.

Where on the pitch did the Bees score from? (source Correlation FC)

That strategy, plus a number of penalties have led to a lot of goals in the centre of the pitch. Mbeumo's goals from the right side of the pitch are visible and do skew the results slightly to the right.

Where in the net?

It's best to shoot where the goalkeeper isn't, so keeping the ball away from the middle of the net is usually a good idea. The Bees scored most of their goals in the four corners, favouring the bottom corners over the top.

Where in the net the Bees score their goals (source Correlation FC)

How?

How did the Bees score?

Finally, we look at the situations in the game to understand how the Bees scored.

How did the Bees get the ball into the net? (source Correlation FC)

They scored plenty of goals from open play, and Mbeumo scored his share of penalties. Brentford's set piece goals from corners, free kicks and throw-ins were key to their success this year. This graph shows not just how the goals were scored, but also who scored them and when.

Why?

Why do players score goals? For the love of the game? To win? To hear the crowd roar? Because they're driven? Perhaps. You'll have to ask the players. This might be one of the questions that data can't answer.

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