With the regular season consigned to the history books, now is the ideal time to reflect upon another enthralling campaign before the drama of the finals ensues.
Here, with the help of Opta data, we delve into the biggest trends and storylines to emerge from the 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League season, also giving a nod to some of the star performers who helped make this season one of the most thrilling in recent memory.
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A dramatic final weekend in the Isuzu UTE A-League regular season saw the top six finals places locked in, with Sydney FC and Melbourne City the major victors.
Sydney clinched home advantage for their Elimination final against Macarthur FC by trouncing Perth Glory 7-1 at Allianz Stadium, and the other side of the draw will feature a huge Melbourne Derby after Melbourne City overcame Western United to secure sixth place.
On Wednesday, attention then turned to the Premiership race, with Central Coast Mariners beating Adelaide United in the final game of the regular campaign, denying Wellington Phoenix their first major trophy and ending their own 12-year wait to finish top of the pile.
If you like goals (and seriously, who doesn’t?) then 2023-24 was a great time to catch some A-League action. The net bulged 540 times throughout the course of the 2023-24 regular season, making it the most goal-laden campaign on record. It’s not even particularly close, with 63 more goals scored this season than last, which previously held the record with 477.
That equates to 3.33 goals per game, the highest figure in A-League Men history and one that puts Europe’s top five leagues to shame.
Of those divisions, the Premier League comes closest with 3.26 goals per match in 2023-24, with the Bundesliga next with an average of 3.17. Serie A (2.59), LaLiga (2.62) and Ligue 1 (2.66) have all seen fewer than three goals scored per game this term.
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A few eye-catching scorelines did contribute on that front, even before Sydney hit the Glory for seven last Sunday. Five Isuzu UTE A-League matches were decided by a margin of six or more goals in 2023-24, more than in the previous four seasons combined (four).
Melbourne City were responsible for three of those thrashings, the most eye-catching also featuring Perth Glory as they were beaten 8-0 at AAMI Park in mid-April – the biggest win in the competition’s history. They also hammered Brisbane Roar 8-1 in December and Western Sydney Wanderers 7-0 in March.
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A few one-sided matches do not mean this A-League season was any less competitive than usual, however. On the contrary, the data suggests things have rarely been closer.
Indeed, this season’s total of 80 draws has only been beaten in 2010-11 (94), while 64 games were decided by a one-goal margin. Only in 2012-13 (70), 2019-20 (68) and 2022-23 (67) have more matches been determined by such narrow margins.
The glut of goals seen in 2023-24 is hardly surprising when we consider some of the outstanding team and individual performances – both positive and negative – to emerge from this season.
While no team has gotten close to Sydney’s regular-season record of 64 goals from 2017-18, it was not for a lack of effort. Sydney’s 2023-24 average of 19 shots per game is the highest on record (since 2012-13) in any A-League campaign, while Adelaide United rank second with 18.6 even when missing the finals.
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Sydney FC v Macarthur FC
Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City
At the other end of the spectrum, Perth Glory shipped 69 goals as they finished bottom of the pile for the second time in three years, though they – narrowly – avoided the ignominy of setting a new record for goals conceded – the 2018-19 Brisbane Roar remain the worst defence in A-League history, shipping 71 goals.
More curiously, Wellington Phoenix conceded a league-low 26 goals despite giving up chances totalling 39.4 expected goals against (xGA) throughout the course of the campaign.
Conceding 13.4 goals fewer than the data suggests they could reasonably have expected to, the Phoenix recorded the biggest xGA differential since this data began being collected in 2016-17.
It would be misplaced to say Wellington have been lucky, though, and they should be thanking goalkeeper Alex Paulsen. He faced 40.2 expected goals on target (xGOT) this term but prevented 14.2 goals, putting him some way clear of Macarthur’s Filip Kurto (9.9) as the league’s best shot- stopper.
Adam Taggart who salvaged some pride for Perth by finishing as the regular season’s leading marksman, his 20 goals keeping him clear of the Melbourne Victory’s Bruno Fornaroli (18) and Newcastle Jets’ Apostolos Stamatelopoulos (17).
Impressively, not a single one of Taggart’s goals came from the penalty spot, yet he still sniffed out chances for himself, with his seven unassisted goals at least three more than any other player.
ELIMINATION FINALS TICKETS
Sydney FC v Macarthur FC
Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City
On the creative side, Sydney’s Joe Lolley was clearly the standout player. He laid on 95 chances for team-mates this term, falling just short of the single-season record set by Aaron Mooy (96) in 2015- 16 (since data collection began in 2012-13).
Lolley’s 69 chances created from open play this term have also only been bettered once, Thomas Broich managing 70 in 2013-14, although the Mariners’ Joshua Nisbet (nine) and Sydney team-mate Anthony Cáceres (eight) both bettered his tally of seven assists.
It was also an interesting season in the development of some teams’ playing styles, with Sydney also standing out on that front in their first campaign under Ufuk Talay’s management.
High-pressing Sydney have forced an average of 13 high turnovers per game this term, more than any other team in a single season since Opta began recording that data in 2015-16.
Sydney FC play Macarthur FC in Saturday night’s Elimination Final. Get your tickets HERE!
Further down the table, Brisbane Roar may not be finals-bound, but they have won plenty of admirers with their patient approach, under Ross Aloisi, Ben Cahn and then Ruben Zadkovich, after the former went on medical leave in February.
They have recorded 393 sequences of 10 or more passes this term, with only last season’s Premiers Melbourne City managing more in a single A-League campaign since 2015-16 (424).
As a result of their possession-focused style, midfielder Jay O’Shea had recorded more touches this season (2,568) than any other player in an A-League season since records began in 2012-13.
As being the most goal-laden A-League season of all time, 2023-24 has been one of the most competitive and diverse ever, with several standout solo and team performances to savour. With the finals to come, expect plenty more entertainment in the coming weeks.
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