The best defences in Europe in 2023-24: Nice, Madrid, Arsenal, Liverpool… | OneFootball

‘Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles’ is Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous old adage. And there’s certainly something in that when you look at the sides with the best defensive records against Europe’s five major leagues in 2023-24 so far.

Many of the usual suspects feature in the best defences this season, but there are some impressively well-organised backlines that are punching well above their weight to sit alongside some of Europe’s elite clubs.

We’ve taken a closer look at the 10 teams across Europe’s big five leagues – Premier League, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga – that have conceded the fewest goals in 2023-24 so far.

=10. Liverpool – 11 goals

Liverpool looked seriously shaky at the back last season as they stuttered to an underwhelming fifth-place finish, prompting some to question whether Virgil van Dijk was past it and whether Trent Alexander-Arnold could feature in a defence that have ambitions of challenging for major honours.

But Jurgen Klopp kept faith in his defenders, and that faith has been vindicated by their solid record in 2023-24, which is almost the best in the Premier League.

With a new-look, more energetic midfield, the Reds’ backline looks better protected and front-to-back they’re a more balanced, better structured outfit.

=10. PSG – 11 goals

PSG’s lavishly-assembled attack in get all the attention, but their defence isn’t too shabby either.

The Ligue 1 champions endured a slow start to the season, but they’re back at the top of the table having conceded just 11 goals in 13 outings. They’re slowly but surely clicking into gear under Luis Enrique, increasingly scoring for fun, and have kept five clean sheets in their last eight league outings.

=10. Lille – 11 goals

Paulo Fonseca’s men boast as good a defensive record as the French champions.

Les Dogues don’t quite boast the quality that their title-winning side from a couple of years back did but they look capable of challenging for the top four, while Leny Yoro and Alexsandro Ribeiro have formed a solid central defensive partnership.

=8. Bayer Leverkusen – 10 goals

Bundesliga table-toppers Bayer Leverkusen have been a joy to watch under Xabi Alonso this season. They remain unbeaten, have won all of their matches aside from their trip away to Bayern – which they drew.

In Victor Boniface, they boast one of 2023-24’s breakout stars, Florian Wirtz is one of the finest young talents in Europe, and Alex Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong have been exceptional as wingbacks, chipping in with a combined 20 goal contributions (11 goals, nine assists).

And on top of all that, they’re defensively sturdy too. Alonso is evidently a coach who puts a lot of thought into how to nullify the opposition. We wouldn’t expect any less, given how tactically astute he was as a player:

=8. Arsenal – 10 goals

Mikel Arteta’s Gunners appear to be placing an emphasis on greater control and defensive solidity this season. They’re arguably not as entertaining as they were last term, but they might well be better.

Arsenal claim the best defensive record in the Premier League, both in terms of fewest goals conceded (10) and the underlying numbers, with the lowest expected goals against (10.3xGA).

=8. Bologna – 10 goals

Thiago Motta is establishing himself as a more than astute tactician.

He has Bologna punching above their weight to sit sixth in the Serie A table, with their excellent form built on the foundations of a well-structured defence.

You can’t help but respect that, given that Motta raised eyebrows by stressing his intent to play offensively with a revolutionary 2-7-2 formation when he first started to dip his toes into the world of coaching.

=5. Bayern Munich – 9 goals

Not only is Bayern’s defence pretty sturdy, but they’re also comfortably the top-scoring side in Europe – giving them comfortably the best goal difference. The Bavarians also boast the lowest expected goals against (8.5xGA) across Europe’s top five leagues.

Leverkusen have their work cut out if they’re to take their Bundesliga crown, while they increasingly look strong contenders for the Champions League.

=5. Real Madrid – 9 goals

Los Blancos have been dealt a number of injury headaches this season, with both goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and centre-back Eder Militao suffering ACL injuries on the eve of the campaign.

Carlo Ancelotti is blessed with a number of world-class options and real depth, but it’s still immensely impressive that they’ve registered the best defensive record in La Liga without two of their most important players.

3. Juventus – 8 goals

Juventus don’t have European football this season and have shown themselves masters of grinding out narrow victories by hook or by crook. The Entertainers they aren’t, but true to form Max Allegri has them well-organised and difficult to breach. That combination might well see them be Inter’s closest challengers this season.

Their defenders have been pretty handy at chipping in with goals at the other end, too.

2. Inter – 7 goals

The Old Lady don’t actually boast the best defensive record in Serie A, though. League leaders Inter have only conceded seven goals in 13 games, keeping eight clean sheets in the process.

They’ve been similarly strong at the other end, too, with Lautaro Martinez in the form of his life and one of the most prolific goalscorers in European football. That looks like a winning combination to us.

1. Nice – 4 goals

Nice find themselves second in Ligue 1, one point behind PSG, and one of only three still-unbeaten teams across Europe’s major leagues.

That’s all pretty good – but the really remarkable thing about Nice this season is their mind-blowingly good defensive record. They’re currently on a run of eight successive clean sheets in Ligue 1 and have kept out the opposition in 10 of their 13 outings this season, conceding just four goals. Outrageous.

“The first thing for the defence is the state of mind, the desire to go the extra mile, to win a challenge,” boss Francesco Farioli explained when asked what their secret is.

“We concede very few goals but when we do let one in, we know how to get back into the game. Today, I don’t know how many shots were turned away by our midfielders. Everyone’s doing their bit. The rest is work, organisation and attitude.”

It might well be about the collective effort, but France international Jean-Clair Todibo is .