Bayern Munich have Europe’s best defence

Bayern Munich have Europe’s best defence, with the reigning Bundesliga champions leading the Huawei Team Ranking ahead of Juventus and Barcelona.

After their shock 4-1 defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg in their first game after the winter break, the Allianz Arena side have been in sublime form in defence again in recent weeks, conceding just twice in their last five games. Pep Guardiola’s men boast an average of 0.46 goals conceded per game, with shot stopper Manuel Neuer taking the ball out of his net a mere 11 times in 24 Bundesliga appearances.

Juventus, meanwhile, have been equally impressive at the back with an average of 0.54 goals conceded per match so far this season. The Serie A champions’ defence has been beaten 14 times in 26 encounters.

Barcelona complete the podium, letting average of 0.62 goals on average following their 6-1 win over Rayo Vallecano at the weekend, with goalkeeper Claudio Bravo keeping 14 clean sheets in the process.

Southampton somewhat surprisingly have the Premier League’s best defence with an average of 0.71 goals conceded per game, ahead of Serie A outfit Roma with a rate of 0.73.

Monaco sit sixth in the ranking, conceding 0.74 on average across their encounters this term, with fellow French sides Olympique Lyonnais and Saint-Etienne jointly occupying seventh place with 0.79 goals conceded per match.

Chelsea and Borussia Monchengladbach complete the top 10, maintaining a rate of 0.81 and 0.83, respectively.

At the bottom end of the table, Bundesliga outfits Eintracht Franfurt and Werder Bremen have the worst defence of Europe’s top five leagues, both conceding 49 goals in 24 games so far, an average of 2.04 per match.

Finally, Parma have Serie A's worst defence with an average of 1.96 goals conceded per encounter, with Rayo Vallecano and Levante (both 1.88), QPR (1.75) and Toulouse (1.68) having the biggest problems at the back in Spain, England and France, respectively.