This term is widely used in the world of football, so it needs to be explained.
The last days of LaLiga Santander will decide everything: the championship, the teams that go to the Champions League, the ones that go to the Europa League, the one that does the same with the Conference League and those that go down to LaLiga SmartBank.
Since this is a time when many riddles are being solved, it’s a good time to talk about a factor that helps solve them: the famous “target average.”
At the moment, given the state of play, it seems difficult that the champion will need it, as Barcelona lead second place, Real Madrid, by 12 points. But the rest of the objectives seem destined to be solved thanks to this detail.
What does target average mean?
Goal average is a method used in football to break ties between teams that have scored the same points in a tournament to determine who is ahead.
Funnily enough, the English expression that gave rise to it refers to the average number of goals or the average between goals scored and goals conceded, although it was also used to tip the balance in favor of one team or the other when there was a was a draw. points in a match to determine the winner.
Example of goal difference between two teams
If two teams finish LaLiga with the same points, it will be necessary to see the two results they achieved against each other during the championship. If team A beats ‘Team B’ 2-0 in the first round, and Team B wins 1-0 in the second round, then Team A is ahead. They would have won the same points (3), but ‘A’ would have a better difference. In that sense, goal difference would be like an isolated Champions League tie within a League championship.
In the event that both teams have scored the same goals by adding both games, “it will also be decided by the greater goal difference in favor but taking into account all achieved and received during the competition.”
Example. Team A scored 80 goals and conceded 50 in their 38 league games, giving them a goal difference of +30. In the case of team B, they have scored 62 and conceded 20, which equates to a goal difference of +42. In this case, team B would have an advantage by having a better difference.
Finally, if the goal difference remains the same after counting the 38 days, the RFEF states: “If the difference is identical, the one who has scored the most goals will be champion” in LaLiga.
Tie between more than two teams
if it were given a tie between more than two teams, the situation would be resolved in a different way:
a) “For the best score corresponding to each according to the results achieved between them, as if the others had not participated”.
b) If they had achieved the same points in the games played against each other, they would opt “for the biggest difference in goals for and against, taking into account only the games the clubs played against each other”.
c) Due to the greater difference between goals scored and goals received, taking into account all matches of the championship; and, because it was so identical, in favor of the club that would have scored more.
d) As a last resort – and this refers to the League Championships of the First, Second and Second “B” Divisions and, where applicable, in any other case determined by the RFEF-, if the final tie is not resolved by the above rules, it will be decided in favor of the top-ranked club according to the “Fair Play” scales, which are specified at the beginning of each season by the RFEF Board of Directors, which publishes them by means of a circular.
The norms established in the previous paragraph shall be applied in order and with an exclusive character, in such a way that if one of them settles the draw of any of the clubs involved, it shall be disqualified, and shall apply to the others who match, according to their number. be two or more”.
Source: Goal