Top clubs revealed - Which clubs have scored the most goals from substitutes this season?

Top 15 clubs ranked 

The importance of having a large, high-quality squad is something that managers emphasise greatly. This is even more important now that most top leagues allow five substitutions per match and more players can change the course of the game. And while star players in the starting XI will always garner the most attention and hype, football games and ultimately league titles can be decided by the strength of a team's bench. So which clubs are utilising their back-up players this most this season? Let's take a look.

LaLiga side Rayo Vallecano, along with Brighton, are the team in the top five leagues that has scored the most goals (11) with players who started on the bench. However, while the Madrid club has scored 30 goals in total, their English counterparts have only scored 29 so the Seagulls have scored a larger portion of their goals via substitutes. To no great surprise Álvaro Garcia, who has scored more goals for Rayo in the Spanish top-flight than any other plater, stands out here with five goals from the bench this seaosn. As for Fabian Hürzeler's side, veteran Danny Welbeck and youngster Stefanos Tzimas stand out, having found the net twice after coming on as substitutes.

Arsenal in pursuit of top spot

Atlético Madrid's goal-scoring contribution from the bench puts them on the verge of the podium when it comes to goals from subs. Third place is held by Monaco with ten goals, compared to nine for the Rojiblancos. Of those nine goals from the bench, four have been scored by Frenchman Antoine Griezmann. Luis Enrique's Paris Saint-Germain also has nine goals from the bench, but out of a total of 40, compared to Diego Simeone's 34.

Chasing on the heels of the top clubs in this metric are Arsenal, who current boast no less than seven goals from the bench in all competitions. However, Mikel Arteta's side have perhaps struggled to utilise their bench as well as expected in the Premier League, where they have just two goalscorers - Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli with one goal each. And certainly offers room for growth if the North London club are to challenge for the league title this season.