The secrets of Europe's best defence - and JJ Watt's (small) part in building it

As the saying goes, defence wins championships, and Burnley FC are taking that to the extreme.

Scott Parkers side are in third place in the Championship , England s second tier, and in the running to win it, which would earn them promotion to the Premier League .

And it is their defensive record that has given them the chance.

Advertisement In 29 Championship games this season, Burnley have only conceded nine goals.

That is the joint-fewest by any team in the English Football League and Premier League ever after playing this many matches.

The 2004-05 Premier League winning Chelsea side are the only other side to match them.

Chelsea, managed by Jose Mourinho, conceded a record-low 15 goals across a 38-game season, matched only by Preston North End in the first ever league season in 1888-89.

The latter only played 22 games.

If Burnley continue to concede goals at a rate of 0.31 per game then they have a chance to rival that record despite playing eight games more than Chelsea and 24 more than Preston.

They are on course to set a new record for the fewest goals conceded in the second tier of English football.

Across a 46-game campaign, Sunderland s 1998-99 side hold the record after conceding just 28 goals.

The lowest number of goals conceded in a 46-game season in any of the top four tiers was 20 by Gillingham in Division Three (which was the fourth tier, now called League Two ) in 1995-96.

The Athletic explains how Burnley have become an impenetrable defensive force.

Burnley have kept 20 clean sheets so far this season, all of them in the league.

They are on a run of seven consecutive league clean sheets.

Parker has predominantly operated with a 4-2-3-1 system which can sometimes become a 4-3-3 shape.

Out of possession, however, they have adopted the 4-2-4 or 4-4-2 shape in their bid to stop the opposition from progressing the ball.

It is a well drilled, compact unit that can press, but is also difficult to play through when sat in a mid block.

Each player knows their role and when to cover their team-mate.

Parker deserves credit for gelling a relatively young and inexperienced back five together.

Right-back Connor Roberts has been the elder statesman, with goalkeeper James Trafford (22) and centre-backs Maxime Esteve (22) and CJ Egan-Riley (22) integral to the system.

Lucas Pires (23) and Bashir Humphreys (21) have also regularly been used at full-back.

Advertisement The more experienced midfielders such as Josh Cullen (28), Josh Laurent (29) and Josh Brownhill (29) provide protection in front of them.

Burnley have benefited from the rejuvenated Trafford, who bounced back from a difficult debut season in goal to keep 19 of Burnleys clean sheets.

The 22-year-old has a save percentage rate of 86 per cent and recently saved two penalties in the same match to help his side secure a 0-0 draw against Sunderland.

We can use data to look at how many goals Trafford was expected to concede this season using expected goals on target (xGOT), which considers the quality of the on-target attempts, accounting for factors such as placement and angle from which the shot is taken.

We can then compare this to how many goals he did concede, forming the metric of goals prevented.

The higher the total of goals prevented, the better the shot-stopping performance.

Traffords shot-stopping has been strong, preventing just over seven goals more than expected, based on the quality of the shots faced.

This metric doesnt account for the variation in the number of shots each goalkeeper faces.

With Burnleys defence being so good, it is unfair to compare him with a goalkeeper who has faced many more shots.

The goals-prevented rate metric adjusts for the volume of shots to see the degree to which a goalkeeper concedes at a rate above or below expectation.

A figure of one means they are conceding exactly at expectation.

Above one means they are doing better than expected, and below means they are doing worse.

Traffords goals-prevented rate this season is 1.8 so far, the best in the Championship.

He would have been expected to concede 1.8 goals for every goal he actually conceded, which across the course of a season is an incredible contribution.

Sources close to players at Burnley, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their relationships, all noted that the togetherness and work ethic throughout the squad has been crucial.

Advertisement Alongside detailed work on the training pitch, which was a central focus pre-season and the early months of the campaign to perfect shape and structure, the willingness to put bodies on the line, fill gaps and cover for others have all been reflected since.

What this team has done defensively this year has been nothing short of sensational, Parker, who was appointed in July, told reporters ahead of Mondays 0-0 home draw with 49ers Enterprises-owned Leeds United .

Its the bedrock and foundation of any team.

This team has got traits in it that they really want to defend the goal.

Its a badge of honour for us and it gives us a foundation to win games.

As a team and as a unit, as a group of men, we have an understanding of whats needed in the defensive phase of the game.

Its down to hard work, understanding, habits and good organisation.

Every player understands their role and responsibility.

JJ Watt became a minority investor in Burnley in May 2023 alongside his wife Kealia.

The 35-year-old, who played for the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals before retiring, is hailed as one of the greatest defensive players to have played in the NFL .

Since joining Burnleys ownership group, Watt has immersed himself in the club and the culture of the town.

He has attended matches and developed relationships with players.

Trafford sent Watt a direct message via Instagram on December 28, asking him to come out of retirement to play for the Cincinnati Bengals next season.

Watt responded by agreeing, only if the goalkeeper did not concede another goal for the rest of the season.

Since then, Burnley have conceded only one goal, which came in the FA Cup against Reading , but Trafford did not play.

The England international has played six league games since that message exchange and not let a goal in.

GO DEEPER JJ Watt: Learning from Ryan Reynolds - and how he'll make Burnley big in the US In isolation, it is exactly what a football fan wants from their side, because not conceding usually leads to victories.

That has not quite been the case for Burnley supporters, particularly at Turf Moor.

Burnley have drawn four of their last five home games 00.

The record is one fans are proud of, but it has also divided opinion because of the lack of exciting attacking play.

Burnleys non-penalty expected goals total of 28.2 is the third lowest in the division and unlike when he got Fulham and Bournemouth promoted, which were also built on defensive foundations, Parker has been unable to rely on a regular goalscorer like he had in Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dominic Solanke respectively.

Advertisement It is the age-old debate about what you want from your team: winning or entertainment? The ideal answer is both, but that is not always possible.

Burnleys type of football is acceptable and can sometimes be endured when you win and achieve the ultimate aim of promotion.

Parkers side are in contention to do that, but if their lack of goals costs them then the perception of the season will change.

They can try and it may bring an element of success by keeping them in games by frustrating the opposition.

The brick wall at the back would be up against better quality attackers and need to be complemented by goals at the other end and quality chance creation is already proving a struggle in the Championship against weaker opposition.

When Burnley made it to the Premier League under previous manager Vincent Kompany, the high-scoring, free-flowing attacking football, combined with a solid defence that had got them promoted, was exposed in the Premier League.

Facing a higher quality of attacking talent, Kompanys side were often torn apart.

Despite the manager, now in charge at Bayern Munich , making adjustments, they conceded the third-most goals that season 78 and were relegated.

Parkers more pragmatic approach should make them a harder defensive unit to break down, because in possession they are not as open or expansive.

Yet they will concede goals at the higher level so would need to score more.

Finding that balance is a tough task.

Data by Mark Carey.

GO DEEPER Inside Burnley's relegation: Kompany's power, squad cliques, 'video game' transfers (Top photo: Scott Parker earlier this month; by Alex Livesey via Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.