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EFL Championship

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The EFL Championship 2023/24 belonged to Leicester City, champions with 97 points, while newly promoted Ipswich Town finished one point behind and became the first club since Southampton in 2012 to climb from League One to the Premier League in consecutive seasons.

At the bottom, Birmingham City were relegated with 50 points, just one behind safety, alongside Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United. One final-day win, one point short, and a full season condensed into a very sharp bruise.

Total xTears

6,354.08

Avg xT per match

11.41

Absolute chaos

5.29

Late drama

3.30

All-out war

3.92

Referee scandal

0.41

Heart-Racing Games

All
Adrenaline Match

26.35

xT
Southampton crest

Southampton

14.77 xT

4-4
Norwich City crest

Norwich City

11.58 xT

Matchday 212 Aug 2023St. Mary's Stadium
QPR crestStoke City crest

QPR 4-2 Stoke City

Matchday 18|28 Nov 2023

24.38

xT
Southampton crestHuddersfield Town crest

Southampton 5-3 Huddersfield Town

Matchday 31|10 Feb 2024

21.41

xT
Stoke City crestRotherham United crest

Stoke City 4-1 Rotherham United

Matchday 1|05 Aug 2023

21.21

xT
Plymouth Argyle crestRotherham United crest

Plymouth Argyle 3-2 Rotherham United

Matchday 22|16 Dec 2023

20.90

xT
Birmingham City crestSouthampton crest

Birmingham City 3-4 Southampton

Matchday 35|02 Mar 2024

20.54

xT

xT XI

All
CS
Leeds crest51.61

C. Summerville

AA
Southampton crest49.73

A. Armstrong

JV
Leicester crest39.87

J. Vardy

SS
Blackburn Rovers crest49.12

S. Szmodics

MW
Plymouth Argyle crest37.34

M. Whittaker

JC
Sunderland crest32.22

J. Clarke

OT
Hull City crest27.67

O. Tufan

BM
Plymouth Argyle crest27.25

B. Mumba

IJ
Middlesbrough crest25.59

I. Jones

DB
Sunderland crest21.43

D. Ballard

DB
Watford crest7.28

D. Bachmann

Pain Meter

All
1
Ipswich Town crest

Ipswich Town

46 played

6.96

xT for

2
Southampton crest

Southampton

49 played

6.79

xT for

3
Leicester crest

Leicester

46 played

6.14

xT for

4
Watford crest

Watford

46 played

6.05

xT for

5
Norwich City crest

Norwich City

48 played

5.99

xT for

Player Leaders

All
1

C. Summerville

Leeds crestLeeds | Forward

51.61

xT
2

A. Armstrong

Southampton crestSouthampton | Forward

49.73

xT
3

S. Szmodics

Blackburn Rovers crestBlackburn Rovers | Midfielder

49.12

xT
4

J. Vardy

Leicester crestLeicester | Forward

39.87

xT
5

C. Chaplin

Ipswich Town crestIpswich Town | Forward

39.07

xT
6

M. Whittaker

Plymouth Argyle crestPlymouth Argyle | Midfielder

37.34

xT
7

J. Stansfield

Birmingham City crestBirmingham City | Forward

36.71

xT
8

C. Adams

Southampton crestSouthampton | Forward

36.67

xT
9

H. Wright

Coventry City crestCoventry City | Forward

32.95

xT
10

W. Keane

Preston North End crestPreston North End | Forward

32.64

xT
11

E. Latte Lath

Middlesbrough crestMiddlesbrough | Forward

32.49

xT
12

J. Clarke

Sunderland crestSunderland | Midfielder

32.22

xT
13

J. Sargent

Norwich City crestNorwich City | Forward

31.64

xT
14

J. Rowe

Norwich City crestNorwich City | Forward

31.61

xT
15

N. Broadhead

Ipswich Town crestIpswich Town | Forward

30.50

xT
16

L. Cullen

Swansea City crestSwansea City | Midfielder

30.24

xT
17

J. Piroe

Leeds crestLeeds | Forward

29.97

xT
18

S. Mavididi

Leicester crestLeicester | Midfielder

29.86

xT
19

D. James

Leeds crestLeeds | Midfielder

29.44

xT
20

E. Simms

Coventry City crestCoventry City | Forward

29.06

xT

League Pain Table

League Pain Table
#
1Southampton crestSouthampton332.61305.4313.026.234.274.660.45
2Ipswich Town crestIpswich Town320.10244.1212.276.203.353.730.31
3Leeds crestLeeds287.78275.5711.505.543.494.130.53
4Norwich City crestNorwich City287.35288.4111.996.003.573.870.41
5Leicester crestLeicester282.38262.0511.845.713.944.220.69
6Watford crestWatford278.21254.2811.585.273.324.050.32
7West Brom crestWest Brom277.59237.0410.724.922.853.420.45
8Plymouth Argyle crestPlymouth Argyle269.61265.1111.625.513.033.860.27
9Swansea City crestSwansea City267.32269.3011.675.333.094.040.55
10Coventry City crestCoventry City266.42270.4311.675.443.604.180.40
11Sheffield Wednesday crestSheffield Wednesday264.59266.2811.545.023.264.210.46
12Hull City crestHull City263.04265.0911.485.283.124.050.41
13Preston North End crestPreston North End260.85240.3610.905.263.203.470.39
14Middlesbrough crestMiddlesbrough260.51257.4611.265.633.203.610.31
15Stoke City crestStoke City258.47256.1511.194.742.964.130.43
16Birmingham City crestBirmingham City255.52253.4611.065.043.333.870.24
17Blackburn Rovers crestBlackburn Rovers252.30279.6711.565.353.014.020.37
18QPR crestQPR251.23271.5311.364.923.574.420.35
19Millwall crestMillwall248.48250.4310.854.643.573.990.45
20Cardiff City crestCardiff City245.13262.0511.035.163.223.400.26
21Sunderland crestSunderland239.24285.8811.424.492.914.740.49
22Bristol City crestBristol City230.53237.0610.174.673.103.200.57
23Rotherham United crestRotherham United229.33273.2410.935.462.893.160.45
24Huddersfield Town crestHuddersfield Town225.49283.6811.075.123.203.630.23

Tournament Curiosities

xTears Curiosities

8
  1. 1The complete edition broke through 6,000 xTears and finished on 6,354.08 xT across 557 matches. The Championship's emotional volume knob did not come with a low setting.
  2. 2Southampton 4-4 Norwich City was the wildest xTears match with 26.35 xT. Eight goals on matchday two made subtlety an early casualty.
  3. 3Birmingham City 0-0 Bristol City was pure anesthesia: no goals and just 2.82 xT, the lowest emotional temperature of the edition.
  4. 4Birmingham City 3-4 Southampton was the chaos monster with 15.12 xT. Seven goals and a 96th-minute winner left St Andrew's with no pulse to spare.
  5. 5Millwall 1-0 Norwich City was the disciplinary meltdown at 11.03 xT: ten cards, a late dismissal and only one goal. The scoreboard whispered while the referee's notebook shouted.
  6. 6Leicester 2-1 Cardiff City delivered the sharpest scoreline-versus-xTears reversal and the season's cruelty peak. Cardiff generated 11.77 xT to Leicester's 5.82 and still left empty-handed.
  7. 7Southampton swept all three team pressure markers across the league and play-offs: 332.61 xT for, 305.43 xT against and the highest average match temperature at 13.02 xT.
  8. 8Crysencio Summerville led the individual xTears ranking with 51.61 xT and scored 20 goals for Leeds United. The player leader reached Wembley; promotion did not.

Overall Curiosities

8
  1. 1Leicester City won the title with 97 points and 89 goals, returning to the Premier League at the first attempt.
  2. 2Ipswich Town finished second with 96 points and 92 goals, becoming the first club since Southampton in 2012 to win consecutive promotions from League One to the Premier League.
  3. 3Southampton beat Leeds in both league meetings and completed the sweep in the Leeds 0-1 Southampton at Wembley, returning to the Premier League at the first attempt.
  4. 4Leeds United collected 90 points but missed automatic promotion, becoming the first second-tier side since 1998 to reach that mark without going straight up. The play-off final added the receipt.
  5. 5Birmingham City won on the final day and still went down with 50 points, one short of Plymouth. Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United joined them in League One.
  6. 6Southampton 4-4 Norwich City was the highest-scoring match with eight goals and a scoreline that refused to settle.
  7. 7Ipswich Town 6-0 Sheffield Wednesday produced the biggest winning margin: six goals from a team racing towards a second straight promotion.
  8. 8The full edition produced 1,489 goals across 557 matches, clearing the 1,400-goal barrier with room to spare.

All statistics use finished matches in this competition edition with available xT data.