As Norwich City prepare to say goodbye to the Championship, David Freezer takes a look at some of the top statistics from a great season, ahead of Daniel Farke’s team setting their sights on the Premier League.

Norwich Evening News: Emi Buendia wants to make his mark in the Premier League with Norwich City Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus ImagesEmi Buendia wants to make his mark in the Premier League with Norwich City Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images (Image: Paul Chesterton)

Another season is over and Norwich City can reflect on one Championship statistic that matters more than any other: the most points.

Daniel Farke's team topped the table with 94 points to seal a return to the Premier League, eventually finishing five clear of Sheffield United and a huge 11 ahead of third-placed Leeds.

The Canaries were also the division's top scorers with 93 goals and enjoyed the most wins (27) and the fewest defeats (six), as they wrapped up the title in style.

Added to that was comfortably the best away record, picking up 45 points and losing just two of 23 games, five points more than Sheffield United, although the Blades matched their league-high of 49 points on home turf.

Interestingly, seven teams conceded fewer goals than City though, with the 57 conceded reflective of the attacking style of Farke's spirited squad - 16 more than the teams with the best defensive records, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United on 41.

Of course star striker Teemu Pukki also topped the goal-scoring charts, registering 29 on his way to winning the Championship golden boot, finishing four clear of Tammy Abraham (Villa) and Neal Maupay (Brentford).

Only one player managed more assists than the 12 registered by City's creative star Emi Buendia, which was Said Benrahma of Brentford with 14, although Kamil Grosicki (Hull) and Pablo Hernandez (Leeds) were also tied with Buendia.

There were plenty more highlights when you delve into the stats though, such as midfielder Moritz Leitner averaging the most passes, with 78.1 per 90 minutes.

Norwich Evening News: Tim Krul was an ever-present in the Championship for the Canaries this season Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus ImagesTim Krul was an ever-present in the Championship for the Canaries this season Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images (Image: Paul Chesterton)

Or in the tackle stakes, just two players averaged more than the 3.4 Tom Trybull made per 90 minutes and Mario Vrancic was just behind with 3.3, while only two attempted more tackles than the 5.6 Buendia averaged.

One of the most telling though, which illustrates the incredible improvements from finishing 14th last season, is 57pc of City's shots coming from inside the penalty area, the second highest in the league, and 35pc from outside the box, the fifth lowest - with the remaining 8pc from inside the six-yard box.

Last season it was a different story. Just two teams averaged fewer shots from inside the box than the Canaries' 47pc but no team attempted more than the 48pc of shots from outside the area, with the remaining 5pc inside the six-yard box.

In other words, City have been a lot closer to goal when they've tried to score. Amid many stats, perhaps football is still a simple game after all.

NCFC CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS 2018-19

- GAMES

1 Tim Krul - 46; 2 Teemu Pukki - 43; 3 Marco Stiepermann - 39 (4)

- GOALS

1 Teemu Pukki - 29; 2 Mario Vrancic - 10; 3 Marco Stiepermann - 9

- ASSISTS

1 Emi Buendia - 12; 2= Onel Hernandez - 9; 2= Teemu Pukki - 9

- PASSES (per 90 mins)

1 Moritz Leitner - 78; 2 Tom Trybull - 69; 3 Kenny McLean - 66

- PASSES (total)

1 Christoph Zimmermann - 2061; 2 Max Aarons - 1820; 3 Jamal Lewis - 1737

- KEY PASSES (av per game)

1 Emi Buendia - 2.4; 2= Onel Hernandez - 1.7; 2= Marco Stiepermann - 1.7

- SHOTS (per 90 mins)

1 Teemu Pukki - 3.4; 2 Mario Vrancic - 2.6; 3= Onel Hernandez - 2.5; 3= Jordan Rhodes - 2.5

- SHOTS (total)

1 Teemu Pukki - 144; 2 Onel Hernandez - 88; 3 Marco Stiepermann - 85

- ON TARGET (per 90 mins)

1 Jordan Rhodes - 1.5; 2 Teemu Pukki - 1.3; 3= Onel Hernandez - 1; 3= Mario Vrancic - 1

- TACKLES (per 90 mins)

1 Tom Trybull - 4.5; 2 Mario Vrancic - 3.3; 3 Emi Buendia - 3.2

- FOULS

1 Marco Stiepermann - 61; 2 Emi Buendia - 56; 3 Tom Trybull - 46

- FOULED

1 Emi Buendia - 88; 2 Max Aarons - 59; 3 Onel Hernandez - 58

- OFFSIDE

1 Teemu Pukki - 16; 2 Onel Hernandez - 15; 3 Jordan Rhodes - 8

- YELLOW CARDS

1 Christoph Zimmermann - 11; 2= Max Aarons - 8; 2= Tom Trybull - 8

- RED CARDS

1 Emi Buendia - 1

- PENALTY SCORED

1 Mario Vrancic - 1

- PENALTY MISSES

1 Jordan Rhodes - 2; 2= Mario Vrancic - 1; 2= Teemu Pukki - 1; 2= Kenny McLean - 1; 2= Marco Stiepermann - 1

- Source: WhoScored.com (minimum 20 apps)