UEFA Champions League: A Highlight Stat from Every Game of Matchday 8

The first stage of the UEFA Champions League came to a close last Wednesday, revealing the 24 teams that have advanced to the knockout rounds. Reflecting on the thrilling final matchday, here’s a noteworthy statistic from each game.

12 – Aston Villa faced a fierce contest against Celtic, ultimately securing a 4-2 victory to guarantee their spot in the last 16. This marked their third victory in three encounters with Scottish clubs, with Unai Emery’s squad netting a total of 12 goals in those matches.

28 – Barcelona and Atalanta ended in a 2-2 stalemate, which was sufficient for the Catalans to finish second in the league phase standings. Barcelona led all 36 teams with an impressive 28 goals scored, averaging 3.5 goals per game.

4 – Bayer Leverkusen secured their place in the round of 16 with a 2-0 home win over Sparta Praha. The Czech team ended their tournament with a disappointing record, losing their last six games after managing only four points from their first two matches. They finished with four points and failed to score in half of their league phase encounters.

11 – Slovan Bratislava’s first venture into the Champions League proper concluded with a 3-1 defeat at Bayern Munich. Tragically for Slovak clubs, this marked the 11th loss out of 13 away matches in the Champions League. Slovan has now endured eight consecutive away defeats and nine matches without a win since Petržalka’s surprising triumph over Porto in the 2005/06 group stage.

21 – Real Madrid rounded off their league phase with a comfortable 3-0 victory against Brest. This win marked their 21st victory over Ligue 1 teams in Europe, happening in their 38th encounter. Just like in their first match against a Spanish side, Brest faced defeat.

2 – Dinamo Zagreb celebrated their first victory over AC Milan on their seventh attempt, winning 2-1 against the seven-time champions. Unfortunately for Zagreb, this win wasn’t sufficient to progress, as they fell short on goal difference. This result also marked the second time Milan were beaten by Croatian teams, having lost 2-0 to Rijeka in the Europa League group stage seven years earlier.

9 – Borussia Dortmund returned to their winning ways, defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1. Die Schwargelben maintained their unbeaten record against Ukrainian teams, bringing their tally to nine matches (7 wins, 2 draws, and 0 losses). With this loss, Shakhtar’s slim hope of progression evaporated.

3 – Arsenal achieved a 2-1 victory against Girona, ending the LaLiga side’s first continental campaign with a seventh defeat. During this win, Arsenal conceded for only the third time in the league phase. This is the joint-second fewest goals they’ve conceded at this stage of the tournament, alongside the 2005/06 season where they allowed just two goals, eventually reaching the final.

7 – Internazionale showcased their prowess with a 3-0 win over AS Monaco, progressing to the last 16 at the expense of their Ligue 1 opponents. The Nerazzurri achieved seven clean sheets in the Champions League, being one of three clubs (alongside Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen) that rarely conceded goals at home. Interestingly, all three teams scored nine times in their home matches.

8 – Juventus faced ongoing struggle against Benfica, who triumphed 2-0 away. This marked the eighth defeat for the Bianconeri against Portuguese clubs, with seven of those losses inflicted by Benfica, and the remaining defeat at the hands of Porto.

6 – Lille dominated their match, thrashing Feyenoord 6-1 at home, thereby securing their place among the top eight and advancing to the last 16. This was the first instance where Feyenoord conceded six goals in a European fixture, while their total of 21 goals conceded during the league phase is the highest of the remaining 24 teams in the competition.

35 – Manchester City battled back to clinch a 3-1 victory over Club Brugge, advancing alongside the Belgian side to the knockout round playoffs. The Cityzens are now on a remarkable 35-game unbeaten streak at home in the UCL, just three short of Barcelona’s record, held between 2013 and 2020. It has been over six years since City’s last home defeat in Europe, which came against Lyon in a 2-1 loss.

17 – PSV dealt Liverpool their second defeat against Dutch teams with a thrilling 3-2 victory in Eindhoven. The loss ended Liverpool’s impressive 17-match unbeaten run against Dutch opposition and marked their first defeat in nearly six decades, dating back to a 5-1 loss to Ajax in the 1966/67 European Cup.

20 – Atletico Madrid concluded their league phase campaign with an emphatic 4-1 win over RB Salzburg. Los Colchoneros tallied 20 goals during the league phase, the second highest of the teams that made it to the top eight. Meanwhile, Salzburg recorded the poorest goal difference of all the teams in the competition, finishing at -22.

10 – Sporting CP managed to grab the necessary goal in a 1-1 draw against Bologna, qualifying by the narrowest of margins. They now hold an unenviable record of being winless in their last 10 games against Italian teams in Europe. Their last victory against Lazio in the Europa League group stage occurred 13 years ago.

1 – Sturm Graz completed their first Champions League group phase appearance in a quarter of a century with a narrow 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig. The German side struggled, finishing the league phase with only one victory – the first instance of failing to achieve multiple wins in a European campaign.

13 – Paris Saint-Germain dominated the first half of a 4-1 victory over Stuttgart, ensuring their place in the knockout rounds for the 13th consecutive season, thereby eliminating their Bundesliga rivals. Both Stuttgart and Dinamo were eliminated despite finishing on 10 points.

5 – Young Boys ended up at the bottom of the UCL league phase standings after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Crvena zvezda. The Swiss champions netted the fewest goals during the league phase, with only three to their name, and failed to score in five of their eight matches. Three of those scoreless games occurred on home turf.