UEFA Champions League: Key Stat from Every First-Leg Clash in the Round of 16

The UEFA Champions League certainly delivered its fair share of excitement in the first legs of the round of 16. Here’s an intriguing statistic from each of the eight matches held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

19 – Aston Villa displayed remarkable determination in Belgium, ultimately overcoming Club Brugge with a 3-1 victory, securing a strong position ahead of next week’s return fixture.

This defeat marks the 19th time the Belgians have fallen to English teams, a mere month after their Matchday 8 loss to Manchester City. This was Brugge’s second appearance at this stage in three UCL seasons.

500 – Real Madrid edged out local rivals Atletico Madrid with a 2-1 win at home, taking a narrow lead into the second leg. This match was also notable as it marked the 500th European Cup/Champions League match for the 15-time champions, whose record stands at 302 wins, 85 draws, and 113 losses in the competition.

7 – Arsenal were in devastating form in Eindhoven, hammering PSV 7-1 to nearly guarantee their spot in the quarter-finals. This match saw PSV concede the most goals ever in a European encounter, and it was only the second time they have lost by a six-goal margin in continental competition, the first being against Saint-Etienne in the 1979/80 UEFA Cup.

6 – Borussia Dortmund and Lille played out a 1-1 stalemate in Germany, providing a confidence boost for the Ligue 1 side heading into the second leg.

Dortmund remain unbeaten in their last six knockout-stage home matches in the UCL, an impressive achievement for Die Schwarzgelbe. Their last home defeat in this stage of the tournament occurred in 2021, when they lost 4-2 on aggregate to Manchester City.

8 – Inter Milan continue their strong Champions League campaign, defeating Feyenoord 2-0 in Rotterdam and establishing themselves as favourites to progress past this tie.

This victory marked Inter’s eighth clean sheet in European competitions, a tally no other team has surpassed. In fact, they’re just one clean sheet away from matching the record for the most in a single UCL season, with no club having previously achieved double digits.

27 – Paris Saint-Germain suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Liverpool, lamenting their failure to convert opportunities.

During the match, PSG registered an impressive 27 shots, the highest total in a UCL game for them this season. This marks the fifth occasion this season that they have recorded at least 20 shots in a European fixture.

5 – Despite having a numerical advantage for a significant portion of the match, Benfica fell 1-0 at home to Barcelona. While they still have a chance in the return leg, the Portuguese team recognises they squandered this match. This result extends their run to five continental home matches without a win, a trend they need to reverse quickly.

21 – Bayern Munich triumphed in the all-Bundesliga clash, defeating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0. The one-sided nature of the match was unexpected, but Bayern delivered decisively.

The Bavarians are now on a remarkable streak of 21 home games in Europe without a defeat, claiming victory in 17 of those encounters. This match was just Leverkusen’s fifth encounter with German teams in European competition.