UEFA Champions League Stats: Kings of Europe…
With the rich history of the Champions League and the teams who grapple with delivering silverware to adoring fanbases, there are, expectedly, hoards of UEFA Champions League Stats and Facts to sink our teeth into here at zicoball.
Extortionately-priced plane tickets have been purchased, and hotels are now unsurprisingly fully booked ahead of a bumper Champions League-focused weekend in Istanbul. Turkey awaits two sides not accustomed to lifting silverware in the continent’s flagship domestic footballing event.
Considering UCL fever is in the air, let’s have a butchers at a selection of head-turning Champions League stats:
UEFA Champions League Records
8
Eight sides have managed to lift the European Cup/Champions League on their competition debut: Real Madrid (1955/56), Inter Milan (1963/64), Celtic (1966/67), Nottingham Forest (1978/79), Aston Villa (1981/82), Marseille (1992/93), Ajax (1994/95), and Juventus (1995/96).
3
Real Madrid vs Liverpool (3) is the most-played Champions League final ever. The Spaniards edge it 2-1 after their recent 2022 win.
4
Having attended four, only Sir Alex Ferguson has taken an English club to more European Cup finals than Jürgen Klopp.
2
Only two clubs have appeared in the European Cup/Champions League final more than once, boasting a 100% success rate: Nottingham Forest (1979 & 1980) and Porto (1987 & 2004).
26
Real Madrid’s 26 consecutive seasons (1997/98 to 2021/22) of reaching the Champions League knockout stages is the longest streak of any club on the continent.
4
The most significant margin of victory in a Champions League final is four goals. That has occurred on four separate occasions. The most recent came in 1994 when 70,000 spectators watched then-four-time winners AC Milan beat Barcelona 4–0 in Athens.
2
Two teams have faced a record four penalty shoot-outs in the Champions League: Bayern Munich and Juventus. Liverpool (3) and Bayern Munich (4) are the only teams to have won three penalty shoot-outs.
10
Ten clubs have navigated the European Cup/Champions League unbeaten before lifting the trophy, and only four clubs have done so twice: Liverpool had six wins & three draws in 1980/81 and seven wins & two draws in 1983/84. AC Milan, Ajax and Fergie’s Manchester United make up the rest.
5
Champions League record winners? Karim Benzema (5), Dani Carvajal (5), Luka Modric (5), and Cristiano Ronaldo (5).
Clarence Seedorf is European Royalty
3
Clarence Seedorf has won the competition four times. He is the only player to lift the trophy with three clubs (Ajax, Real Madrid, and AC Milan).
4
Before the 2022/23 instalment, the English and Italian sides met four times in the final. Liverpool took the place of the English side in each meeting.
3
After completing a treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League, Manchester City become only the second English club to accomplish such a feat.
141
The Champions League record scorers make up an impressive front three. Cristiano Ronaldo (141), Lionel Messi (129), and Robert Lewandowski (91).
187
Champions League most appearances? It’s Cristiano Ronaldo (187) with another record. Iker Casillas (181) and Lionel Messi (163) aren’t far off.
15
2021/22: Karim Benzema (15) stands with the Champions League goal record in one season.
1027
Those in the white of Real Madrid have scored 243 Champions League goals more than next-best Bayern Munich (804).
6
It has been a record-breaking six months for Julian Alvarez, topped off with a Champions League win in Manchester City colours. No other player in football’s history has won a domestic and European treble, plus the World Cup in the same year. Decorated.
9
Six of the nine players to win the World Cup and Champions League in the same season were part of the 1974 Bayern Munich side. The other three all played for Real Madrid. Christian Karembeu of Real Madrid and France (1998), Brazil and Real Madrid’s Roberto Carlos (2002), and Raphael Varane of Real Madrid and France in 2018.
UEFA Champions League Group Stages:
2
Two strikers have scored in every matchday in a Champions League campaign. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid – 2017/18) and Sebastien Haller (Ajax – 2021/22) form a pretty impressive goal-getting duo.
10.96
What is the fastest goal scored in the UEFA Champions League Group Stage? Jonas’ opener (10.96 seconds) for Valencia against Bayer Leverkusen in 2011 set the Spaniards up for a 3-1 home victory.
6
Has a competing team drawn all six of their UEFA Champions League group stage fixtures? Yes – AEK Athens in 2002/03.
12
The 8-4 spectacle between Borussia Dortmund and Legia Warsaw in 2016 is the most goals ever scored in a single group stage match.
21
Twenty-one countries have never had a team represent them in the group stages.
UEFA Champions League Stats: Kings of Europe…