IFFHS CONTINENTAL NEWS - EUROPE
Picture : Luis Muriel needed only 22 seconds after his enter on the pitch to score !
IFFHS statistics on Champions’ League group stage round 5 (November 23)
*Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo both have scored in each of the first 5 match-days of the current Champions’ League edition. Both made such feat for the 2nd time: RL9 has already scored consecutively in 5 starting games in 2019/20 season and CR7 in 2017/18.
They are only two players in the tournament history to make such series twice. Apart from them, 4 players achieved this: Del Piero (1995/96), Rebrov (1997/98), Neymar (2017/18), Haaland (2019/20).
Cristiano Ronaldo is so far the only one to score in all 6 games of a group stage (in 2017/18).
*Lewandowski has scored in each of his last 9 Champions League games. Previously he made the same streak in the tournament between September 2019 and August 2020.
He is the first player in CL history to make two 9-game scoring series.
*Lewandowski has scored vs Dynamo Kyiv (2-1) by impressive overhead scissors’ kick. This is 10th such goal for last 10 years in Champions’ League.
The other “bicicleta” scorers are: Benzema (Real Madrid, 2012), Mexes (Milan, 2012), Cavani (Paris SG, 2016), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, 2017), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, 2018), Bale (Real Madrid, 2018), Plunger (Borussia M’Gladbach, 2020), Giroud (Chelsea, 2021), Taremi (Porto, 2021).
*Cristiano Ronaldo's goal vs Villarreal (2-0) is his already 3rd match-winning goal in the final 15 minutes of a Champions League match this season; the maximal number scored by a player in a single CL season.
*Luis Muriel (Atalanta) has scored a goal (vs Young Boys 3-3) from a direct free kick just 22 seconds after entering the pitch: unprecedented feat in Champions’ League.
The closest similar thing was a direct free-kick goal from Elson (Stuttgart) vs Sevilla on 20 October 2009 but Elson took much more time than Muriel after entering from the bench - 4 minutes 21 seconds.
*Three different English players have scored for a team (Chelsea) in a single Champions’ League match (vs Juventus 4-0): Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi. This is very rare case in the history of competition: it happened only for the third time.
In 2007, three Englishmen from Manchested United (Carrick, Smith, Rooney) have scored vs Roma.
In 1998, four English players (Beckham, Cole, Neville, Scholes) netter for Manchested United vs Brøndby.
*Michael Carrick became the first English coach of Manchester United to win his very first competitive game in charge since Walter Crickmer in November 1931.
*In the group G, all 4 teams can reach or miss the knockout phase before the last match-day (Lille 8 pts, Red Bull Salzburg 7, Sevilla 6, Wolfsburg 5).
The last case with no teams in a group eliminated or qualified after 5 rounds in a CL group was in 2009/10 (Barcelona, Inter, Rubin Kazan, Dynamo Kyiv).
*Manuel Neuer (Bayern) has played his 124th Champions League game today; he levelled with Gianluigi Buffon.
Iker Casillas is the only goalkeeper to have more games in CL history (177).