Thursday, December 17, 2009

Facts and figures of the group stage

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid

FC Girondins de Bordeaux proved the most successful side during the group stage while Cristiano Ronaldo topped the scoring chart, as uefa.com looks over the key facts and figures from the UEFA Champions League so far.

Most points: 16 Bordeaux
The French champions' record of five wins and a draw has been matched 12 times before, most recently by eventual champions Manchester United FC in 2007/08. Four teams have finished with six wins out of six: Barcelona (2002/03), Spartak Moskva (1995/96), Paris Saint-Germain FC (1994/95) and Milan (1992/93), the only club in that quartet to reach the final in that season.

Fewest points: 0
Maccabi Haifa FC and Debreceni VSC
Haifa and Debrecen became the ninth and tenth teams to finish a UEFA Champions League group stage without a point. The other eight were: FC Dynamo Kyiv (2007/08), PFC Levski Sofia (2006/07), SK Rapid Wien (2005/06), RSC Anderlecht (2004/05), Bayer 04 Leverkusen (2002/03, second group stage), FC Spartak Moskva (2002/03), Fenerbahçe SK (2001/02), 1. FC Košice (1997/98).

Most goals conceded: 19 Debrecen
The Hungarian champions' tally was the joint-worst defensive record in the competition's history. Debrecen join Dynamo Kyiv (2007/08) and Ferencvárosi TC (1995/96) in holding such a dubious honour.

Fewest goals conceded: 2 FC Girondins de Bordeaux

Most goals scored: 15
Madrid

Highest scorer: 6 Cristiano Ronaldo (Madrid)

Most assists: 4 Luis Fabiano (Sevilla FC), Tomáš Necid (PFC CSKA Moskva) Juan Vargas (Fiorentina) Wendel (Bordeaux)

Caught offside most times:
14 Filippo Inzaghi (Milan)

Most fouled: 29 Diego (Juventus)

Most shots: 31 Diego Forlán (Club Atlético de Madrid)
Forlán had the most shots on target (16) and off target (15).

Most possession: 69 per cent Barcelona
The holders enjoyed 69 per cent of possession on average in their six group games, with eliminated Liverpool second on 59 per cent. Of the 16 teams which qualified for the knockout phase, Group E winners Fiorentina enjoyed the least possession with 46 per cent (though only Madrid scored more than their 14 goals and only Bordeaux collected more than their 15 points).

Winning streaks: 5 Fiorentina and Bordeaux
Neither side has dropped a point since Matchday 1.

Number crunching

1
Sinan Bolat became the first goalkeeper to score from open play in the UEFA Champions League group stage when he headed in R. Standard de Liège's dramatic added-time equaliser against AZ Alkmaar on Matchday 6 to earn his side a UEFA Europa League place. The night before, Hans-Jörg Butt scored his third UEFA Champions League goal from the penalty spot in FC Bayern München's 4-1 win over Juventus. It was the first time two goalkeepers had scored on one matchday in the competition.

2 Hat-tricks scored: Michael Owen (Manchester United FC v VfL Wolfsburg), Grafite (Wolfsburg v CSKA Moskva).

2.48 Average goals per game in the group stage. A total of 238 goals were struck in the 96 matches played, down from 2.57 last season.

3 Yellows cards awarded to Liverpool. The fewest in the group stage. The Reds did not have any players sent off.

4 Teams that came through the qualifying process and reached the first knockout round: Arsenal FC, Olympique Lyonnais, VfB Stuttgart and the only team remaining from the third qualifying round, Olympiacos FC.

4 Olympiacos scored the least number of goals of a side through to the last 16 (four) since Villarreal CF needed just three to top Group D in 2005/06.

5 Following Owen's hat-trick, Manchester United have now equalled Barcelona's record as the team to have scored the most hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions League with five.

7 Seven of the top eight seeds advanced with Liverpool, ranked third, the exception. The eight top-seeded sides were Barcelona, Chelsea FC, Liverpool, Manchester United, Milan, Arsenal, Sevilla and Bayern.

8 Nations represented in the first knockout round: England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Russia and Spain.

11 Manchester United and Barcelona have now won their groups on more occasions than any other side. Real Madrid moved level with Milan on ten after finishing ahead of the Rossoneri in Group C.

13 Madrid have reached the knockout phase for the 13th successive season, the longest run of any side. Arsenal, Chelsea and Lyon are through for the seventh successive campaigns, while Barcelona and FC Internazionale Milano are appearing for the sixth straight year.

45 Average minutes per goal scored by Cristiano Ronaldo in the group stage. Despite starting just three games, the Real Madrid player scored six times in the 270 minutes he was on the pitch.

51 More goals were scored in the final quarter of an hour (76th-90th minutes) than at any other point during the group stage. The next highest tranche was between minute 61 and 75, when 36 goals were scored.

66 Raúl González tops the all-time UEFA Champions League scoring chart (group stage to final only) with 66 goals after scoring twice in the group stage. He also holds the appearance record with 129 matches.

100 Dynamo Kyiv striker Andriy Shevchenko entered the prestigious 100 club against Barcelona on Matchday 6, racking up a century of appearances in the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas will join the club with his next appearance.

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