Fact check: Best stats from this week's (23-24 Feb) UEFA Champions League action
The UEFA Champions League finished its remaining first leg round of 16 matches this week. Fans bore witness to some tricky ties over the two days of action.
UCL defenders Chelsea hosted 2020-21 Ligue 1 winners Lille at Stamford Bridge. The French side played some smart attacking football but Tuchel's men registered a clean win on the night.
Villareal hosted Juventus in a match that turned out to be a tight affair. It was a game of low chances as the match ended in a draw. Villareal will be the happier of the two teams based on the result.
Atletico Madrid took an early lead against Manchester United in Spain. However, the Red Devils struck back in the second half, with the match ending in a draw at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Benfica hosted Ajax in a thrilling tie.The Dutch giants took the lead twice but were pegged back on both occasions by Benfica.
So, without further ado, let's check out the best stats from this week's UCL action:
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Best stats from this week's Champions League action
Chelsea vs Lille
- Chelsea have become the first English side to win five consecutive Champions League home games without conceding a goal (Including the European cup era).
- Lille have now lost their last five UCL games against English opponents (two vs Man United, three vs Chelsea).
- Chelsea have kept 39 clean sheets in all competitions since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel last January, the most in Europe's top-five leagues.
- Chelsea have won 14 UCL games since the start of last season, only fewer than Manchester City (15).
Villareal vs Juventus
- Villareal have never lost a UEFA Champions League knockout game at home, although they have only won once in all those games (P6 W1 D5).
- This was the first time in 22 CL games that Juventus drew since a 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid in September 2019.
- Juventus have failed to win their last seven first leg matches in the knockout stages of the Champions League (D3 L4).
- Unai Emery has won only once in his last seven games in the competition's knockout stages (D2 L4). Emery has also failed to take his side beyond the Round of 16, losing out on his last three attempts.
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Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United
- Atletico Madrid haven't their last seven home Champions League games (D4 L3) since beating FC Red Bull Salzburg in last season's group stages.
- Manchester United have registered only one win in their last eight away trips to Spain in the competition's knockout stages (D5 L2).
- Manchester United have scored their 500th goal in the European competitions. They have become just the fourth club to do so after Real Madrid (1001), Bayern Munich (759) and Barcelona (624).
- Atletico Madrid's opening goal (6:17) was the quickest goal Manchester United have conceded in the competition's knockout stages since Ronaldinho's goal (2:11) in 2009-10.
Benfica vs Ajax
- Benfica have lost only once at home in the competition's knockout stages (P9 W4 D4 L1). That defeat came against Chelsea in the 2011-12 campaign.
- Under Erik Ten Hag, Ajax have lost only once in 16 away games (W10 D5), with that defeat coming against Liverpool at Anfield in 2020-21 group stages.
- Sebastien Haller has scored 11 goals in the current Champions League season, two more than the next best Robert Lewandowski. As a result, he is now that joint-top scorer for a single season in Ajax's history, tying Ruud Geels from the 1975-56 campaign.
- Daley Blind has now appeared in 43 games for Ajax in the Champions League, overtaking Jari Litmanen, who appeared in 42 games for the Dutch giants.
Stats: Goal & WhoScored