Fact Check: Best Stats from this Week's (14-15 March) UEFA Champions League Action
The final four quarterfinalists for the UEFA Champions League were decided this week after another entertaining yet mostly one-sided set of affairs. With plenty of big teams still left in the competition, even after the elimination of Liverpool and PSG, the quarterfinals will be a treat for football fans around the world.
It was the Erling Haaland show in Manchester as he single-handedly obliterated RB Leipzig in a record-breaking performance. The Citizens won 7-0 on the night and 8-1 on aggregate to send a warning to the rest of Europe.
In Porto, it was a drab affair at the Estádio do Dragão as Inter Milan held on to their advantage from the first leg to win 1-0 on aggregate, with Porto failing to score in either leg.
In Madrid, Los Blancos never really looked like relinquishing control of the tie after smashing Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield. The home side were utterly comfortable against the Reds and after managing the game brilliantly, they struck late to win the tie 6-2 on aggregate.
In Naples, Serie A pace-setters Napoli crushed Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 to win the tie 5-0 on aggregate. Napoli have been one of the most dominant teams this season and the rest of the contenders will surely want to avoid facing them.
So, without further ado, let's take a look at the best stats from this week's Champions League action:
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Best Stats from this Week's Champions League Action (game-wise)
Manchester City vs. RB Leipzig
- Pep Guardiola has won 13 of his previous 14 UCL Round of 16 ties.
- Erling Haaland (22 years, 263 days) became the youngest player to reach 30 Champions League goals, breaking Kylian Mbappe's record (22 years, 352 days).
- RB Leipzig have lost their last four away games against English sides in the UCL, conceding 20 goals in the process.
- Haaland became the 25th player ever to reach the 30-goal landmark in the UCL.
- Manchester City managed to equal their biggest win ever in the Champions League with their thrashing of Leipzig. Previously, they beat Schalke 7-0 in March 2019.
Porto vs. Inter Milan
- Inter Milan have entered the last eight of the UCL for the first time since 2010-11. This will be their seventh appearance in the Champions League's quarterfinals.
- Porto have won just twice in their last seven home Champions League knockout matches.
- Porto have been eliminated in seven of their last eight two-legged ties in the UCL, winning only once against AS Roma.
- Inter progressed from a Champions League knockout stage without conceding a goal in both legs for the first time since 2009/10, against CSKA Moscow in the quarterfinals.
Real Madrid vs. Liverpool
- Liverpool's 6-2 aggregate loss to Real Madrid is their worst defeat over two legs in a UCL knockout tie.
- Real Madrid have qualified for their 19th UCL quarterfinals, only Bayern Munich with 21 appearances are ahead of them.
- Under Jurgen Klopp, all six of Liverpool's European exits have come against Spanish sides- one against Sevilla, one against Atletico Madrid, and four against Real Madrid.
- Real Madrid have eliminated Liverpool in each of their last three seasons (2020-21 quarter-final, 2021-22 final, 2022-23 last 16). It has happened only the second time in UCL's history that a side has been eliminated by the same opponent in three successive seasons after Atletico's eliminations at the hands of Real from 2014 to 2017.
- Karim Benzema has scored 19 goals against English clubs, his most against clubs from a single country. He only trails Messi, who has 27 goals against English teams.
Napoli vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
- Napoli will make their first ever quarterfinals appearance in the Champions League.
- Victor Osimhen became the first Napoli player to score in both legs of a UCL/ European Cup knockout tie.
- Eintracht Frankfurt have lost both legs of a knockout tie in Europe's Premier competition for the first time in their history.
- Napoli's aggregate win over Frankfurt is the biggest such victory of a Serie A side in Europe, equalling the record set by Juventus (5-0 against Celtic in 2012-13) and Milan (5-0 against Inter in 2004-05).
Stats courtesy of ESPN & WhoScored