The first gameweek of the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League is complete, and after a jam-packed two days of football, we at SportsLens are taking a look at some of the key statistics from the week’s fixtures.
After a total of 16 matches which saw 48 goals being scored, the opening gameweek of the Champions League has finally drawn to a close after an entertaining couple of days.
England’s representatives suffered just one defeat as Manchester United were on the losing end of a 4-3 scoreline to Bayern Munich, after Manchester City fought from 1-0 down to beat Red Star Belgrade, joined as winners by Arsenal who battered PSV 4-0, whilst Eddie Howe’s Newcastle held on for a goalless draw against AC Milan at the San Siro to secure a vital first point.
But after plenty of drama and intrigue in the first week of the 2023/24 edition Europe’s elite competition, what are the key statistics and findings from the fixtures? Read on, as we at SportsLens take a look at the some of the most interesting underlying numbers from gameweek one in the Champions League.
Most Goals (Team)
- Barcelona – 5
- Arsenal – 4
- Bayern Munich – 4
- Manchester City – 3
- Porto – 3
- RB Leipzig – 3
- Manchester United – 3
Despite finding themselves on the losing side in their opener, Manchester United find themselves amongst the highest goalscoring teams in the competition after Casemiro’s double and Rasmus Hojlund’s maiden goal for the club, as their counterparts Bayern Munich sit level with Arsenal in second on four goals.
La Liga champions Barcelona lead the pack after a frighteningly good performance against Belgian Pro League winners Royal Antwerp, where goals from Joao Felix, Robert Lewandowski and Gavi helped them to a 5-0 win on the opening evening of the competition.
Two goals and an assist 🔝#UCL pic.twitter.com/18J7VZ7A45
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 19, 2023
Most Possession (%)
- Real Madrid – 72%
- Manchester City – 70%
- Paris Saint-Germain – 65%
- Barcelona – 65%
- Galatasaray – 61%
- Arsenal – 60%
Just six teams boast a higher possession percentage than 60, and it’ll be a surprise to no one to see Manchester City up there amongst the highest, second to just Real Madrid.
Los Blancos enjoyed a whopping 72% of the possession at the Santiago Bernabeu in their opener against Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin, but despite all of the possession – they only managed to secure the victory in the 94th minute when Jude Bellingham popped up in the box to prod the ball home to secure a vital three points for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Most Goals (Player)
- Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) – 2
- Casemiro (Manchester United) – 2
- Joao Felix (Barcelona) – 2
- Galeno (Porto) – 2
Just four players boast more than a singular goal in the Champions League thus far this term, with Julian Alvarez achieving the feat in City’s 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade, Joao Felix doing the same in Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Antwerp, and Galeno bagging a double in Porto’s comfortable win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
The only one to net twice on Wednesday evening was the Red Devils’ Casemiro, and despite a poor performance – the Brazilian midfielder was on hand to turn home in the box twice as United looked to mount a comeback against Bayern.
Top Speed (km/h)
- Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund) – 36.3km/h
- Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) – 35.7km/h
- Lois Openda (RB Leipzig) – 35.7km/h
- Daizen Maeda (Celtic) – 35.6km/h
- Alphonso Davies (Bayern) – 35.5km/h
- Kylian Mbappe (PSG) – 35.3km/h
Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi has clocked the fastest speed in the Champions League thus far, with a speed of 36.3km/h, followed in second by Manchester United and RB Leipzig forwards Marcus Rashford and Lois Openda at 35.7km/h.
Unsurprisingly, speedsters Alphonso Davies and Kylian Mbappe have clocked in at fifth and sixth place, but a new face for many might be that of Celtic’s Daizen Maeda who has clocked the fourth fastest sprint speed in gameweek one at 35.6km/h.
Distance Covered (km)
- Mads Bidstrup (RB Salzburg) – 14.3km
- Stephen Eustaquio (Porto) – 13.4km
- Christian Falk (Copenhagen) – 13.3km
- Maurits Kjærgaard (RB Salzburg) – 13.2km
- Joao Neves (Benfica) – 12.9km
- Mats Wieffer (Feyenoord) – 12.8km
- Martin Odegaard (Arsenal) – 12.7km
- Fredrik Aursnes (Benfica) – 12.7km
There aren’t many household names for the majority of English football fans amongst the names of players who covered the most distance in gameweek one, but Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard comes in at seventh, alongside Fredrik Aursnes, with 12.7km covered against PSV.
RB Salzburg’s Mads Bidstrup leads the pack by almost an entire kilometre, racking up a 14.3km covered in his side’s 2-0 win over Portuguese giants Benfica, with teammate Maurits Kjærgaard also amongst the leading names with 13.2km covered.
⭐ MØ ⭐#UCL pic.twitter.com/w2XF3aNpgf
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 20, 2023
Most Saves
- Omri Glazer (Red Star Belgrade) – 13
- Nick Pope (Newcastle) – 8
- Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) – 7
- Alexander Schlager (RB Salzburg) – 7
- Dmytro Riznyk (Shakhtar) – 6
- Frederik Rønnow (Union Berlin) – 6
For those who watched the Manchester City – Red Star Belgrade match, it will be no surprise to see the Serbian champions’ stopper top the list, as he faced an incredible amount of shots throughout the match, and dealt with the majority very well.
Newcastle’s Nick Pope is second after gameweek one with eight saves after facing plenty of pressure at the San Siro, but he stood firm and secured a clean sheet, and is followed by Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid and Alexander Schlager of RB Salzburg who both made seven saves in their respective ties.
Most Tackles Won
- Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund) – 6
- Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig) – 5
- Jonathan Gradit (RC Lens) – 5
- Fernando (Sevilla) – 4
- Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad) – 4
Borussia Dortmund’s young Nico Schlotterbeck leads the pack in the ‘Most Tackles Won’ statistic, winning a whopping six tackles against an inspired Paris Saint-Germain side that boasted a front three of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Randal Kolo Muani.
Fellow Bundesliga defender Benjamin Henrichs, alongside Lens’ Jonathan Gradit, follow in second with five tackles won apiece, whilst La Liga midfield duo Fernando and Mikel Merino follow with four tackles won each.
Most Passes Completed
- Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona) – 103
- Kim Min-jae (Bayern) – 100
- Jules Kounde (Barcelona) – 99
- Gernot Trauner (Feyenoord) – 99
- David Hancko (Feyenoord) – 97
- Pepe (Porto) – 96
- Rodri (Manchester City) – 95
- Milan Skriniar (PSG) – 92
- Joao Cancelo (Barcelona) – 90
- Nathan Ake (Manchester City) – 89
Unsurprisingly, three Barcelona players make the top 10 list of players with the most passes completed from their opening match after a dominant 5-0 display against Antwerp. Ex-Manchester City man Ilkay Gundogan tops the list, and is one of two players to reach 100+ passes at 103, joined by Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae who completed exactly 100 passes against Manchester United.
Two Feyenoord players make the top five, whilst two Manchester City players make the top 10 in Rodri with 95 complete passes, and Nathan Ake sneaking in in 10th with 89 passes completed against Red Star at the Etihad.
Most Dribbles
- Kylian Mbappe (PSG) – 9
- Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) – 8
- Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig) – 8
- Meschack Elia (Young Boys) – 8
- Luis Palma (Celtic) – 8
- Angel Di Maria (Benfica) – 7
- Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio) – 7
- Elias Achouri (Copenhagen) – 7
Known for grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck and taking players on, Paris Saint-Germain’s star man Kylian Mbappe made the most dribbles in the opening week with nine against Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund.
Marcus Rashford, alongside impressive youngster Xaxi Simons, as well as Meschack Elia and Luis Palma follow in second with eight dribbles apiece in their respective ties.
World Cup winner Angel Di Maria follows, joined by Lazio’s Mattia Zaccagni and Copenhagen’s Elias Achouri with seven dribbles each in their matches.
KM 🔴🔵#UCL pic.twitter.com/H9TRViiDiv
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 19, 2023
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