2023-08-18 21:38:59
Much has been written about the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League, which ended with Manchester City beating Inter in Istanbul (1-0) for the first time in its history.
UEFA’s Technical Observer Panel has analyzed some of the most interesting facts and stats, including construction from behind.
Read the technical report
1) Score first
When the goals were scored
Some 372 goals were scored in the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League, 2.98 per game. For the first time, Man City finished as the competition’s best attack, with 32 goals.
The most goal-scoring five-minute period is between the 46th and 50th minute, with 24 goals, and the next between the 51st and 55th minute (23 goals).
This campaign provided further proof of the importance of the opener in elite club football. Of the 117 matches that resulted in one or more goals, the team that opened the scoring obtained at least one draw in 90% of cases. In 88 matches she won.
2) Start from behind
Average distance of goalkeeper’s first pass
The trend of teams starting from behind is evidenced by the statistic that the ball did not leave the penalty area in 44% of goal clearances made in 2022/23.
Over four seasons, that figure has nearly doubled from 2019/20, when it was 24%. The exception that proves the rule is Inter Milan, which went from 69% (17.6m average) with Samir Handanović last season to an average of 33.4m with André Onana whose fast and vertical game was noticed by UEFA technical observers. Showing good judgment in his choice of passes, Onana fired short and long shots, and his palette included wide balls to his full-backs or higher up the pitch.
Man City, the best goals
3) Pep’s possession game
Pep Guardiola’s Man City side have made the most attempts to move forward from midfield into attack (481), which is a consequence of very high ball possession, an unmatched average of 66 % in the group stage. Given FC Barcelona’s style of play, no one will be surprised to learn that the Catalan club (65% possession) have done the same, with 426 attempts to progress towards the last 30 meters and 225 from the defense towards the middle. ground.
The fact that opposing teams fall back more against these clubs could be a determining factor. To quote one experienced coach, when teams play low in a 5-4-1 or 5-3-2 system, “your build already starts in the opponent’s half”.
4) Benfica riders
Average distance per match
Benfica, quarter-finalists, are the team that have covered the most distance per game on average, exceeding 120 km in six of their ten meetings. To put that in context with his style of play, he had two full-backs who were looking to play high up the pitch and three creative midfielders in a very labile 4-2-3-1 and devoted to centre-forward Gonçalo Ramos.
City’s joy at the end of the final
For the home win against Juventus, the UEFA Technical Observer Panel noted other reasons for the distance covered: fast passes with many positional changes and immediate attempts to win possession to loss. Moreover, with an average possession of 49% over the ten matches, the Lisboans needed more possession of the ball than the teams who dominated possession of the ball.
At the other end of the scale, after two seasons spent in last place, Paris Saint-Germain made only a very slight improvement as penultimate in the standings, ahead of Maccabi Haifa.
5) Speed Kings
The highest top speeds
Bayern player Alphonso Davies set the season’s highest top speed with a 37.1 km/h sprint in his side’s group game at Inter. Davies was playing at left-back that night and used his speed to attack, with Leroy Sané moving inside the pitch. As noted by the match observer, the Canadian’s speed played a fundamental role in Bayern’s excellent attacking transitions.
Davies was also significantly faster than the next pair, Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea) and Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona), whose top speed was 36.6 km/h. In Mudryk’s case, he recorded that figure while playing for his former club Shakhtar in the group stage at Celtic, where he scored the equalizing goal on a quick transition and was a danger all around. throughout the match thanks to his speed and dribbling skills.
6) The André Onana revelation
In 2022/23, Inter goalkeeper Onana finished top in both clean sheets and saves made. The Cameroonian has become Inter’s second goalkeeper, after Francesco Toldo in 2002/03, to go eight clean sheets in a Champions League campaign, despite Toldo having played 18 matches (including a home and away game qualifying) while Onana only played 13.
He also impressed the UEFA Technical Observer Panel with his passing skills. At a time when goalkeepers are increasingly involved in the game, Onana’s efforts have epitomized this trend.
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