It’s not the one who shoots the most that is successful in the Champions League
It’s all a question of effectiveness: the clubs that qualified directly for the round of 16 are far from being those that created the most opportunities in the eight games played. Even top scorers play for teams that have had a hard time
Until the end of the first phase of the Champions League we saw giants suffering, reaching the final moments outside the classification and in some cases seeing investments of millions not being matched by success in the most sought-after club competition in the world. It is interesting to note that teams such as Manchester City , PSG and Atlético Madrid created more opportunities than most of their competitors, but failed to shoot at goal. Therein lay the difference to teams like Liverpool , who in each game often reached the finishing zones, but were always effective.
Speaking of Liverpool, they were the only exception in this field: they were leaders practically from the first hour, the attack was a goal-scoring machine and if they created many opportunities they did not miss them. Even so, they share the eighth position with Real Madrid in goal chances.
Liverpool have the ninth most productive attack in the first phase of the Champions League, tied with Lille , another team that goes straight to the round of 16 (the English have scored 18 goals and conceded five; the French 17/10).
But more interesting than looking at who was successful, in this curious case, is to analyze the results of the teams that created the most opportunities per game, and there the surprises are big. Bayern had 184 shots and 70 of them were on target: they scored 20 goals and finished 12th.
Next come Manchester City and PSG , each with 149 shots, with 18 goals for the British and 14 for the French. Result? They were both at risk of being left out until the last round.
The Portuguese? Benfica and Sporting shot on goal 105 times and while the Reds had 46 shots on target, the Lions managed six fewer.
The top eight in the standings? Barcelona scored 126, Arsenal 109; Inter 104; Atlético Madrid just 99.
And even the Champions League top scorers are not among the top scorers in this phase. In the eight games played, Guirassy has nine goals in eight games, the same as Lewandowski . Next come Raphinha (8), Vinícius Júnior (7) and neither Dortmund, Barcelona or Real Madrid gained direct access to the round of 16. Sporting’s striker Gyokeres has had a huge impact , as he is among the most effective players in the Champions League with six goals scored and is the footballer with the most goals with his left foot: five.
In this case too, Sporting was far from the top eight and only managed to seal their place in the play-offs on the last day.
Gyokeres’ weight is evident in the championship, but even more so in the Champions League , especially because the Lions only made 36 shots on target in the eight games played and the Swede is, without a doubt, the player who led the Lions to secure a place among the who are not seeded, but have earned the right to continue in the competition.
Pavlidis didn’t even start well, but in the last few games he has had quality performances. He scored three goals against Barcelona in the Reds’ defeat at Luz (4-5), but in Italy, against Juventus , it was he who opened the scoring in a triumph that proved to be decisive and which shows that the Reds are having an excellent performance. performance against the most powerful.
Pavlidis also scored one of Benfica’s goals against Monaco , in Portugal’s 3–2 victory.
One thing is certain, if the opportunities created and the number of goals have not meant success for the teams in this first phase, everything could change from here on, especially because giants like Manchester City, Bayern Munich or PSG may have suffered until the end. , but they remain strong candidates.
Will it still not be necessary to create much to move towards the final? In the first phase that’s what happened, but naturally from here on every goal will be worth gold.
