UEFA Champions League - 2019/20 SeasonMatch press kits

Having lost the leadership of Group G with a home defeat on Matchday 2, Leipzig will be keen to reassert themselves as Zenit, who now occupy first place in the standings, come to Germany.

• The Bundesliga side were beaten at home by Lyon last time out having kicked off their second UEFA Champions League campaign with victory at Benfica; Zenit, who got the better of the Portuguese side in St Petersburg in their most recent fixture, have four points, level with Lyon and one more than their German rivals.

Previous meetings
• The sides' only past contests are also Leipzig's only UEFA matches against a Russian club. They were 2-1 winners in the home first leg against Zenit in the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League round of 16, Timo Werner scoring the decisive goal, and progressed thanks to a 1-1 draw in St Petersburg, a Sebastián Driussi goal in first-half added time proving insufficient for Zenit.

Form guide
Leipzig
• Werner's double gave Leipzig three points at Benfica on Matchday 1 – their third UEFA Champions League victory in their seventh match in the competition – although they then went down 2-0 at home to Lyon.

• Third in the Bundesliga last season and German Cup finalists, this is Leipzig's third European campaign, and only their 27th match. They became the first team to make their European debut in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2017/18, when they picked up seven points to finish third in a section including Beşiktaş, Porto and Monaco. They went on to reach the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals before losing to Marseille.

• Leipzig's first European home game was a 1-1 draw against Monaco on Matchday 1 two years ago; also at home in that season's group stage, they beat Porto 3-2 but lost 2-1 to Beşiktaş.

• In 2018/19 the German club came through three qualifying rounds to reach the UEFA Europa League group stage, but finished behind Salzburg and Celtic to drop out of the competition, collecting seven points from their three games.

• Leipzig have won seven of their 13 home European matches (D2 L4), although only one of the last four (D1 L2).

Zenit
• Having been held 1-1 at Lyon on Matchday 1, Zenit were 3-1 winners at home to Benfica two weeks later, only their second win in their last seven European matches (D1 L4).

• Zenit are without a win in ten European away matches (D3 L7) since a 3-1 victory at Real Sociedad on Matchday 6 of the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League.

• Zenit claimed their sixth USSR/Russian league title in 2018/19, and the first since 2015; their last five triumphs have all come from 2007 onwards.

• This is the St Petersburg outfit's seventh UEFA Champions League group campaign, and a first since 2015/16, when they reached the round of 16 for the third time.

• In 2018/19, Zenit's 12th successive European campaign, they began in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, staging an astonishing second-leg comeback against Dinamo Minsk in St Petersburg to win 8-1 after extra time following a shock 4-0 first-leg defeat in Belarus. They went on to beat Molde in the play-offs and finish first in a group including Slavia Praha, Bordeaux and Copenhagen, beating Fenerbahçe in the round of 32 before losing home (1-3) and away (1-2) against Villarreal in the round of 16.

• That 2018 defeat at Leipzig was Zenit's most recent away game in Germany, where they have lost on their last two visits; they were unbeaten in five successive matches on German soil (W3 D2) until a 0-2 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Links and trivia
• Have played in Germany:
Róbert Mak (Nürnberg 2010-14)
Douglas Santos (Hamburg 2016-19)

• Christopher Nkunku made his senior debut for Paris Saint-Germain as a late substitute in a 2-0 win against Yaroslav Rakits'kyy's Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League group stage on 8 December 2015.

• Yussuf Poulsen scored his first goal for Denmark in a 2-0 UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying win against a Serbia team captained by Branislav Ivanović on 13 June 2015.

• Patrik Schick was on target for the Czech Republic against Rakits'kyy's Ukraine (1-2) and twice against a Slovakia team including Mak (2-1 a, 1-0 h) in the UEFA Nations League in 2018.

• Ethan Ampadu was in the Wales side that drew 1-1 against Róbert Mak's Slovakia  in a UEFA EURO 2020 qualifier on 10 October.

Latest news

Leipzig
• Leipzig are four competitive games without a win; they were held 1-1 at home by Wolfsburg on Saturday.

• Leipzig suffered their first defeat of the season in all competitions on 28 September, going down 3-1 at home to Schalke to lose the leadership of the Bundesliga. After the home loss on Matchday 2 against Lyon they drew 1-1 in Leverkusen on 5 October.

• Timo Werner scored five goals in the first three Bundesliga games this season, and ended a scoreless run of four league games by giving Leipzig the lead on Saturday.

• In the European Qualifiers Marcel Sabitzer scored in Austria's 3-1 home win against Israel on 10 October.

• Two days later Yussuf Poulsen got Denmark's late winner in a 1-0 UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying success against Switzerland.

• Werner was on target for Germany in a 3-0 qualifying win at Estonia on 13 October.

• Ibrahima Konaté suffered a hip injury against Lyon, but is back in light training.

• Kevin Kampl returned as a substitute against Wolfsburg having been out since 30 August with an ankle injury .

• Tyler Adams has been out since the beginning of August due to a metatarsal injury, but is back in light training.

• On 17 June Hannes Wolf scored for Austria against Serbia in their first game of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship before breaking his right ankle. He is also back in light training.

Zenit
• Zenit have won five of their last six league games, beating Rostov 6-1 at home on Saturday.

• Artem Dzyuba has provided the most assists (8) in this season's Russian Premier League, including two on Saturday. He has also scored eight goals himself and hit a hat-trick against Rostov.

• Dzyuba scored three goals and provided three assists for Russia in UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying victories against Scotland (4-0) and Cyprus (5-0) as his team booked their place in next summer's finals. Magomed Ozdoev also scored in both games with Vyacheslav Karavaev coming off the bench to make his international debut against Cyprus.

• With nine goals Dzyuba is the second highest scorer in the European Qualifiers behind Israel's Eran Zahavi (11).

• Sardar Azmoun hit a first-half hat-trick as Iran overwhelmed Cambodia 14-0 in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying on 10 October.

• Yordan Osorio set up a goal in Venezuela's 2-0 friendly victory against Trinidad and Tobago on 14 October.

• Malcom, who has not played since 10 August due to a thigh injury, has undergone surgery and is expected to be sidelined for the rest of the year.

• Zenit lost 3-2 to Lokomotiv Moskva in the Russian Super Cup on 6 July.

FootballPeople weeks
The FootballPeople weeks take place from 10 to 24 October 2019 and are organised by UEFA's social responsibility partner Fare. The weeks are a global campaign aimed at tackling discrimination and celebrating diversity in football. The UEFA Champions League is offering its full support to the FootballPeople weeks; teams will line up for a mixed photo with the referees, while an #EqualGame hashtag will also be on display. Videos will be played on giant screens at stadiums across Europe, and child mascots will be wearing #FootballPeople t-shirts. UEFA's collaboration with the Fare network's FootballPeople weeks has been running since 2001. The aim of this initiative fits in perfectly with the goals of #EqualGame, which is looking to promote inclusion, diversity and accessibility.

Date of birth: 23 July 1987
Nationality: German
Playing career: 1860 München II, Augsburg II
Coaching career: Augsburg (youth), 1860 München (youth), Hoffenheim (youth), Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig

• Nagelsmann's playing career began at Issing before a move to Augsburg's youth academy. From 2002 he represented 1860 München for five seasons, starting off in the youth side before being promoted to the second team.

• Injury prevented him from making a single appearance in 2006/07, so he returned to Augsburg, where he picked up a serious knee injury and was forced to retire in 2007 aged just 20 having never played a competitive first-team game.

• Nagelsmann, who has a degree in sports and applied coaching, swiftly took up a post in Augsburg's youth coaching set-up under Thomas Tuchel before two years in charge of 1860's Under-17 side.

• His association with Hoffenheim began in 2010 and he led the club's Under-19s to the league title in 2013/14, his first season. Succeeded Huub Stevens as first-team coach in February 2016, aged just 28 – the youngest coach in Bundesliga history – and guided the club away from the Bundesliga relegation zone by the end of that campaign.

• Took Hoffenheim to a fourth-placed finish in 2016/17 although their subsequent UEFA Champions League adventure lasted only one tie, Liverpool eliminating them in the play-offs. Another strong Bundesliga season was rewarded with third place and on 21 June 2018 it was announced that Nagelsmann would leave Hoffenheim at the end of 2018/19 to take over as coach of RB Leipzig; before departing he oversaw Hoffenheim's debut UEFA Champions League group campaign and a ninth-placed Bundesliga finish.

Date of birth: 27 February 1976
Nationality: Russian
Playing career: Presnya Moskva, Karelia Petrozavodsk, Asmaral Moskva, CSKA Moskva, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Moskva, Rubin, Zenit
Coaching career: Zenit (assistant, caretaker), Russia (assistant), Ufa, Zenit

• A midfielder, Semak made his Russian top-flight debut as a teenager for Presnya Moskva – later renamed Asmaral – before switching to CSKA, where he was a club mainstay from 1994–2004, making 289 league appearances and scoring 69 goals. He collected his first major honour in 2002, lifting the Russian Cup with CSKA, with a maiden Premier-Liga championship following in 2003.

• Won the first of his 65 caps for Russia in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off against Italy in Naples (0-1); travelled to Japan for the 2002 World Cup and later captained Guus Hiddink's side to the semi-finals of UEFA EURO 2008.

• Struck four goals in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League – all against Paris – prompting the French outfit to buy him that winter, which caused him to miss out on CSKA's UEFA Cup triumph.

• A lack of success in Ligue 1 brought him back to Russia 12 months later, to FC Moskva; after two good seasons he joined Rubin for the 2008 campaign and went on to skipper the team from Tatarstan to consecutive Premier-Liga crowns. Left Rubin for Zenit midway through the 2010 campaign and proceeded to win the 2010 and 2011/12 titles, meaning he was a champion for four straight seasons.

• Having hung up his boots in 2013, Semak worked as Luciano Spalletti's assistant at Zenit, stepping in as caretaker coach after the Italian was dismissed that March. Also worked as assistant to Spalletti's successor André Villas-Boas and the Russia national team before taking charge of Ufa in December 2016; returned to Zenit as head coach 18 months later and led the St Petersburg club to the 2018/19 Russian league title.

UEFA Champions League: Did you know?

Overall records
• In 2012/13, Chelsea became the first defending champions to fail to get through a group stage since the UEFA Champions League began. (This record, like the others, includes the seasons between 1999/2000 and 2002/03 that featured a second group stage). In 1992/93, Barcelona were the reigning European Champion Clubs' Cup holders and lost 4-3 on aggregate in the second round to CSKA Moskva.

• In 2016/17 Real Madrid became the first team to successfully defend the UEFA Champions League trophy, with AC Milan (1989, 1990) the previous club to win consecutive European Cups. Milan (1994, 1995), Ajax (1995, 1996), Juventus (1996, 1997) and Manchester United (2008, 2009) have all returned to the UEFA Champions League final as holders only to lose.

• Real Madrid then made it three wins in a row in 2017/18, becoming the fourth club to win three or more successive titles in European Cup history, and the first to do it twice.

• Only two teams have ever won the UEFA Champions League on home soil: Borussia Dortmund (1997, final in Munich) and Juventus (1996, final in Rome), while Manchester United lost the 2011 final in London and 12 months later Bayern were beaten in the showpiece in their own stadium, the Fußball Arena München.

Group stage
• Barcelona have finished as group winners on 20 occasions, four more than Real Madrid and five more than Bayern München and Manchester United. Barça also hold the record for the most unbeaten group stage campaigns with 12, four more than Real Madrid.

• Bayern München (2 April 2013 to 27 November 2013) and Real Madrid (23 April 2014 to 18 February 2015) jointly hold the record for successive wins in the UEFA Champions League proper with ten. Bayern surpassed the previous mark of nine, set by Barcelona between 18 September 2002 and 18 February 2003.

• Six teams have recorded six successive victories in a UEFA Champions League group stage: Milan (1992/93), Paris Saint-Germain (1994/95), Spartak Moskva (1995/96), Barcelona (2002/03, first group stage) and Real Madrid (2011/12 and 2014/15).

• Twenty-one teams have gone through a UEFA Champions League group stage without picking up a single point, most recently AEK Athens in 2018/19.

• In 2017/18, Paris Saint-Germain set a new group stage record by scoring 25 goals, with Liverpool (23) also eclipsing the old mark of 21 set by Borussia Dortmund in 2016/17. Manchester United (1998/99), Barcelona (2011/12, 2016/17) and Real Madrid (2013/14) all managed 20.

• Only Deportivo La Coruña (2004/05), Maccabi Haifa (2009/10) and Dinamo Zagreb (2016/17) have failed to score in a group stage.

• BATE Borisov conceded 24 goals in 2014/15, a new group stage record which was matched by Legia Warszawa in 2016/17. The previous mark, 22, was held by Dinamo Zagreb (2011/12) and Nordsjælland (2012/13); Malmö shipped 21 in 2015/16.

• No team has ever gone through a UEFA Champions League group stage without conceding a goal. Milan (1992/93), Ajax (1995/96), Juventus (1996/97 and 2004/05), Chelsea (2005/06), Liverpool (2005/06), Villarreal (2005/06), Manchester United (2010/11), Monaco (2014/15), Paris Saint-Germain (2015/16) and Barcelona (2017/18) all let in just one.

• Matchday six of the 2013/14 marked FCSB's 23rd successive game in the competition without a victory, surpassing the previous record of 22 set by Spartak Moskva between December 2000 and November 2006.

• Anderlecht hold the unwanted record for successive defeats in the competition, group stage to final, having lost 12 in a row between December 2003 and November 2005. Dinamo Zagreb are next with 11 consecutive losses on two occasions, from September 2011 to November 2012 and ongoing since September 2015.

• The lowest total for a team qualifying from the group stage is six points: Zenit in 2013/14 and Roma in 2015/16. Since three points for a win was introduced in 1995/96, nine teams have made it through with seven points: Legia Warszawa (1995/96), Dynamo Kyiv (1999/2000), Liverpool (2001/02, second group stage), in 2002/03 Lokomotiv Moskva (first group stage) and eventual finalists Juventus (second group stage), Rangers and Werder Bremen (2005/06), Galatasaray (2013/14) and Basel (2014/15).

• Napoli failed to qualify from their group with 12 points in 2013/14, the highest total of any team not to reach the next stage when the top two in each section progressed. Dynamo Kyiv (1999/2000, second group stage), Borussia Dortmund (2002/03, second group stage), PSV Eindhoven (2003/04), Olympiacos and Dynamo Kyiv (both 2004/05), Werder Bremen (2006/07), Manchester City (2011/12), Chelsea and Cluj (both 2012/13), Benfica (2013/14) and Porto (2015/16) all missed out with ten points.

Goalscoring records
• Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a match in Barcelona's 7-1 win against Bayer Leverkusen on 7 March 2012, a feat matched by Shakhtar Donetsk's Luiz Adriano at BATE Borisov on 21 October 2014. Eleven more players, also including Messi, have scored four times in a game, most recently Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid on matchday six in 2015/16.

• Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record for a UEFA Champions League group stage with 11 goals in 2015/16, eclipsing his own mark of nine in 2013/14, which Luiz Adriano matched in 2014/15 and Ronaldo himself equalled in 2017/18. Lionel Messi got ten goals in 2016/17; Zlatan Ibrahimović (2013/14), Ruud van Nistelrooy (2004/05), Filippo Inzaghi, Hernán Crespo (both 2002/03) and Robert Lewandowski (2018/19) managed eight.

• Messi's hat-trick against PSV Eindhoven on matchday one of the 2018/19 competition was his eighth in the competition, a mark Ronaldo matched against Atlético Madrid in that season's round of 16 second leg.

Oldest and youngest players
• Lazio goalkeeper Marco Ballotta is the oldest player to compete in the UEFA Champions League having featured against Real Madrid on matchday six in 2007/08 aged 43 years and 252 days. Alessandro Costacurta is the oldest outfield player; the Milan defender was 40 years and 211 days when he played against AEK Athens in 2006/07.

• Francesco Totti is the oldest player to score in the competition, aged 38 years and 59 days, in Roma's 1-1 draw at CSKA Moskva on 25 November 2014. Ryan Giggs (37 years 290 days) was the previous record holder.

• Celestine Babayaro is the youngest player to have appeared; he was 16 years and 87 days when he started for Anderlecht against Steaua Bucureşti on 23 November 1994. He was sent off in the 37th minute.

• Peter Ofori-Quaye is the youngest player to have scored in the UEFA Champions League, aged 17 years and 195 days. He found the net in Olympiacos's 5-1 defeat at Rosenborg on 1 October 1997.

RB Leipzig
Formed: 2009

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• None

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
None

Ten-year European record (UEFA Champions League unless indicated otherwise)
2018/19: UEFA Europa League group stage
2017/18: UEFA Europa League quarter-finals (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage)
2016/17: did not take part in UEFA competition
2015/16: did not take part in UEFA competition
2014/15: did not take part in UEFA competition
2013/14: did not take part in UEFA competition
2012/13: did not take part in UEFA competition
2011/12: did not take part in UEFA competition
2010/11: did not take part in UEFA competition
2009/10: did not take part in UEFA competition

Records
UEFA club competition
• Biggest home win
4-0: Leipzig v Häcken
26/07/18, UEFA Europa League second qualifying round first leg

• Biggest away win
1-4: Monaco v Leipzig
21/11/17, UEFA Champions League group stage

• Heaviest home defeat
0-2 twice, most recently v Lyon
02/10/19, UEFA Champions League group stage

• Heaviest away defeat
5-2: Marseille v Leipzig
12/04/18, UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg

UEFA Champions League (group stage to final)
• Biggest home win
3-2: Leipzig v Porto
17/10/17, group stage

• Biggest away win
1-4: Monaco v Leipzig (see above)

• Heaviest home defeat
0-2: Leipzig v Lyon (see above)

• Heaviest away defeat
3-1: Porto v Leipzig
01/11/17, group stage
2-0: Beşiktaş v Leipzig
26/09/17, group stage

FC Zenit
Formed: 1925
Nickname: Sine-belo-golubye (Blue-White-Sky Blues)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• UEFA Cup (1): 2008
• UEFA Super Cup (1): 2008

Domestic honours (latest triumph in brackets)
League title: 6 (2019)
USSR/Russian Cup: 4 (2016)

Ten-year European record (UEFA Champions League unless otherwise indicated)
2018/19: UEFA Europa League round of 16
2017/18: UEFA Europa League round of 16
2016/17: UEFA Europa League round of 32
2015/16: round of 16
2014/15: UEFA Europa League quarter-finals (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage)
2013/14: round of 16
2012/13: UEFA Europa League round of 16 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage)
2011/12: round of 16
2010/11: UEFA Europa League round of 16 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League play-offs)
2009/10: UEFA Europa League play-offs

Records
UEFA club competition
• Biggest home win
8-0: Zenit v Encamp
29/08/02, UEFA Cup qualifying round second leg

• Biggest away win
0-5 twice, most recently v Vardar
14/09/17, UEFA Europa League group stage

• Heaviest home defeat
0-3: Zenit v Bologna
16/09/99, UEFA Cup first round first leg

• Heaviest away defeat
5-0 twice, most recently v Stuttgart
01/11/89, UEFA Cup second round second leg

UEFA Champions League (group stage to final)
• Biggest home win
3-1 three times, most recently v Benfica
02/10/19, group stage
2-0: Zenit v Valencia
24/11/15, group stage

• Biggest away win
0-2 three times, most recently v Lyon
04/11/15, group stage

• Heaviest home defeat
2-4: Zenit v Borussia Dortmund
25/02/14, round of 16 first leg

• Heaviest away defeat
4-1: Austria Wien v Zenit
11/12/13, group stage
3-0 twice, most recently v Málaga
18/09/12, group stage