UEFA Champions League - 2019/20 SeasonMatch press kits

It is all to play for as Ajax meet Valencia in the final round of Group H games with both sides harbouring hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.

• The Dutch side lead the way in the section, three of their ten points having come from a 3-0 success in Valencia on Matchday 2, Hakim Ziyech (8), Quincy Promes (34) and Donny van de Beek (67) with the goals to inflict Valencia's first home European defeat by a Dutch club. Valencia and Chelsea are two points behind Ajax on eight.

• Ajax will go through if they avoid defeat, or if Chelsea fail to beat LOSC Lille at Stamford Bridge; Valencia will progress if they beat Ajax, or as long as they finish at least level on points with Chelsea due to their superior head-to-head record. A win for either Ajax or Valencia will secure first place in the group.

Previous meetings
• The sides' two contests before this season both finished 1-1, in the second group stage of the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League. Ajax looked set for three points when Zlatan Ibrahimović gave them an 88th-minute lead at Mestalla in November 2002, only for Miguel Ángel Angulo to level two minutes into added time.

• It was also all square in Amsterdam in March 2003, Petri Pasanen's 57th-minute equaliser for Ajax cancelling out a first-half Kily González penalty.

• Valencia finished first in the section with nine points, one place and one point better off than Ajax as both teams progressed to the quarter-finals. Both were eliminated by Milanese clubs in the last eight, Ajax losing to AC Milan and Internazionale beating Valencia.

Form guide
Ajax
• Ajax won their first two games 3-0, at home to LOSC and at Valencia. They were then beaten 1-0 at home by Chelsea before a remarkable 4-4 draw in London on Matchday 4, in which Ajax let slip a 4-1 lead and had two players, Daley Blind and Joël Veltman, sent off. The Dutch club got back to winning ways with a 2-0 success at LOSC last time out.

• Ajax went all the way from the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round to the semi-finals in 2018/19, losing on away goals to Tottenham in the last four after conceding six minutes into added time to go down 3-2 at home and bow out after a 3-3 aggregate draw.

• Erik ten Hag's team lost only two of their 18 European matches in 2018/19 (W10 D6), when they became the first side in European Cup history to reach the semi-finals having come through three qualifying rounds and the first Dutch club to get to the UEFA Champions League last four since PSV Eindhoven in 2004/05.

• Champions of the Netherlands for the 34th time in 2018/19 – their first league title since 2014 – Ajax also lifted the Dutch Cup to claim their eighth domestic double, and a first since 2002.

• They kicked off this season's UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round, seeing off Greek side PAOK 5-4 on aggregate after a 2-2 away draw and a 3-2 home win secured by an 85th-minute Dušan Tadić penalty.

• A goalless draw at APOEL in the first leg of the play-offs ended Ajax's run of scoring in 14 successive European matches, but a 2-0 home win booked their group return. This season's results have stretched their unbeaten away run in Europe to 14 matches (W7 D7). The second-leg victory against PAOK in Amsterdam ended a run of four home European matches without a win (D2 L2).

• Ajax lost 2-1 at home to Real Madrid in last season's round of 16 first leg, but turned the tie round with a remarkable 4-1 victory in Spain. Despite that result, and the Matchday 2 win at Valencia, the Amsterdammers have won only four of their last 17 games against Spanish opponents (D1 L12).

• Ajax have lost six of their last eight games against Spanish visitors in Amsterdam, winning the other two.

Valencia
• Valencia have picked up four points from their first two away games, beating Chelsea 1-0 in London on Matchday 1 before conceding a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at LOSC Lille in their third fixture. They overturned a half-time deficit to beat the French club 4-1 on Matchday 4 at Mestalla, where they drew 2-2 with Chelsea last time out.

• The Matchday 1 win at Chelsea is Valencia's only victory in their last seven UEFA Champions League away matches (D3 L3); however, they have won four of their last 11 (D4 L3).

• Valencia have scored only three goals in their last seven away UEFA Champions League matches and have not scored more than once in any of their last 11, qualifying included.

• Fourth in the Spanish Liga in 2018/19, this is Valencia's 12th UEFA Champions League group stage campaign. Finalists in both 1999/2000 and 2000/01, they have not reached the last 16 since 2012/13.

• Twelve months ago Los Blanquinegros were also in Group H, finishing third behind Juventus and Manchester United – who they beat 2-1 at Mestalla on Matchday 6 having earlier held out for a goalless draw at Old Trafford – to move into the UEFA Europa League. There they overcame Celtic (3-0 on aggregate), Krasnodar (3-2) and Villarreal (5-1) to reach the semi-finals, where they came up short against Arsenal, losing 3-1 in London and 4-2 at home.

• Valencia have lost only two of their 13 matches against Dutch clubs, home and away (W5 D6) – at home to Ajax on Matchday 2 and 2-1 at AZ Alkmaar on their last visit to the Netherlands, in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg, a tie they turned round with a 4-0 home success.

• The Spanish side had drawn four of their first five games away to Eredivisie clubs, winning the other 1-0 at Heerenveen in the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League first group stage en route to reaching the final.

Links and trivia
• Having come through the ranks at De Treffers and NEC, making his senior debut with the latter in August 2010, Jasper Cillessen was an Ajax player between 2011 and 2016. He won three Eredivisie titles in Amsterdam before joining Barcelona.

• Have played in Spain:
Quincy Promes (Sevilla 2018/19)
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Real Madrid 2009)
Nicolás Tagliafico (Real Murcia 2012/13 (loan))

• André Onana came through the Barcelona academy but never made a first-team appearance before joining Ajax in 2015.

• Have played together:
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar & Daniel Parejo (Real Madrid 2009)

• International team-mates:
Daley Blind, Joël Veltman, Quincy Promes, Donny van de Beek & Jasper Cillessen (Netherlands)

Latest news

Ajax
• Siem de Jong made his 50th appearance in UEFA club competition on Matchday 5.

• Ajax suffered their first league defeat of the season on Friday night, going down 2-0 against Willem II in Amsterdam.

• The Matchday 3 loss at home to Chelsea was Ajax's only other defeat in all competitions this season (W19 D5). Their previous loss had also come at home to a London club, against Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg on 8 May; four of Ajax's last five defeats in all competitions have come at their own ground, three of them in the UEFA Champions League.

• The Amsterdammers have won 13 of their 16 Eredivisie fixtures so far this season (D2 L1).

• Ajax had scored 32 goals in winning nine successive league fixtures before Friday's defeat, keeping five clean sheets and conceding only six goals. They have scored 52 goals in their 16 league games this season.

• Friday was the first time Ajax had failed to score in 24 Eredivisie matches.

• Ajax have scored at least four goals in six of their last eight matches in all competitions, the exceptions the 2-0 win at LOSC on Matchday 5 and at home to Willem II.

• David Neres suffered a knee injury during Ajax's 4-0 win against Utrecht on 10 November, and is not expected play again until early 2020.

• Zakaria Labyad injured his knee just before half-time at LOSC and is likely to be out of action until next year.

• Noa Lang came on for Labyad against LOSC and made his first competitive start in the 5-2 Eredivisie win at Twente on 1 December, scoring a hat-trick. He is only the second Ajax player to hit three goals on his full debut, emulating Henk Groot in 1959.

• Quincy Promes has 13 goals in his last 15 Ajax appearances, although he suffered a calf injury at Twente and missed Friday's defeat against Willem II.

• Ajax picked up the Dutch Super Cup, the Johan Cruijff Trophy, on 27 July when they defeated last season's Eredivisie runners-up PSV Eindhoven 2-0 thanks to goals from Kasper Dolberg – now at Nice – and Daley Blind.

Valencia
• Valencia have lost only one of their last eight games in all competitions (W5 D2). On Saturday they came from two goals down to win 4-2 at local rivals Levante in the Liga, the first time they had won a league game after being 2-0 behind since a 3-2 victory against Espanyol in December 2001.

• Of Daniel Parejo's seven goals this season, six have come from the penalty spot, including the equaliser against LOSC on Matchday 4. He has, however, missed two penalties in this season's UEFA Champions League, against Ajax on Matchday 2 and Chelsea on Matchday 5.

• Valencia have 26 points after 16 Liga games this season, seven more than they had at the same stage of 2018/19.

• Ferrán Torres has four goals in his last six Valencia appearances, including the winner at home to Villarreal on 30 November (2-1) and the final goal at Levante on Saturday. He had not found the net for the club since 10 March before scoring against LOSC on Matchday 4.

• Gonçalo Guedes was withdrawn at half-time during Portugal's 2-1 UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying defeat in Ukraine on 14 October after suffering an ankle injury, and has not played since.

• Cristiano Piccini (knee) has been out since 24 August.

• Geoffrey Kondogbia (hamstring) has been out since being substituted early in Valencia's 2-0 home victory against Granada on 9 November.

• Denis Cheryshev (thigh) has not played since coming off injured on Matchday 4.

• Mouctar Diakhaby (calf) came on as a substitute at Levante having not played since 2 November; Rubén Sobrino (thigh) had also been out since then before returning as a late substitute against Villarreal.

• Jaume Costa (muscle problem) and Ezequiel Garay (back) returned on Saturday having been sidelined since Matchday 5, when Lee Kang-in (thigh) made his most recent appearance.

Date of birth: 2 February 1970
Nationality: Dutch
Playing career: Twente (three times), De Graafschap, RKC Waalwijk, Utrecht
Coaching career: Twente (youth, assistant), PSV Eindhoven (assistant), Go Ahead Eagles, Bayern München II, Utrecht, Ajax

• Born in Haaksbergen in the east Netherlands close to Enschede, Ten Hag's early days were spent with local club Bon Boys before a move to the youth department of Twente, where he made his professional debut aged 19 in December 1989.

• A defensive midfielder and defender, he then spent two seasons with De Graafschap, winning promotion to Eredivisie in his first, before returning to Twente for two years. Ten Hag moved on to single-season stays at both RKC Waalwijk and Utrecht, and then returned to Twente again in 1996, this time for good.

• Reached the last 16 of the 1997/98 UEFA Cup, losing to Auxerre, and in 2001 he won his only silverware with the club, Fred Rutten's team beating PSV Eindhoven on penalties in the Dutch Cup final with Ten Hag as captain. After ending his playing career in 2002 he became head of Twente's youth department, also working as assistant coach for several years, alongside Rutten from 2006/07. Followed the head coach to PSV in 2009, serving as his assistant for three seasons.

• Took his first post as head coach at Go Ahead Eagles, winning promotion to the Dutch top flight in his 2012/13 debut season, before moving on to Bayern München's second team, winning the Regionalliga title in 2014 and working with Josep Guardiola. Took over at Utrecht in summer 2015, winning the Rinus Michels award as the Netherlands' coach of the year 12 months later.

• Succeeded Marcel Keizer at Ajax in December 2017, leading the club to second place in the Eredivisie at the end of that campaign. In 2018/19, guided Ajax into the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time in four years and took them all the way to a first semi-final since 1997, knocking out holders Real Madrid and Juventus before a last-gasp defeat by Tottenham; consolation came in the form of a domestic league and cup double.

Date of birth: 29 September 1975
Nationality: Spanish
Playing career: Barcelona, Celta Vigo, Real Madrid, Bordeaux (loan), Zaragoza, New York Red Bulls
Coaching career: Spain U16, Spain U21, Spain U17, Spain (assistant), Real Madrid (assistant), Valencia

• A defensive midfielder, Celades came through Barcelona's youth ranks to win two Spanish Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, the 1997 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the 1997 UEFA Super Cup during four years in the first team.

• After a year with Celta, Celades became one of a select bunch of players to have played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, winning a further two league titles as well as picking up a UEFA Champions League winners' medal in 2002, though he was not involved in the final win against Bayer Leverkusen.

• He also had spells with Bordeaux and Zaragoza and spent a season in the United States with New York Red Bulls before retiring in 2009. Won four caps for Spain and was part of their 1998 FIFA World Cup squad.

• Celades took charge of Spain's Under-16 squad in 2013, before being promoted to U21 coach following Julen Lopetegui's departure for Porto a year later. He led La Rojita to the final of the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which they lost to Germany.

• In August 2018 he was appointed as Lopetegui's assistant at Real Madrid, having previously served under him with the senior Spanish national team, but left the post at the end of October following Lopetegui's dismissal; took his first position as a club head coach in September 2019, succeeding Marcelino at Valencia. 

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.

AFC Ajax
Formed: 1900
Nickname: Godenzonen (Sons of the Gods)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Cup/UEFA Champions League (4): (1969), 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995, (1996)
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1987, (1988)
• UEFA Cup (1): 1992, (2017)
• UEFA Super Cup (2): 1973, (1987), 1995
• European/South American Cup (2): 1972, 1995

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
League title: 34 (2019)
Dutch Cup: 19 (2019)

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

Records
UEFA club competition
• Biggest home win
14-0: Ajax v Red Boys Differdange
03/10/84, UEFA Cup first round second leg

• Biggest away win
1-8: HJK Helsinki v Ajax
19/09/79, European Champion Clubs' Cup first round first leg

• Heaviest home defeat
0-4: Ajax v Real Madrid
23/11/10, UEFA Champions League group stage

• Heaviest away defeat
5-1: Bayern München v Ajax
22/10/80, European Champion Clubs' Cup second round first leg
4-0 on four occasions, most recently v Barcelona
18/09/13, UEFA Champions League group stage

UEFA Champions League (group stage to final only)
• Biggest home win
4-0 twice, most recently v Dinamo Zagreb
02/11/11, group stage

• Biggest away win
1-5: Ferencváros v Ajax
27/09/95, group stage

• Heaviest home defeat
0-4: Ajax v Real Madrid (see above)

• Heaviest away defeat
4-0 twice, most recently v Barcelona (see above)

Valencia CF
Formed: 1919
Nickname: Blanquinegros (White and Blacks)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• UEFA Champions League: (2000), (2001)
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1980
• UEFA Cup (1): 2004
• UEFA Super Cup (2): 1980, 2004
• UEFA Intertoto Cup (1): 1998

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
League title: 6 (2004)
Spanish Cup: 8 (2019)

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

Records
UEFA club competition
• Biggest home win
7-0: Valencia v Genk
23/11/11, UEFA Champions League group stage

• Biggest away win
0-5: Sturm Graz v Valencia
07/03/01, UEFA Champions League second group stage

• Heaviest home defeat
1-5 twice, most recently v Internazionale Milano
20/10/04, UEFA Champions League group stage

• Heaviest away defeat
7-0: Karlsruhe v Valencia
02/11/93, UEFA Cup second round second leg

UEFA Champions League (group stage to final only)
• Biggest home win
7-0: Valencia v Genk (see above)

• Biggest away win
0-5: Sturm Graz v Valencia (see above)

• Heaviest home defeat
1-5: Valencia v Internazionale Milano (see above)

• Heaviest away defeat
3-0: Chelsea v Valencia
06/12/11, group stage
Valencia also lost 3-0 to Real Madrid in the 2000 final, in which they were the designated away team