Champions League: Goals analysis of the league phase

The league phase of this season's UEFA Champions League witnessed a total of 487 goals, scored at a rate of 3.39 per match.

No team scored more than Arsenal (23) while no team were as clinical as Barcelona, who hit 22 goals from chances with an xG (Expected Goals) value of 14.2.

Leading scorers

As for individual scoring feats, the accolades went to Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé, the outstanding marksman of the league phase with 13 goals – five more than second-placed Harry Kane. Mbappé's total, at this stage, is already equal to the final tally of last term's joint-leading scorers, Raphinha and Serhou Guirassy.

One arresting aspect of the Frenchman’s finishing was his efficiency, with one-third (32.5%) of his shots yielding a goal. According to UEFA Technical Observer Ole Gunnar Solskjær, the variety of his goals is worth highlighting too.

Referring to the video below, Solskjær explained: "He's not a typical No9 who will play up against the central defenders and feed off crosses, but more a roaming forward who uses his intelligence and speed to find the spaces where he wants to score from. Then he has the quality and technique, which the numbers prove. He predominantly uses his right foot but has a great understanding and timing for arriving in the box for headers as well.

"The header against Benfica is an example, where he positions himself behind the defender who has to look at the ball and loses control of Mbappé, who times his run and arrives in the right space at the perfect moment."

Solskjær also mentioned the first goal in the video, which was part of his seven-minute hat-trick against Olympiacos. "When Mbappé has space in behind the defenders, or in and around the penalty box, he's so good. The timing and quality of Eduardo Camavinga's pass has to be acknowledged, but the run and his touches to set himself up for the shot and the actual finish were great as well. He's such an athlete and, in a race, he'll probably beat anyone."

Quick finishing

Another feature of Mbappé's finishing is his knack of finding space to ensure he is shooting from a 'low pressure' position.

Two-fifths (42%) of league phase goals were scored by a player under low pressure at the time the shot was taken, which is down to the ability to manipulate the ball to move away from high (24%) or moderate (30%) pressure, or alternately their clever movement.

In Mbappé's case, six of his goals were from a low-pressure position and Solskjær, the former Manchester United striker, highlighted the fourth goal in the video above as a good example. "It shows his intelligence in reading where he can score from," he said. "Defenders are naturally drawn towards their own goal by Jude Bellingham's presence and by Mbappé standing still, he creates the space he needs."

That Mbappé goal gives an example of the most popular location within the penalty box for scoring. While 82% of goals were from within the penalty area generally, the second five-metre box – displayed above – proved especially fertile ground for finishers.

Last season, 34% of all goals came within that specific 'golden zone'. The proportion has risen to 39% in this year's league phase. Newcastle United scored the most from there – 14 of their 17 goals – and that was largely through effective and varied crossing techniques.

With it often being congested there, 60% of the goals scored in the second five-metre box were of the one-touch variety – compared with 55% across the penalty area as a whole.

According to Solskjær, goals there "are often scored by getting in front of your marker, beating him to the ball, and not only forwards get into these areas but also midfielders arriving late in the box."

Starting points

To shift the focus to the source of scoring moves, 45% of goals originated from a sequence starting in the attacking third of the pitch, which was often the product of effective pressing strategies to force mistakes or adopting suitable positions for second-wave attacks.

"The few seconds after your team have regained possession of the ball, and the opposition are out of balance structurally, there'll be more space to create an opportunity," said Solskjær.

Bodø/Glimt registered eight of their ten open-play goals from sequences starting in the attacking third. For UEFA's game insights unit, this was down to their desire to populate the box and also getting players close to the ball to ensure quick regains.

As for assists, the cutback zone still accounts for a quarter of open-play goal assists (25%/60 goals). The central zone just outside the box accounted for even more (29%/67 goals) and there, players must be creative to either manufacture an opportunity for themselves, through moving the ball away from pressure, or recognise how and when to combine with team-mates to get behind the opposition or get in a shot.

Counterattacking

Compared with last season's league phase, there were seven more goals scored from fast breaks this time – 58 in total – and this highlighted the ability of teams to spring into attack from an organised defensive structure. It proved particularly effective for Bodø/Glimt, who, for example, scored all three goals against Manchester City from counterattacks, with both centre-forwards staying connected in the defensive phase to provide the platform for transitions.

Meanwhile, with their quick and athletic attackers, Real Madrid scored the most counterattacking goals – five.

1v1 attacking

A total of 75 goals (21%) were the product of a player attacking 1v1 in the opposition half, before either finishing themselves or finding the key pass to create a goal. Madrid scored the most goals this way, with ten, followed by Arsenal (six).

Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli stood out by contributing to four goals from such situations (three goals, one assist) while the 1v1 attacking skills of Madrid's Vinícius Júnior yielded three assists. The graphic above displays the places where 1v1s leading to goals took place.

Reflecting on the video above, Solskjær underlined the value of attackers who excel in 1v1s as he said: "Teams are getting better structured defensively with hours and hours spent on the training ground to be as well prepared as possible against their opponents' structure. They're using low blocks and closing down spaces and this creates a demand for players who can dominate 1v1 situations, especially in wide areas.

"The quality and speed of Vinícius Júnior and Martinelli in the clips show this as both are isolated with the full-back and beat him more with timing and speed than skill and find their strikers in the box, who score.

"Noni Madueke and Jens Petter Hauge both find themselves further away from goal and have to beat their men more centrally and with other opponents around them. The skill to go past opponents is really good, and the strikes from outside the box are sensational. All four players mentioned are an example of the trend for 'wrong-footed wingers' who like to cut inside and finish."

Goal flows

As a final point, UEFA's game insights unit noted the ongoing tendency – seen in other club competitions too – for 'twin' goals. This is when one goal is followed within five minutes by another. Overall, there were 61 such instances in the league phase, amounting to 21% of the overall total scored.

In 60% of cases (36 times), the initial goal was followed by another soon after from the team who had just struck, and Liverpool were the kings of the quickfire double (four times).

A renowned striker who won six Premier League titles at Manchester United, and scored the winner in the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League final, Ole Gunnar Solskjær steered Molde to two league titles in his native Norway then reached the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League final as United boss.