Nine g/a in six games
©TM/IMAGO
The most prestigious game in club football has come and gone after Arsenal and PSG went to battle in the Champions League final. The Budapest showdown wrapped up the club season ahead of the World Cup and featured the best two clubs in Europe this season as they put on a show. Arsenal ended a 22-year wait to be crowned English Premier League champions once again, while PSG won their fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title.
Club Comparison
€1.23bn
Market Value
€1.21bn
First Tier
League Level
First Tier
€294.60m
Expenditures 25/26
€111.20m
Mikel Arteta
Managers
Luis Enrique
Full Club Comparison
After a tense 120-minute battle ending 1-1 after extra time, Luis Enrique’s men emulated Real Madrid by becoming only the second side to win back-to-back Champions League titles with a 4-3 penalty shootout win. It means Arsenal are still waiting for their first success in the competition after losing twice in the final.
Some of the best players in the world were on show and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia deserves to be mentioned in those conversations. After scoring in the 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in last year’s final, the 25-year-old has been outstanding on PSG’s run to Budapest and his form in the knockout stages is amongst the best in competition’s history.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s knockout excellence
No player has provided more goal contributions in the Champions League this season than Kvaratskhelia, who climbed above Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane to 17 with his role in the final. The Georgian winger has scored 10 goals and registered seven assists in 16 appearances, but it’s his form in the knockout stages that has been truly scintillating. The PSG star has provided an incredible 10 goal contributions in seven games and registered in every single game – we’ve discounted the play-off against Monaco to ensure fair comparisons to previous Champions League.
And as the graphic above illustrates, Kvaratskhelia’s nine goal contributions ranks him amongst the most productive players ever in the knockout stages of a single Champions League campaign. Unsurprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo ranks first after delivering a remarkable 12 goal contributions in seven games as Real Madrid won the Champions League in 2017. Ronaldo also ranks joint-second alongside Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich and Karim Benzema with 11. Barcelona legend Lionel Messi’s highest total was 10 during the 2011/12 season and Kvaratskhelia could feasibly rival some of the aforementioned players – if he can deliver against Arsenal.
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