After just 124 games from the tournament’s group stage in Milan and Bern, the UEFA Champions League reached the Champions League final. Saturday at Wembley Stadium. This year has seen 374 goals scored and only 53 clean sheets kept, so this year’s biggest competition has a real chance of deviating from previous editions, with the last four title games ending with 1-0 scores. The 2023-24 season is packed Drama, plot twists And, above all, statistics. Even with Real Madrid And with Borussia Dortmund standing still, more individual accolades must be claimed, history must be made and passion must be expressed.
Viewing information
- Date: Saturday, June 1 | Time: 3 pm ET
- Place: Wembley Stadium — London, England
- TV: CBS | Live Stream: Paramount+
- Contradictions: Borussia Dortmund +420; draw +330; Real Madrid -165
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Champions League Final Broadcast Schedule
American/Oriental at all times
- 4 a.m., 11 a.m. (CBS Sports Collazo Network)
- We Need to Talk, 12:30 p.m. (CBS, Paramount+)
- UEFA Champions League Today, 1 pm (CBS Sports Golazo Network, Paramount+)
- UEFA Champions League pre-match today, 1:30pm (CBS, Paramount+)
- CBS Sports Collazo Matchday, 1:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Collazo Network)
- Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid, 3 p.m. (CBS, Paramount+)
- UEFA Champions League today post-match, 5:30 pm (CBS Sports Network, Paramount+)
- Scoreline, 5:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Collazo Network)
- Champions Club, 6:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Collazo Network)
Check out the individual leaders of the tournament:
The Golden Boot
No doubt one day the award will be named Cristiano Ronaldo, which will be done and dusted before the tournament is over. Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe share the top spot with eight goals each. As you may recall, the semi-finals didn’t go to plan for the superstar, and even Mbappe’s speed couldn’t bring his move to Madrid. As with FIFA’s curious insistence that the player with the most assists win the World Cup’s top scorer prize, the UEFA Champions League does not use tiebreakers in the scoring race. It should only be half a cup per can.
Along with their closest rivals, Antoine Griezmann and Erling Holland, it will be a gift shared by Kane and Mbappe as they reach the Champions League clubhouse with six points to their name. Their eight goals were the first time the Golden Boot had been won by a player who had not scored in double figures since 2009-10, when Lionel Messi hit the high watermark of eight, Mourinho’s torment during Jose’s glory days.
Once again this is the Champions League and honors are on the line. Using words like “done and dusted” has a markedly restorative effect on Real Madrid. Three of their players — Vinicius Jr., Rodrigo and semifinal hero Joselu — have five goals to their name so far. Three of the four players who have scored hat-tricks in European Cup finals have done so in Madrid colours. I’m just saying.
1. |
Harry Kane |
Bayern Munich |
8 |
36 |
6.78 |
1065 |
1. |
Kylian Mbappe |
Paris St. Germain |
8 |
51 |
8.16 |
1080 |
3. |
Antoine Griezmann |
Atletico Madrid |
6 |
22 |
4.8 |
822 |
3. |
Erling Holland |
City of Manchester |
6 |
43 |
6.99 |
778 |
As for Dortmund? Niklas Fulkrug is three. Probably not then…
Assistant Head
Now we have a fight on our hands! The man with his digits currently on the prize refers to Borussia Dortmund’s well-timed heater in the spring. Marcel Sabitzer has completed 213 passes, created 13 chances and handed out 1.32 expected assists (xA). This has resulted in five assists, more than anyone else in the tournament so far. Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi must be wondering what it takes to get finishers like that on the end of the chances they create.
There is still Wembley to play Vinicius And Bellingham is just one away from drawing level with Sabitzer. Competing with David Bowie in Berlin, the former has been on a creative tear in the New Year. 11 of his 19 chances created have come in high-stakes knockout stage moments, 1.61 of his 2.58 xA. Who knows if he tops the scoring or assist charts, but carry this form up to Wembley and the Copa America and you could be reading about the next Ballon d’Or winner.
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The Golden Glove
The football community is now well aware that clean sheets are far from the best measure of a goalkeeper’s qualities. But look, what else can I use? Save? This will favor busy players on bad teams. Are targets blocked? Very ugly. Possession value? what did I tell? It may not be perfect, rewarding overall defense rather than individual goalkeepers but clean sheets will do.
Fortunately, it also sheds light on a player who could be the best goalkeeper in the 2023-24 Champions League on this occasion. As Chuck Booth points out, Gregor Kopel has this one in the bag anyway, with six clean sheets to his name. Having the best goalkeeper in the competition is a double-edged sword. Alex Remiro, David Raya, Manuel Neuer and Yann Sommer all have the glory, but it’s the Borussia Dortmund man who takes the prize. He’ll go through as many statistical measures as you care to name.
Gobel’s 42 saves are four more than anyone else in the tournament, and his 7.09 goals against nearly doubles the second-best mark set by Anatoly Trubin. Sommer outscored his compatriot Copeland for 90 minutes of goals and percentages, but lo and behold, Inter arrived in a very bat-a-cake group before leaving for Atletico Madrid. Half of Dortmund’s 12 games turned out to be football clubs against oil state soft power vehicles. They beat both of them to top spot in a group with AC Milan … then they pipped PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid to be one of those sovereign wealth concerns again. There can be no tougher test for a team and especially for a goalkeeper. Goblet accepted it.
Other stats we like
- The problem with defensive stats is that some of the best work done out of possession involves preventing any meaningful action from taking place. They know how often the opposition will not hit the long ball into the channel Virgil van Dijk Or William Saliba Are they going to bully their center forward? However, there is a world of celebrating the active side of defending: hitting your opponent firmly but fairly, booting the ball, reading the pass before it arrives. Enter Mats Hummels, who leads the Champions League with the second most ball recoveries in tackles, interceptions and clearances. Ah, you say, but that’s because he logged more minutes in the tournament. However, convert your numbers to 90 and the Borussia Dortmund center back still leads the tackles, is third for interceptions and sixth for clearances. His season has been a masterclass in busy defending.
- Shooting Goals Added (SGA) is one of those metrics of interest. This doesn’t necessarily tell you that evaluating pre- and post-shot xG values is more meaningful than xG over a longer period of time. The best strikers aren’t the ones who score every time — Heung-min Son might say otherwise — but the ones who consistently bring themselves into shooting positions. Yet in the relatively brief life cycle of a Champions League campaign, the SGA offers a different objective, one that puts men at the forefront. Alas The games had a big impact on the competition. O Laudaro Martinez (34 shots, two goals, 5.13 xG, -1.83 SGA), if you maintain your Serie A form in the big leagues, another Champions League final would be in the works. Fabian Ruiz, we need to get you some header training.
- Are we seeing a new post-pressure approach at the top of the European game? Even Borussia Dortmund are no longer Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal coaches, returning to Wembley thanks to tight defensive lines and immaculate off-ball form. Manchester City’s pass percentage of 92.4% is the highest in five years of Champions League football. Real Madrid’s 90.1% is third, while PSG, Bayern Munich and Feyenoord are more accurate than in previous years. The overall pass rate for the competition was 83.6%, compared to 82.1% in pre-Covid 2019-20. Similarly, it has won the ball 22.6 times per game this year. Five years ago it was 24.3.
- This can be partly explained by how long each one hangs around. Twenty players have made more than 150 appearances in the history of UEFA club competitions. Four of them — Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Thomas Muller and Ivan Rakitic — joined the club this season. With all games coming in the Champions League, Muller is now level with the aging Xavi Hernandez on 151 Champions League appearances, one ahead of his compatriot Toni Kroos, who will retire from club football after Saturday’s final. As of now, at least 10 of the 15 players with the most Champions League appearances ever are currently active. Eight of the top 15 were managed by Carlo Ancelotti. This era of football is gone On that day!