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Shoot-outs, shutouts and a statuesque Swede feature in FIFA.com’s latest stats review, along with lots of late drama in a steelyard and an all-conquering city’s dethroning Down Under.
62days before Ligue 1’s conclusion, Paris Saint-Germain secured the title, surpassing Bayern Munich’s 2013/14 record for any of Europe’s ‘big five’ championships. Laurent Blanc’s men did it in some style, thrashing Troyes 9-0 to set the French top flight’s best all-time away win and the club’s biggest-ever victory in the competition. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was on target four times, thus becoming - in his 115th appearance - the fastest player to score a century of Ligue 1 goals since Carlos Bianchi in 1977 (110 appearances).
15penalties are what made Atletico Madrid’s sudden-death defeat of PSV the highest-scoring shoot-out in European Cup/UEFA Champions League history.Atleti registered 24 shots over 120 minutes, but the reflexes of Jeroen Zoet ensured that, for the first time since the tournament was rebranded in 1992, a two-legged tie failed to produce a goal. Diego Simeone’s men duly prevailed 8-7 to make Jan Oblak the maiden goalkeeper to win back-to-back shoot-outs – after coming on as sub in last season’s Round of 16, the Slovenian helped the Madrid outfit eliminate Bayer Leverkusen. Steaua’s 2-0 win over Barcelona on penalties in the 1986 final remains the competition’s lowest-scoring shoot-out.
13seasons is what it took the NZFC trophy to finally relocate from Auckland. Waitakere United and Auckland City had been its only champions, and the latter were the overwhelming favourites to win an unprecedented fourth straight crown – and eighth overall – last Thursday. The FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2014 semi-finalists had, after all, cruised to the regular-season title and were undefeated in 28 domestic games, while Team Wellington had lost all three of their previous Grand Final appearances. Auckland were only two minutes away from doing just that when a Cole Peverley penalty sent the contest into extra time, before goals from Ben Harris and Tom Jackson seized the Teedubs a 4-2 upset in Albany, Auckland. It was the first time City forward Ryan De Vries had finished on the losing side in seven successive Grand Final appearances.
10straight shutouts is what Juventus became the first team in Serie A history to achieve on Friday. Since Antonio Cassano scored in Sampdoria’s 2-1 loss to La Vecchia Signora on 10 January, Gigi Buffon has gone 926 minutes without conceding in the Italian top tier, just three shy of the record Sebastiano Rossi set while guarding the AC Milan net in 1993/94. The 1-0 victory over Sassuolo means Juve have now taken 55 points from a possible 57 since last losing – coincidentally to the same opponents by the same result in October.
3goals were scored – and three different results stood – during a dramatic period of injury time at Pohang Steel Yard in Round 1 on Saturday. A Jung Jogook double, on his Gwangju bow, had seemingly secured the visitors a shock win, but an 88th-minute effort from fellow debutant Dong-Hyunyang gave Pohang Steelers a lifeline. Dongwong Sim then equalised after the clock hit 90, before Hwang Jisoo, in his 13th season at Pohang, swung the game in their favour. Deep into stoppage time, however, Kim Jeonghyun, also debuting for his new club, levelled for Gwangju. It was the highest-scoring K-League draw since October 2014.
Quick hits
50 goals is what Amber Hearn became the first male or female New Zealand international to reach, after her firm strike en route to a penalty shoot-out defeat to Iceland in the Algarve Cup’s third-place playoff.
45 was the age at which Edwin van der Sar came out of retirement to help injury-plagued VV Noordwijk. Despite being almost five years after he hung up his gloves, the Netherlands’ most-capped player’s penalty save earned the Dutch fourth-flighters a 1-1 draw with Jodan Boys.
14 years after they last lost three consecutive home matches in all competitions, Arsenal suffered the same fate in an FA Cup quarter-final elimination by Watford on Sunday.