PSG v Real Madrid - what the stats say

Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have met on 10 previous occasions in European competition, with the Spanish side just edging the head-to-head in terms of victories (W4 D3 L3). They last faced each other in the UEFA Champions League in 2019-20, where PSG avoided defeat in both meetings in the group stage (W1 D1).

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This will be the fourth time that Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have faced each other in the knockout stages of a European competition. After being eliminated in the first two (1992-93 UEFA Cup quarter-final and 1993-94 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final), Real Madrid progressed from the most recent one, knocking the French side out in the Round of 16 in the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League.

Paris Saint-Germain won 3-0 against Real Madrid the last time they hosted them in the UEFA Champions League (in September 2019). However, they were beaten the last time they hosted them in the competition in the knockout stages, losing 1-2 in the Round of 16 second leg in 2017-18 and being eliminated in the process.

Real Madrid won all three of their away games in the group stage of this season’s UEFA Champions League, while keeping a clean sheet on each occasion (1-0 v Inter Milan, 5-0 v Shakhtar Donetsk and 3-0 v Sheriff Tiraspol). The only previous UEFA Champions League campaign in which they won their first four away games was in 2014-15, during Carlo Ancelotti’s first spell in charge.

Paris Saint-Germain have only won one of their last six home games in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, including four defeats in this run (D1). Indeed, they failed to win all three of their home games in the knockout stage last season (D1 L2), despite making it to the semi-final stage.

Real Madrid have averaged 8.4 passes in the sequences leading to their 13 goals in the UEFA Champions League this season (excluding own goals) – since 2003-04, this is the highest average by a team in a single campaign in the competition, among those with at least 10+ goals scored.

Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé has been involved in more open play sequences ending in goals (17) than any other player in the UEFA Champions League. Mbappé also has the highest xG sequence involvement of any player in this period (16.4).

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema has scored in each of his last four UEFA Champions League appearances, scoring five goals in total. The Frenchman could become just the third player to score in five consecutive appearances for the club in the competition, after Cristiano Ronaldo (four times, between 2013 and 2018) and Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2007.

Across the last three editions of the UEFA Champions League (since 2019-20), the three players who have made the most successful take-ons in the competition are Lionel Messi (100), Neymar (87) and Kylian Mbappé (69). This trio have started together in half of Paris Saint-Germain’s games in the UEFA Champions League so far this season (3/6).

Real Madrid winger Vinícius Júnior has carried the ball further upfield than any other player in the UEFA Champions League this season (1,227 metres), while he also leads all players for shots generated via carries (17) - the act of moving at least five metres with the ball – attempting nine shots and creating eight chances for a teammate.