Stats & Facts: A look back at the win over Dortmund
After Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes last night, check out the key stats and standout events from the encounter on Matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League group stage.
GROUP-STAGE GLORY
Paris certainly know their way around the UEFA Champions League group stages, as the capital club are unbeaten in their last eight UCL group-stage fixtures and have recorded just one defeat (as well as 27 wins and six draws) in their 34 home games at this stage of the competition. Last night, Les Parisiens also registered their first clean sheet in the Champions League since their 1-0 win over Real Madrid in a quarter-final first leg on 15th February 2022 – exactly ten games ago.
What's more, Paris named five French players in their starting line-up – Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Ousmane Dembélé, Randal Kolo Muani and Kylian Mbappé – for the first time in a Champions League match since a game against Anderlecht on 18th October 2017, when Alphonse Areola, Presnel Kimpembe, Layvin Kurzawa, Adrien Rabiot and Mbappé were all on the field at kick-off. Talk about having the French touch!
Mbappé's LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
By scoring the game's opening goal, Mbappé took his UCL goal tally as a Paris Saint-Germain player up to 35. As well as cementing his status as Paris's top scorer in Europe's premier club competition (ahead of Edinson Cavani, who scored 30 goals), the no. 7 has also equalled Thierry Henry's goal tally in the competition with Arsenal. Of his fellow Frenchmen, only Karim Benzema has done better in the Champions League, with 78 goals scored for one team.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has also drawn level with yet another record holder by scoring for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League for the seventh consecutive season, as Les Bleus' captain has now caught up with the aforementioned Cavani, who achieved the same scoring feat between 2013–14 and 2019–20. Mbappé remains as key as ever for Paris in Europe, with his 35 goals and 23 assists making for a total of 58 goal contributions in 53 UCL games for Les Rouge et Bleu.
Hakimi and Vitinha RAMP THINGS UP
Having put in a defensively flawless performance, Achraf Hakimi was one of the key men from last night's encounter, with his 13 ball recoveries and three interceptions ranking him as the game's best player in these respects. However, Paris's no. 2 also shone in attack. The Moroccan netted Les Rouge et Bleu's second goal of the match in some style, finding the back of the net for the 11th time as a Paris player but for the very first time with the club in the Champions League. His last goal in the competition dates back to 5th November 2019, when he bagged a brace against Inter Milan for none other than... Borussia Dortmund.
Vitinha, who went on to earn himself the Player of the Match award, also made his mark on Paris's opening game of the group stage, as the Portugal international notched up his first assist for the club in the Champions League following some magnificent combination play with Hakimi.