Semi-finals: first-leg facts and stats
Thursday, April 24, 2014
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The omens are not good for Chelsea FC and Real Madrid CF after their first-leg results during semi-finals notable for the appearance of 41-year-old goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
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• Real Madrid CF forward Karim Benzema, the only goalscorer of the semi-final first legs, cemented his place as the competition's 11th highest marksman, his strike against FC Bayern München being his 36th in the UEFA Champions League.
• Mark Schwarzer, who replaced the injured Petr Čech in the Chelsea FC goal after 18 minutes of the game at Club Atlético de Madrid, strengthened his position as the second oldest UEFA Champions League participant, at 41 years 198 days. Another goalkeeper, Marco Ballotta of SS Lazio, holds the record at 43 years 253 days although, as his appearance came during the group stage, Schwarzer is now the oldest player to feature in the knockout stages.
• Atlético became the 27th club to appear in a UEFA Champions League semi-final and the sixth from Spain. They are the first semi-final debutants since FC Schalke 04 in 2011.
• Chelsea have twice previously drawn the first leg of a UEFA Champions League semi-final 0-0, but on each occasion they failed to progress. In 2004/05 they were held at home by Liverpool FC before losing the return 1-0 at Anfield, and in 2008/09 they came away from Barcelona with a stalemate before going out on the away-goals rule with a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
• On the two previous occasions that Real Madrid won the first leg of a UEFA Champions League knockout phase tie 1-0, they were eliminated – losing the return 2-0 to Juventus in the 1995/96 quarter-finals and the 2004/05 round of 16.
• The only previous time Bayern lost the first leg of a UEFA Champions League knockout tie 1-0, against FC Basel 1893 in the 2011/12 round of 16, they recovered to triumph 7-0 at home – a record victory in the competition's knockout stages.
