This season's Champions League record-breakers
Thursday, December 11, 2014
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Lionel Messi is no stranger to tearing up history books, but Luiz Adriano, Xavi Hernández and Francesco Totti have also starred in a record-breaking group stage.
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• Lionel Messi's eight Group F goals took him to 75 in the UEFA Champions League, overtaking Raúl González (71) as the competition's all-time leading marksman.
• FC Shakhtar Donetsk forward Luiz Adriano equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's record – set in 2013/14 – of nine group stage goals.
• FC Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernández heads the UEFA Champions League's all-time appearance listings, having moved onto 146 games in the competition.
• Real Madrid CF became only the sixth side to claim maximum points in a group – and the first club to achieve the feat twice, having also won six out of six in 2011/12. Their section-winning margin of 11 points is a joint record.
• FC BATE Borisov conceded their 23rd and 24th Group H goals in the 2-0 loss to Athletic Club on matchday six, surpassing the previous group stage most of 22, belonging to GNK Dinamo Zagreb (2011/12) and FC Nordsjælland (2012/13).
• By contrast, AS Monaco FC became only the ninth team to concede just one goal in their six group games. Juventus have managed it twice, in 1996/97 and 2004/05.
• Roma captain Francesco Totti became the oldest scorer in the competition's history with his strike at Manchester City FC on matchday two; he eclipsed his own milestone by scoring against PFC CSKA Moskva on 25 November, aged 38 years and 59 days.
• FC Bayern München's 7-1 thrashing of Roma on matchday three made them the first side to register seven goals in a UEFA Champions League match for a third time, the Bavarians having also beaten Sporting Clube de Portugal 7-1 at home in March 2009, and FC Basel 1893 7-0 in 2011/12.
• Shakhtar became the first team to net six in the first half of a UEFA Champions League fixture in their 7-0 triumph over BATE on 21 October.
• The 40 goals scored on the Tuesday of matchday three represented a record for a single eight-game matchnight, with only the 44 on 1 October 1997 bettering it.