Semi-finals: first-leg stats and facts
Friday, April 25, 2014
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SL Benfica remain unbeaten, but that 2-1 scoreline gives Juventus hope, while history may be repeating for Valencia CF. UEFA.com tots up the key figures after the opening fixtures.
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• With their 2-1 victory over Juventus, SL Benfica extended their UEFA Europa League record marks to 25 wins (in just 36 matches) and 68 goals. The Portuguese club have now played 30 matches in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase and five in the semi-finals – both competition highs.
• Benfica remain undefeated in their seven UEFA Europa League games this season, winning six of them. Juventus will have to end that record if they are to progress to the final in their home stadium.
• The reverse in Lisbon was Juventus's first in the competition this term and only their second in 17 UEFA Europa League fixtures, ending a run of 12 without defeat stretching back to the 2009/10 round of 16, when they lost 4-1 at Fulham FC. The longest unbeaten run in the competition thus remains with Club Atlético de Madrid, who won 15 successive games between November 2011 and October 2012.
• Benfica's victory prolonged their sequence of never having lost a UEFA Europa League match at home. Indeed, they have won 16 of their 18 encounters in Lisbon and are now just one short of the competition record of 19 home games without defeat, also ongoing, that is held by city rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal.
• The Sevilla FC v Valencia CF tie is the eighth in the UEFA Europa League between two teams from the same country and the fifth between Spanish clubs. Valencia lost both of their previous all-Spanish ties, both against Atlético, while Sevilla won theirs, against city rivals Real Betis Balompié on penalties in this season's round of 16.
• Benfica also won the first leg of their 2010/11 semi-final 2-1 at home, against SC Braga, but failed to progress after losing the return 1-0. A 2-1 home triumph was also insufficient for Lisbon neighbours Sporting the following season as they lost the second instalment of their semi-final 3-1 to Athletic Club. Those are the only instances of a 2-1 home victory in the first leg of a UEFA Europa League semi-final.
• There has never previously been a 2-0 home win in the first leg of a UEFA Europa League semi-final, although on the one occasion that a team claimed a first-leg victory by a two-goal margin, in 2011/12, Atlético successfully protected their 4-2 lead, also winning the second leg, 1-0 away to Valencia.
