UEFA Europa League: 2024/25 league phase in numbers
Thursday, January 30, 2025
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UEFA.com takes a look at the facts, stats and landmarks from the inaugural league phase of the UEFA Europa League.
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0 There were 144 matches in the league phase but not one hat-trick.
0 Manchester United were the only side to end the league phase without a single defeat.
1 RFS of Latvia were the only team to feature in the Europa League group stage/league phase for the first time this season, finishing 32nd with five points. Their highlight was a 1-0 win against Ajax on Matchday 7.
1 Roma defender Saud Abdulhamid became the first Saudi Arabian player to appear in the Europa League proper, and also his nation's first goalscorer after netting in the 3-0 victory against Braga on Matchday 6.
4 Just four points separated Rangers (14 points) in the eighth and final round of 16 slot and Fenerbahçe (ten points) in 24th (the final play-off slot). Braga and Elfsborg also finished on ten points, but did not qualify.
3 There were three 3-3 draws during the league phase: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Viktoria Plzeň, Porto vs Manchester United and Galatasaray vs Dynamo Kyiv.
3 On Matchday 7, Istanbul staged Europa League matches three nights running: on Tuesday Galatasaray drew 3-3 with Dynamo Kyiv, on Wednesday Beşiktaş beat Athletic Club 4-1 and on Thursday Fenerbahçe and Lyon drew 0-0.
3 Olympiacos had the best defensive record, the UEFA Conference League holders conceding just three goals in the league phase and keeping six clean sheets.
4 Athletic Club were the first team to book their place in the knockout phase, despite being in Pot 4 for the draw.
5 Ajax's 5-0 victory against Maccabi Tel-Aviv and PAOK's triumph over Ferencváros by the same scoreline were the biggest wins of the league phase.
7 Olympiacos's Ayoub El Kaabi was the league phase's top scorer with seven goals; he was leading scorer in the Conference League last season with 11, including the winner in the final.
8 Bruno Fernandes's late winner for Man Utd against Rangers on Matchday 7 means that United have now scored a 90th-minute winning goal (including stoppage time) eight times in major European competition – more often than any other English side (Arsenal and Chelsea have seven each).
19 Galatasaray ran out as the top scorers in the group stage with 19 goals; they also conceded 16 (only four sides in the league phase let in more).
23 Twenty-three national associations were represented in the league phase.
33 Qarabağ's Montenegrin forward Marko Jankoviċ was fouled 33 times in the course of the league phase, nine more than any other player.
37 Elfsborg's Isak Pettersson was the busiest goalkeeper of the league phase, making 37 saves in total.
38 Edin Džeko of Fenerbahçe is the fourth oldest scorer in the Europa League, having scored against Midtjylland on Matchday 8 aged 38 years 319 days. He will move up to third in the rankings if he scores any more goals in this season's competition.
40 Galatasaray's Victor Osimhen had the most shots of the league phase (40), including the most shots on target (16), the most shots off target (15) and the equal most number of shots blocked (9).
68 Lazio have featured in 68 Europa League group stage/league phase games – more than any other team.
70 Galatasaray forward Dries Mertens, 37, made his 70th appearance in the Europa League on Matchday 7 in 2024/25, surpassing goalkeeper Rui Patrício's record to become the player with the most appearances in the competition. The Belgian was the league phase's leading assist provider, laying on six goals.
144 There were 144 matches during the league phase, three more than in the entirety of the 2023/24 Europa League season.
408 There were 408 goals over the course of the league phase, an average of 2.84 per match.
548 Manchester United's Lisandro Martínez was the league phase's pass master, with 548 attempted (two more than any other player) and 512 completed (32 more than his nearest rival).