Record crowd sees Real Madrid edge out Krasnodar

Competition history was made on Wednesday when a UEFA Youth League-record crowd of over 32,510 watched Krasnodar's play-off at home against Real Madrid.

Buoyed by huge support from the stands, Murad Musaev's side matched their Spanish visitors all the way, the game ending goalless after 90 minutes, but 17-year-old goalkeeper Mohamet Ramos was to be the hero of the day, saving all three Krasnodar penalties as his side prevailed 3-0 in the shoot-out to book their place in the round of 16.

Madrid's Adri up against Krasnodar's Arutyun Grigoryan©Getty Images

The highest previous attendance for a UEFA Youth League game in the competition's five seasons so far has been 17,000 for Astana's 5-0 home group stage loss to Benfica on 25 November 2015.

"The match turned out to be special as we played at the Champions League-standard stadium," said Real Madrid defender Adri. "It was great to show what you can do in front of such a big, appreciative crowd. The match was very difficult, and our goalkeeper Mohamet Ramos was great in the shoot-out."

Krasnodar midfielder Artem Golubov was disappointed but not too disheartened by the outcome. "We have taken a lot from playing in the UEFA Youth League, because we faced teams with different styles and tactics," he explained.

"The huge crowd did not put any extra pressure on us – far from it. The fans were our 12th man and alll our players are grateful to those who came to watch us. My parents came here all the way from from Volgograd [a 600km journey]. It is a pity that we could not please everyone with a victory."

Mohamet Ramos receiving treatment©Getty Images

UEFA Youth League record crowds 
32,510: Krasnodar v Real Madrid, 2017/18 play-offs
17,000: Astana v Benfica, 2015/16 group stage
13,162: Anderlecht v Porto, 2014/15 quarter-finals
12,871: Anderlecht v Barcelona, 2014/15 round of 16
10,124: Maccabi Haifa v Borussia Dortmund, 2013/14 round of 16

UEFA youth competition record crowds*
72,800: Hungary v Soviet Union (Moscow), 1984 U18 final
54,689: Germany v Italy (Stuttgart), 2016 U19 group stage
48,000: Portugal v Germany (Nuremberg), 1992 U18 quarter-finals
40,000: West Germany v Israel (Hanover), 1997 U17 group stage
40,000: England v Soviet Union (Moscow), 1984 U18 second round
37,800: Soviet Union v Luxembourg (Moscow), 1984 U18 second round
37,000: Republic of Ireland v Soviet Union (Moscow), 1984 U18 semi-finals
33,000: Azerbaijan v Portugal (Baku), 2016 U17 group stage
32,510: Krasnodar v Real Madrid (Krasnodar), 2017/18 UEFA Youth League play-offs

*includes UEFA Youth League and UEFA European Under-16/U17/U18 and U19 Championships