The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season saw the introduction of the new league phase, and one of the immediate outcomes of this fresh format was that it yielded more goals than ever before.
A total of 618 goals were scored in the tournament, translating to a rate of 3.27 goals per match – the highest rate ever seen in the Champions League era.
Not a single match from the last 16 onwards finished scoreless, and there were 27 comeback victories, including five occasions where the winning team overturned a two-goal deficit.
Heading north and east
Now into a second year of the league phase format, the Champions League’s impact is growing again in 2025/26 as the competition brings elite football to new surroundings.
Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt host Tottenham Hotspur at their Aspmyra stadium on Matchday 2 in their first home game of the league phase – with Bodø being the most northerly venue ever for a Champions League group stage or league phase match.
Also on Matchday 2, Kairat Almaty welcome 15-time European champions Real Madrid to Kazakhstan for a game that will be played at Almaty’s Ortalyk Stadion – further east than any previous fixture in Champions League history.
Building for the future
Bodø/Glimt and Kairat Almaty are two of four clubs making debut appearances in the group stage or league phase in 2025/26, and the impact of a European run is also expected to be felt at fellow debutants Pafos and Union SG.
The Belgian club will play their home matches at the RSC Anderlecht Stadium this season, but hope to use the success of their European campaign to help progress plans to upgrade their home ground in Brussels.
“The Champions League is the cherry on top of the resurrection of our team, and we hope we can play as many European games as possible,” Union SG supporter Miro told UEFA in issue 24 of Champions Journal.
“It also brings us financial rewards and the potential to help the team grow. For example, to build the stadium up to become eligible for European competitions, or to keep our key players after good seasons, with other teams often coming in with lucrative offers.”
Read more in the Champions Journal
The information and quotes in this article are taken from a feature in the latest issue of the Champions Journal. You can purchase Issue 24 and all previous releases here.
