7 Things You Might Have Missed From Champions League Matchday 3

​Another set of matches has been and gone in the Champions League and, like always, it has been full of drama and excitement.

Whilst there is a temptation to just look to the scores, there are some pretty phenomenal underlying stats that you may have missed.

Without further ado, here they are:


Dries Mertens Overtakes Diego Maradona 

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​Finally, it's Dries Mertens appreciation time! The Belgian has to be one of the most underrated players in Europe for a number of years, and his two goals last night in Napoli's 3-2 away win over RB Salzburg saw Mertens surpass Diego Maradona's goalscoring record for Napoli.

His tally now stands at an astonishing 116 goals for the Italian side, just five behind all-time top scorer Marek Hamsik.  A hell of a record to break.


Joining the 200 Club

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain,Dejan Lovren

Both ​Liverpool and ​Paris Saint-Germain took their opportunity to score their 200th Champions League goals this week; ​a historic feat for both clubs.

Olympiakos, on the other hand, achieved a slightly less desirable record. Their 3-2 defeat to ​Bayern Munich saw the Greek side concede their 200th Champions League goal, becoming only the seventh club to do so. Ouch.


Kylian Mbappe Breaks Messi Record

Kylian Mbappe

It's an unusual thing to witness in football: a substitute scoring a hat-trick. But, Mbappe managed it with little difficulty against ​Club Brugge as PSG slaughtered the Belgians 5-0. 

In doing so, ​Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to score 15 Champions League goals at only 20 years and 306 days old. The Frenchman breaks the record that was held by a certain ​Lionel Messi


Juventus Home Form Continues

Paulo Dybala

There was a scare for the Italian champions midweek, as Lokomotiv Moscow were leading in Turin until the 77th minute. However, Dybala's brace, his first Champions League goals in six games, saw ​Juventus pick up another European victory on home soil.

This means Juventus have lost only two of their last 39 Champions League home games, winning 27 and drawing ten. The Allianz Stadium truly is a fortress.


Hat-trick Delight for Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling

It's been a difficult couple of weeks for ​Raheem Sterling, but he returned to the Champions League with a sense of ruthlessness. In ​Manchester City's ​5-1 win over Atalanta, Sterling grabbed an 11-minute hat-trick and looked at his electric best.

This makes him only the eighth different English player to have scored a ​Champions League treble, joining esteemed company such as Alan Shearer, Andy Cole and England teammate Harry Kane.


Firmino Is the King of Assists in Europe

Jhon Lucumi,Roberto Firmino

​While Roberto Firmino didn't get on the score sheet in Liverpool's 4-1 win over Genk, the Brazilian bagged yet another assist in the Champions League bringing his total to 11 since the start of the 2017/18 season.

No player has more assists in this time, and it highlights just how vital ​Liverpool's number nine is to the Reds' dynamic attack. 


Erling Braut Håland's Immense Debut Season

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The Norwegian is playing his first ​Champions League campaign, but it looks like the striker has been playing Europe's elite since he was a toddler. The Red Bull Salzburg attacker has now scored six goals in his first three games, notching at least one in each match, making him the first player to achieve this feat in Champions League history.



Source : 90min