Goals, goals and more goals – it’s been a common theme of Liverpool’s run to the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League final. Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, armed to the teeth with a formidable trident of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, have dazzled football lovers with their exciting, free-flowing attacking ethos.
The Merseyside club have netted a staggering 46 goals in the competition – including six in the play-offs – thus breaking the all-time scoring record in a single Champions League season.
With Liverpool having notched significant milestones en route to facing Real Madrid in Kiev, FIFA.com takes a look at some noteworthy stats ahead of the finale, where the winner will book a place at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup UAE.
46 Liverpool have scored 46 goals – with six coming in the play-offs – in this year’s Champions League, the outright most for a team in a single season in European competition. The Reds also became the first side to score 22 away goals, including qualifiers, in a European campaign.
32 goals is the staggering haul that Salah amassed during the 2017/18 English Premier League season, beating the 31-goal record previously achieved by Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez. The Egyptian star’s ten Champions League goals this campaign is also the most scored by an African player in a single season in the competition.
20 Liverpool are just the second team to have scored at least 20 away goals in a single Champions League campaign. Klopp’s men netted their 19th and 20th away goals against Roma in the semi-final second leg at the Stadio Olimpico, equalling the Champions League record set by Real Madrid in 2013/14.
19 At age 19, Trent Alexander-Arnold could become the youngest Englishman to play in a Champions League final. Should he feature, the right-back – who was selected in England’s provisional FIFA World Cup™ squad for Russia 2018 – would surpass Owen Hargreaves’ record (20) when the former Bayern Munich midfielder played in the 2001 final against Valencia.
13 Thirteen goals scored in Liverpool and Roma’s semi-final meeting is the joint-highest total in a two-legged UEFA Champions League tie. Liverpool 7-6 Roma equalled the aggregate scoring achieved by Real Madrid when they put Sporting Lisbon to the sword with a 12-1 victory over two legs in 2008/09.
10 The number of goals Firmino and Salah have netted in the Champions League this season, ranking them both joint-second behind top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo (15) going into the final. Firmino’s haul equalled the Champions League record for most goals scored by a Brazilian player in a single season, matching Mario Jardel (Porto, 1999/00), Rivaldo (Barcelona, 1999/00), Kaka (AC Milan, 2006/07) and Neymar (Barcelona, 2014/15).
9 assists are what Liverpool’s James Milner has registered during the current Champions League campaign, surpassing the record previously held by Wayne Rooney and Neymar. Team-mate Firmino could yet overtake the former England midfielder’s assist haul, with the Brazilian international currently on seven ahead of the final against Los Blancos in Kiev.
8 Saturday’s showdown will be Liverpool’s eighth European Cup/Champions League final, more than any other English club. The Reds, who have lifted the trophy five times to date, last won the competition in 2005, when they pulled off a remarkable comeback after trailing 3-0 at half-time against Italian giants AC Milan in Istanbul. Real Madrid’s last defeat in the finale came in 1981. Their opponents? Liverpool, who ran out 1-0 winners courtesy of an Alan Kennedy goal.
6 While the exploits of Salah, Firmino and Mane have dominated the headlines, the contribution of goalkeeper Loris Karius at the other end of the pitch cannot be overlooked. The German shot-stopper has kept six clean sheets in 12 Champions League games – more than any other goalkeeper during the current European campaign.
3 Salah (10), Firmino (10) and Mane (9) are the highest-scoring trio in Champions League history going into the finale. Liverpool’s goal-hungry front three have so far notched 29 goals between them, surpassing the record of 28 previously set by Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013/14.
2 Liverpool's 7-0 win against Spartak Moscow made them only the second club to score seven twice in a UEFA Champions League season, matching the feat of Bayern Munich in 2014/15. Klopp’s men recorded a 7-0 victory in Maribor before ending the group stage with another 7-0 rout against the Russian side. The Reds’ biggest win in the Champions League came in 2007 when they defeated Turkish side Besiktas 8-0. Coincidentally, the only other team to win 8-0 in the Champions League are their final opponents on Saturday: Real Madrid; against Malmo in 2015.