Keepers headlining with their heads and hands**

A pair of on-song Lusophones**

24

of the 24 teams Luuk de Jong has played against in the Eredivisie he has scored against after he chalked the only blot off his copybook. The Switzerland-born striker was surprisingly dropped for the meeting with Sparta Rotterdam, but came on at half-time and took just seven minutes to score the only goal, which gave PSV their 12th successive win in all competitions.

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years: that is what had passed without a club from outside Europe’s top five leagues winning all three of their away games in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League until Besiktas won in Porto, Monaco and Leipzig. Two sides achieved the feat in 1996 – an Ajax team including Jari Litmanen and Patrick Kluivert and a Porto one spearheaded by Jardel.

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saves is, amazingly, what Manchester United’s David de Gea made in a 3-1 win at Arsenal. Only one man, Pescara’s Mattia Perin, who made 15 against Fiorentina in 2013, has more in a match in one of Europe’s big five leagues over the last decade.

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goals or assists in his last 11 appearances for Liverpool is what Philippe Coutinho has managed. The 25-year-old midfielder became against Spartak Moscow the third Reds player to net a Champions League hat-trick, after Michael Owen and Yossi Benayoun.

10

hours and 47 minutes: that is how long Seattle Sounders have gone without conceding in the MLS playoffs. The last goal Brian Schmetzer’s side conceded in any game was over two months ago. The Sounders will now meet Toronto FC, whom they beat on penalties in the MLS Cup 2016, in this year’s showpiece match.

10

Champions League goals is what Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to reach – by a whopping two years. It took the Paris Saint-Germain striker, who turns 19 just before Christmas, just 15 appearances. Previous record-holder Karim Benzema was almost 21 when he achieved the feat, while the only other players to do it before their 22nd birthday were Javier Saviola, Lionel Messi and Raul.

7

times is what Kengo Nakamura had finished as a runner-up with Kawasaki Frontale until, at the age of 37, he won the first title of his club or 68-cap international career. Frontale remarkably recovered an eight-point deficit in the last seven rounds to pip record eight-time champions Kashima Antlers on goal difference and win the first major title in their 62-year history. Yu Kobayashi hit 13 goals in Frontale’s last 12 games, including a hat-trick on the final day, to pip Kenyu Sugimoto to the leading scorer’s award.

6

games of a Champions League group is what Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player in history to score in. The 32-year-old Portuguese netted nine overall – three more than any other player, as many as Barcelona, and seven more than he has in ten outings in La Liga this season.

3

goalkeepers in Serie A history have now scored in open play following Alberto Brignoli’s drama-drenched jaw-dropper saw him emulate Michelangelo Rampulla and Massimo Taibi. Benevento were on the brink of a record-extending 15th straight defeat when, in the 95th minute, the 26-year-old snatched them a 2-2 draw with AC Milan.