Wednesday, May 2, 2012

STAT ATTACK: CHELSEA V BAYERN

In terms of goal-scoring and defending, there is little to separate the two teams. Bayern Munich have scored 25 goals in the UEFA Champions League this season, compared to 24 for Chelsea, while the Germans have also conceded one goal less, 10 versus 11.

Bayern are the more accurate team in terms of their shooting, getting 90 attempts on target from a total of 155 efforts (58% accuracy), while Chelsea managed just 78 on target from a total of 161 (48% accuracy). However, the English side has needed an average of just 3.25 shots on target to score a goal, while the German club has averaged 3.6.


Even in discipline they are pretty similar: Bayern have racked up 28 yellow cards to Chelsea’s 27 (even though the German side has committed nearly 40 more fouls overall) and each has had one red card in the tournament. Chelsea will be without John Terry, Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles in the final due to suspension, while Bayern will miss David Alaba, Holger Badstuber and Luiz Gustavo for the same reason.

                  GF   GA    YC   RC   AT   AW    FC

Bayern       25     10     28     1      90    65    195
Chelsea     24      11     27     1      78    83    157

GF=goals for, GA=goals against, YC=yellow cards, RC=red cards, AT=attempts on target, AW=attempts off target, FC=fouls committed

Goal scorers and creators

You would have to say that Bayern have the edge in this department, as Mario Gomez has racked up 12 goals in the competition compared to just five for Chelsea’s top scorer Didier Drobga. Gomez is just two goals behind leading scorer Lionel Messi, so the Golden Boot will be his if he racks up a hat-trick in the final. Wing wonders Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery have scored seven between them, while the Blues’ Fernando Torres and Frank Lampard have three a piece.

As far as assists go, Ribery stands head and shoulders above anyone in either team with five to his name. That probably explains why he is such a marked man: the Frenchman has suffered more fouls, 42, than anyone in the tournament. The next most fouled is Lionel Messi on just 26.

Top scorers:

Bayern

12 – Mario Gomez
4 – Arjen Robben
3 – Frank Ribery

Chelsea

5 – Didier Drogba
3 – Fernando Torres
3 – Frank Lampard

Top assists:

Bayern

5 – Franck Ribery
2 – Bastian Schweinsteiger, Arjen Robben, Holger Badstuber and Toni Kroos

Chelsea

3 – Frank Lampard
2 – Florent Malouda

Previous meetings:

The sides have met just once before in the UEFA Champions League, a 2004/05 quarterfinal tie that produced no less than 11 goals over the two legs. Chelsea advanced 6-5 on aggregate. Neutrals will certainly hope to see a similar goal return in Munich on May 19...

The Blues also have a pretty good record against German teams in the competition, with seven wins from 13 matches, while Bayern’s record against English teams has seen them pick up 13 wins from 35 matches.

The last time the Bavarians faced English opposition in the final of the Champions League was back in 1999 when Manchester United famously scored two late goals to secure a dramatic 2-1 win in Barcelona.

2004/05 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal:

1st leg: Chelsea 4-2 Bayern (J Cole 4, Lampard 60 70, Drogba 80; Schweinsteiger 52, Ballack 90 pen)
2nd leg: Bayern 3-2 Chelsea (Lampard 30, Drogba 80; Pizarro 65, Guerrero 90, Scholl 90+5)

Chelsea won 6-5 on aggregate

Bayern v English sides

 P     W     D     L

35    13    12    10

Chelsea v German sides

 P    W    D     L

13    7     2      4

Tournament history

There’s no question that Bayern have the superior heritage in the competition, winning it four times from eight appearances in the final, the most recent of which was in 2010 when they lost to Jose Mourinho’s all-conquering Inter Milan. Chelsea, in contrast, are making just their second appearance in the final after 2008’s heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United in Moscow.

                                             Bayern                Chelsea

Finals/wins                               8/4                         1/0

Bayern: Winners :  1974, 1975, 1976, 2001 / runners-up 1982, 1987, 1999, 2010

Chelsea: Runners-up :  2008

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