12 hours ago
7
Nine g/a in six games
©TM/IMAGO
The most prestigious game in club football is upon us with Arsenal and PSG competing in the Champions League final. The Budapest showdown will wrap up the club season ahead of the World Cup and it will feature the best two clubs in Europe this season. Arsenal ended a 22-year wait to be crowned English Premier League champions once again, while PSG won their fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title.
Luis Enrique’s men are aiming to emulate Real Madrid by becoming only the second side to win back-to-back Champions League titles. Meanwhile, Arsenal have never won the competition as Mikel Arteta’s men target a historic double. Some of the best players in the world will be on show and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia deserves to be mentioned in those conversations. After scoring in the 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in last year’s final, the 25-year-old has been outstanding on PSG’s run to Budapest and his form in the knockout stages is amongst the best in competition’s history.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s knockout excellence
No player has provided more goal contributions in the Champions League this season than Kvaratskhelia, currently tied on 16 with Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane. The Georgian winger has scored 10 goals and registered six assists in 15 appearances but it’s his form in the knockout stages that has been truly scintillating. The PSG star has provided an incredible nine goal contributions in six games and registered in every single game - we’ve discounted the play-off against Monaco to ensure fair comparisons to previous Champions League.
And as the graphic above illustrates, Kvaratskhelia’s nine goal contributions ranks him amongst the most productive players ever in the knockout stages of a single Champions League campaign. Unsurprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo ranks first after delivering a remarkable 12 goal contributions in seven games as Real Madrid won the Champions League in 2017. Ronaldo also ranks joint-second alongside Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich and Karim Benzema with 11. Barcelona legend Lionel Messi’s highest total was 10 during the 2011/12 season and Kvaratskhelia could feasibly rival some of the aforementioned players - if he can deliver against Arsenal.
Note: When you search for something on Google, you’ll see a box with the latest news alongside the usual results. If you set Transfermarkt as your preferred source, our content will appear there more often. Add Transfermarkt as your preferred source here.
