The Champions League returned this week, and Matchday 2 of the competition was as thrilling as we’ve come to expect.
Six teams scored four or more goals, so it follows that there were plenty of eye-catching attacking performances.
Here, we take you through the best-performing players by various key attacking metrics…
Champions League most goals: Barcola bags hat-trick and Tresoldi notches treble
Bradley Barcola opened his Liverpool account in style by hitting a hat-trick in the Reds’ 6-3 win over LASK in Austria.
The France star’s three-goal haul came a day after Club Brugge’s young Italian striker Nicolo Tresoldi had achieved the feat in his side’s memorable 4-3 victory away to Inter Milan.
Seven players bagged braces on Matchday 2, including Aston Villa duo Nicolas Jackson and Ross Barkley en route to a 6-0 drubbing of Fenerbahce.
Player | Goals |
Bradley Barcola (Liverpool) | 3 |
Nicolo Tresoldi (Brugge) | 3 |
Florian Flecker (LASK) | 2 |
Nicolas Jackson (Villa) | 2 |
Ross Barkley (Villa) | 2 |
Harry Kane (Bayern) | 2 |
Donyell Malen (Roma) | 2 |
Lautaro Martinez (Inter) | 2 |
Erling Haaland (Man City) | 2 |
Champions League most shots: Martinez on a mad one
Inter captain Lautaro Martinez ended up on the losing side, but he mustered a whopping 12 shots – scoring twice.
Only two other players came within four of Martinez’s total: Erling Haaland, who also bagged a brace in Manchester City’s 4-2 defeat to European champions Paris Saint-Germain; and Slavia Prague’s Lukas Provod, who was unable to find the net in a 2-0 loss to Sabah.
Player | Shots |
Lautaro Martinez (Inter) | 12 |
Erling Haaland (Man City) | 8 |
Lukas Provod (Slavia Prague) | 8 |
Antoine Semenyo (Man City) | 6 |
Florian Wirtz (Liverpool) | 6 |
Champions League most shots on target: Martinez hits the mark
It comes as no great surprise to see that Martinez also had the most attempts on target, at least testing the goalkeeper with five of his 12 efforts.
Four players chalked up four shots on target, with Harry Kane notching two goals in Bayern Munich’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Viking.
Player | Shots on target |
Lautaro Martinez (Inter) | 5 |
Anthony Gordon (Barcelona) | 4 |
Bradley Barcola (Liverpool) | 4 |
Harry Kane (Bayern) | 4 |
Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) | 4 |
Champions League highest xG: Martinez miles ahead
Likewise, Martinez topped the Matchday 2 Expected Goals (xG) charts, falling just short of the 3.00 xG mark.
The only other player to pass 2.00 xG was hat-trick hero Tresoldi in that same game, while Barcola completed a clinical treble from 1.49 xG.
Player | xG |
Lautaro Martinez (Inter) | 2.97 |
Nicolo Tresoldi (Brugge) | 2.18 |
Bradley Barcola (Liverpool) | 1.49 |
Harry Kane (Bayern) | 1.40 |
Lukas Provod (Slavia Prague) | 1.13 |
Romeo Vermant (Brugge) | 1.11 |
Florian Flecker (LASK) | 1.11 |
Champions League most big chances scored: Tresoldi takes every opportunity
But Tresoldi was the most clinical player of the round by another measure, scoring all three of the big chances that fell his way.
Barcola and Martinez were among four players who found the net with two big chances.
Player | Big chances scored |
Nicolo Tresoldi (Brugge) | 3 |
Florian Flecker (LASK) | 2 |
Bradley Barcola (Liverpool) | 2 |
Donyell Malen (Roma) | 2 |
Lautaro Martinez (Inter) | 2 |
