Champions League Matchday 2 Defensive Stats: Most Tackles, Interceptions, Clearances, Aerial Duels Won & More

There were goals aplenty on Matchday 2 of the Champions League – but a commendable eight teams still kept clean sheets during this week’s fixtures.

The round’s opening two games saw defensive masterclasses from Sporting CP and Sabah FK, with both sides registering 2-0 scorelines against Lens and Slavia Prague, respectively.

Tuesday evening then delivered shut-outs for Arsenal (3-0 vs Lille) and RB Leipzig (1-0 vs PSV Eindhoven), while Atlético Madrid beat Manchester United 1-0 at the Metropolitano.

Only two rearguards remained unbreached on Wednesday, though, as Aston Villa enjoyed a perfect night by thrashing Fenerbahçe 6-0 on home soil.

Stuttgart couldn’t match the Villans’ goal tally, but can still be content with a comfortable 3-0 away victory at Slovakian champions Slovan Bratislava.

As we reflect on a host of resilient displays across the continent, here are some of the key defensive stat leaders following Matchday 2’s action…

Champions League Most Tackles: Romero rearguard action helps Villarreal to victory

Villarreal were in need of a result against Napoli this week, after losing 3-2 to Borussia Dortmund in the competition’s opening round – and with a tough test against Liverpool on the horizon.

Fortunately, they were able to claim a valuable three points on Matchday 2, courtesy of a 3-1 home triumph versus Napoli.

They needed left-back Carlos Romero to be at his best at El Madrigal, however, as he racked up a commendable eight tackles over the 90 minutes.

That was more than any other player on Tuesday or Wednesday, though the trio of Marlon Gomes (Shakhtar Donetsk), Bruno Guimarães (Arsenal) and Joško Gvardiol (Manchester City) only registered one less with seven apiece.

Meanwhile, five players accumulated six tackles, including Aston Villa’s Matty Cash and Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi.

Champions League Most Interceptions: Energetic García hits top gear in Betis win

There is more parity at the summit of the interceptions leaderboard, with four of Matchday 2’s top performers preventing five successful opposition passes.

Cristian Romero (Atlético Madrid) and Fran García (Real Betis) each received three points in exchange for their defensive endeavours, with García also contributing an assist in the 3-2 win against Porto.

But the same can’t be said for Jobe Bellingham – whose Borussia Dortmund team lost 1-0 to Bodø/Glimt – or Fenerbahçe’s Milan Škriniar.

The latter ended up on the wrong side of 6-0 defeat to Aston Villa despite registering five interceptions, suggesting the result could have been far more one-sided without his various involvements!

Škriniar wasn’t the only Turkish Süper Lig representative to rank highly, either, with Galatasaray’s Davinson Sánchez one of five players to amass four interceptions.

Unfortunately he also wasn’t rewarded with a win, as Barcelona came back from a goal down to beat Okan Buruk’s team 4-1 in Istanbul.

Champions League Most Clearances: Veiga plays vital role for El Submarino Amarillo

Renato Veiga is the second Villarreal star to top one of our defensive stat categories for Matchday 2, hinting that El Submarino Amarillo rode their luck somewhat in the 3-1 win over Napoli.

The Portuguese centre-back made a sky-high 12 clearances against Massimiliano Allegri’s outfit, ensuring the Neapolitans weren’t able to turn their marginally superior xG (1.87 vs 1.34) into a tangible result.

Two players were just behind Veiga when it came to clearances, with Jeff Chabot (Stuttgart) and Alemão (LASK) each on 11.

Chabot can reflect on a perfect start to Stuttgart’s 2026/27 league phase, after their 3-0 win at Slovan Bratislava followed a 3-1 triumph versus Viking in the opening round.

A trickier opponent lies in store, though, with Atlético Madrid up next – and Alemão can attest to the unique challenges of facing one of Europe’s elite sides.

His high volume of interventions could do little to stop a rampant Liverpool team, as the Reds hammered LASK 6-3 during a teatime goal fest on Wednesday.

Four other players reached double figures for clearances, too, in Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Armando Obispo (PSV Eindhoven), Henrik Falchener (Viking) and Jostein Gundersen (Bodø/Glimt).

Champions League Most Aerial Duels Won: Gundersen guides Bodø/Glimt to memorable win

Talking of Gundersen, the Norwegian centre-back put in a colossal display as Bodø/Glimt secured one of the results of the round – beating German giants Borussia Dortmund 1-0 at home.

He won eight aerial duels against BVB, more than any other player on Matchday 2, as well as making a notable nine headed clearances.

Following closely behind were Ayase Ueda (Lille) and Joy-Lance Mickels (Sabah FK), who each won seven aerial duels in their respective fixtures.

The latter’s performance led to an historic result for Sabah, as the Azerbaijani outfit claimed their first-ever Champions League win against Slavia Prague (2-0).

Filip Kostić (PSV Eindhoven), Marc Bartra (Real Betis) and Chabot (Stuttgart) deserve honourable mentions for five aerial duel wins a piece, with the latter two helping put three points on the board for their teams.

However, Kostić will be frustrated that PSV couldn't match that feat, as the Dutch side remain winless following a 1-0 loss to RB Leipzig.

Champions League Most Defensive Third Regains: All-action Araújo continues perfect start for Sporting

Sporting CP can be delighted with two wins from two to start their Champions League campaign – and Maxi Araújo played a significant part in the second of those victories.

The Uruguayan left-back was an all-action presence in defensive areas for the Leões, as they beat Lens 2-0 in Tuesday’s early kick-off.

He regained possession a round-leading eight times in the defensive third at Stade Bollaert-Delelis, helping Sporting follow up on a Round 1 triumph over Galatasaray (3-1) by putting another win on the board.

And Zlatko Tripić was similarly influential in Viking’s memorable 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich, making seven defensive third regains as the Norwegians registered their first point of the league phase. That’s in addition to his two assists, of course!

Five players were just behind that duo on six regains each, including Tripić’s team-mate Kristoffer Haugen and Napoli pair Benoît Badiashile and Vanja Milinković-Savić.

The latter’s inclusion is particularly notable, as it isn’t too often that a goalkeeper reaches such high numbers for this specific metric.