By Aidan Moynihan
The group stage of the UEFA Champions League will be completed this week. The eight group winners and eight runners up will progress to the next stage, where the competition becomes a knockout competition. Of the eight groups in the 2014/15 season, there are currently four groups which have already been won after five games. With one game remaining, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and FC Porto each command a lead of greater than 3 points over the second placed team in their respective groups.
The group stage was first introduced into the competition in the 1994/95 season. Over the course of the following 20 seasons there were 160 groups. On 51 occasions there was a clear group winner decided prior to the final game. On 12 of these occasions the group winner had actually been confirmed after four rounds of games. How did these teams perform in the last round of games?
Taking the 51 times that a group winner had been determined before the last round of games, the group winner had obtained an average of 2.45 points per game. In the last round of games, these group winners obtained an average of 1.47 points per game. Prior to being confirmed as group winners the teams in question won 81% of their games and lost 3% of their games. In the last round of games the win percentage collapsed to 43% and the loss percentage jumped to 38%. Incentives mater.
The group stage was first introduced into the competition in the 1994/95 season. Over the course of the following 20 seasons there were 160 groups. On 51 occasions there was a clear group winner decided prior to the final game. On 12 of these occasions the group winner had actually been confirmed after four rounds of games. How did these teams perform in the last round of games?
Taking the 51 times that a group winner had been determined before the last round of games, the group winner had obtained an average of 2.45 points per game. In the last round of games, these group winners obtained an average of 1.47 points per game. Prior to being confirmed as group winners the teams in question won 81% of their games and lost 3% of their games. In the last round of games the win percentage collapsed to 43% and the loss percentage jumped to 38%. Incentives mater.
This season both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid had guaranteed qualification as group winners after four games. Bayern Munich lost their game in round 5 while Real Madrid won their game. This week's game will reveal more.
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