Wednesday 29 January was a landmark night in UEFA Champions League history–one that saw all 18 matches in the final round of the league phase kick off simultaneously for the first time ever. Whilst some teams had the luxury of knowing they had already qualified for the knockout stages, the fate of others was dependent on the outcome of results elsewhere. This meant that every key moment on the pitch across Europe carried immense stakes.
The 18 concurrent games presented broadcasters, clubs and media with the opportunity to stretch their storytelling like never before–even impacting the on-field tactics of the teams facing the imminent threat of elimination. A goal (or card, or penalty) in one game could have massive implications for teams in another.
Football’s media landscape couldn’t afford to not capitalise on the immense global fan attention, despite it being spread more thinly than ever. So, an enormous team from Stats Perform and Opta were on-hand pre-match, live and post-match to ensure seamless, end-to-end coverage. AI and analytical tools were also deployed to their fullest, delivering captivating in-depth statistical commentary and analysis to all corners of the sports industry, and the world.
From live stats, facts and visuals to probabilities, predictions and permutations, our world-class data collectors, researchers, designers, journalists and analysts–and our powerful storytelling technology–helped everyone from broadcasters, content creators, sportsbooks, sponsors and club analysts capture the magic in the detail of every game and help turn it into one of the most dramatic nights in recent European club football memory.
Take a more detailed look at a few of the ways we helped broadcasters, clubs and media power their storytelling amongst the fast, furious action of Matchday 8.
