Abstract

It is an unknown whether participating in the UEFA Champions League (UEFA-CL) and UEFA Europa League (UEFA-EL) is beneficial or detrimental to national league performance given the heavy fixture. In this study, we sought to answer this question by analyzing the six 2021-2022 UEFA-CL and UEFA-EL group matches and the following national league matches. We compared wins, draws, losses, Goals Forward (GF), Goals Away (GA), points, possession, total passes, and pass accuracy statistics of the six international and national matches. Moreover, we analyzed and compared the GF and GA time intervals in international tournaments and the following national matches. Our results showed that the number of wins, GF, points, possession, and total passes were higher in the six subsequent national matches than in the international matches (p < 0.05). The number of losses and GA in national matches was significantly lower than in international (p < 0.01). GF was significantly higher between the 15-30-minute (international: 70, national: 101; p = 0.022*) and 75-90-minute intervals (international: 130, national: 180; p = 0.017*) in national matches than in international. Likewise, GA was significantly higher in the 0-15-minute interval (international: 74, national: 43; p = 0.007**) and 45-60-minute interval (international: 86, national: 56; p = 0.008**) in international matches. This study showed that the teams were more successful following national league matches than UEFA-CL and UEFA-EL matches. The identified intervals to be considered for scoring more goals and conceding fewer goals could help coaches to improve team success.

Keywords: UEFA Champions league; UEFA Europa league; Soccer performance; National league matches; Team performance