A first ever meeting in Conceicao’s UCL debut: All the key stats ahead of Milan vs. Girona | OneFootball

AC Milan will face off against Girona for the first time in their history tonight as they welcome them for the penultimate game of the first Champions League phase.

Milan have played 36 times in the European Cup/Champions League against teams from Spain, with 11 wins, 10 draws and 15 defeats completing what is a lop-sided record and not in Milan’s favour.

However, they did beat Real Madrid 3-1 earlier in the campaign, which was part of a run of four straight victories in the competition, propelling the Rossoneri towards the top eight.

Our pre-match preview has the latest team news for both sides as well as some insight on the opponents from Catalonia, while below are the best match stats ahead of the contest.

Key facts and stats

➤ Milan have faced 11 different Spanish opponents in European competition to date, but this will be their first such meeting with Girona. Meanwhile, the Spanish side have never previously faced an Italian team.

➤ Milan have won their last two matches against Spanish teams, with the most recent of those coming away to Real Madrid on MD4 this season (3-1). They’ve never previously won three in a row against such opposition in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League.

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➤ Milan have won their last four UEFA Champions League matches – in the two previous campaigns they’ve strung together runs of 5+ wins in a row, they have reached the final (six in a row in 1992-93, five in 2004-05), although they did end as runners-up both times.

➤ Girona have lost their first three away UEFA Champions League games without scoring a single goal. In the competition’s history, the only side to lose their first four without scoring is SK Rapid Wien between 1996 and 2005.

➤ Girona have lost five of their six UEFA Champions League games this season (W1). The only Spanish team to lose six in one season is Villarreal in 2011-12.

➤ This will be Sérgio Conceição’s first UEFA Champions League game in charge of Milan. The Portuguese has won eight of his last 10 matches in the group/league phase of the competition (L2), although none of the last three Milan bosses have won their opening UCL game with the club (Massimiliano Allegri the last to do so – 2-0 v Auxerre in 2010-11).

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

➤ Girona are the only side in this season’s UEFA Champions League yet to attempt a shot from a fast break, while their direct speed of 1.39 metres per second is the second-lowest of any side, ahead only of Shakhtar Donetsk (1.33 m/s).

➤ Only Lille’s Edon Zhegrova (39) has made more dribbles in the UEFA Champions League this season than Milan’s Rafael Leão (38). His current per 90 minutes tally of 7.6 in 2024-25 is the second-most by a Milan player on record since 2003-04, behind only Leão himself in 2021-22 (8 per 90).

➤ Tammy Abraham has scored in each of his last two UEFA Champions League appearances for Milan – the only Englishman to score in three in a row for a non-English club is Jude Bellingham for Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid (two runs of four).

➤ Despite only starting two games, Arnaut Danjuma has had more shots than any other Girona player in this season’s UEFA Champions League (11), however the Dutchman remains without a goal. He scored seven goals in his first 11 games in the competition but has since had eight goalless matches.