Historic record for Spanish clubs in UEFA Champions League

The five Spanish clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League achieved victory during the second round of the group stage, marking an unprecedented achievement in the competition. FC Barcelona, Atlético, Villarreal, Real Madrid, and Real Betis all finished their matches with a perfect score, according to the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo."

The victories began on Tuesday when Barcelona turned their deficit against Galatasaray into a big win, finishing 4-1 in Istanbul. Meanwhile, Atlético beat Manchester United 2-0, and Villarreal secured a 3-1 victory over Napoli.

The perfect record was completed on Wednesday, as Real Madrid turned around a two-goal deficit against AS Roma to claim a thrilling 4-3 victory at the Stadio Olimpico, while Real Betis came back against Porto, achieving a 3-2 win at Estadio La Cartuja.

The Spanish newspaper reported that the closest precedent for all participating Spanish teams to win in a single round dates back to December 2019, when four clubs, FC Barcelona, Valencia, Atlético, and Real Madrid, triumphed over Inter Milan, Ajax, Lokomotiv Moscow, and Club Brugge, respectively. However, this round saw five Spanish teams winning in five different matches for the first time.

The achievement is significant not only for the number of victories but also for the variety of ways they were achieved, including big wins, comebacks, and matches decided after fierce competition, indicating the strength of LaLiga representatives in the tournament.

In contrast, the newspaper highlighted the decline in results for Italian clubs, as the four representatives of Serie A, namely Inter Milan, Napoli, AS Roma, and Como, lost their matches during the second round.