'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Champions League winners Liverpool and Europa League winners Chelsea scored goals aplenty during their respective title winning campaigns in the 2018-19 European club football season.
Liverpool (30) and Chelsea (35) are one of 4 teams - all from the English Premier League - to score 30 or more European goals in 2019. With 9 and 10 match wins respectively, the two Premier League sides also have the most European wins of any team during the year.
But when it came to matters at the other end of the pitch, the duo cede ground to other teams. In fact, Liverpool and Chelsea are conspicuous by their absence in the list of top 5 teams with the meanest defences in European club football competitions in 2019.
You may also like: 5 teams with the fewest losses in European club football competition in 2019
Let us now meet the quintet with the stingiest defences in European club football during the year.
Note: only teams that have played at least 10 European games during the year have been considered.
#5 Internazionale (10 goals conceded in 10 games; 1 conceded goal / game)
Having missed out on a Round of 16 place in the 2018-19 Champions League by the slimmest of margins, Internazionale continued their European season after Christmas in the Europa League, where they joined the competition in the Round of 32.
The Nerazzurri eased to a 5-0 aggregate win over Rapid Wien to book a Round of 16 showdown with eventual semifinalists Eintracht Frankfurt. Following three consecutive clean sheets, a solitary goal defeat at home in the second leg put paid to Internazionale's European ambitions for the season.
Inter started their 2019-20 European season in the Champions League, where an injury time equalizer helped avert an embarrassing opening day home defeat to Slavia Praha. In a tough group containing two other former winners - Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund - Inter squandered away leads in both games en route to defeats.
Needing a home win over Barcelona on Matchday 6 to qualify for the Round of 16, the Nerazzuri fell to a 1-2 defeat to drop down to the Europa League.
#4 Manchester United (9 conceded goals in 10 games; 0.9 conceded goals / game)
Manchester United qualified for the Round of 16 in the 2018-19 Champions League by finishing runners-up behind group winners Juventus.
In the first knockout round, United fell to a 2-0 home defeat to French champions Paris St. Germain in the first leg. However, the Red Devils won 3-1 in the return leg in Paris to book a quarterfinal with Barcelona, which they lost 0-4 on aggregate.
The Old Trafford club started their 2019-20 European season in the Europa League. After 4 consecutive clean sheets in the competition, United fell to a 1-2 defeat to Astana on Matchday 5.
That would mark the only goals conceded by the club in the group stage as they eased to a 4-0 home win over AZ Alkmaar to sign off their European commitments for the year on a winning note.
Despite their inconsistent form in all competitions during the last season and a half, United's tally of 50% clean sheets (5 out of 10) in Europe in 2019 is only bettered by two other clubs - Barcelona (7 out of 12; 58%) and Sevilla (6 out of 10; 60%).
#3 Juventus (9 conceded goals in 10 games; 0.9 conceded goals / game)
Qualifying for the knockout stage of the 2018-19 Champions League as group winners, Juventus fell to a 2-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie. However, a record-equaling 8th hat-trick in the competition by Cristiano Ronaldo helped the Bianconeri run out 3-2 aggregate victors following a 3-0 win in the return leg.
In the quarter-finals against Ajax, despite Ronaldo providing a 2-1 aggregate lead in the second leg, two unanswered goals in Turin from the visitors eliminated Juventus from European contention for the season.
The record-8-time defending Serie A champions started their 2019-20 Champions League campaign with a 2-2 stalemate at Atletico Madrid. But five wins from as many games took them to the Round of 16 as group winners.
Like Manchester United, Juventus also conceded only 9 goals in 10 European games during the year. But owing to more wins registered during the year (6) as compared with their English counterparts (5), Juventus take the higher slot in this list.
#2 Sevilla (9 goals conceded in 10 games; 0.9 conceded goals / game)
Sevilla came through three rounds of qualifying to top their 2018-19 Europa League group, and beat Lazio 3-0 on aggregate in the Round of 32. In the Round of 16, a 6-5 aggregate defeat to Slavia Praha ended Sevilla's quest for four consecutive Europa League titles in as many appearances in the competitions.
In 2019-20, Sevilla were the only team to win five games in the group-stage of the Europa League, with their lone European defeat of the season coming on Matchday 6 against Qarabag.
Sevilla's tally of 6 European clean sheets during the year is only bettered by Chelsea (7) and Barcelona (7) while the Andalusian club's match win rate of 70% (7 wins in 10 games) is equaled only by Manchester City (also 7 wins out of 10).
#1 Barcelona (9 goals conceded in 12 games; 0.75 conceded goals / game)
Following a goalless draw at Lyon in the first leg of their 2018-19 Champions League tie, Barcelona overwhelmed the French side 5-1 in the return leg before easing to a 4-0 aggregate win over Manchester United in the quarterfinals.
A Lionel Messi masterclass in the first leg of the semifinals against Liverpool gave the Liga side a commanding 3-0 aggregate advantage. But Barcelona's hopes of reaching their first Champions League final in 4 years came undone in a 0-4 reverse at Anfield in the return leg.
You may also like: Top 5 moments of Messi's 6th Ballon d'Or winning year
The two-time defending Liga champions started their 2019-20 European season with a goalless draw at Borussia Dortmund. Club captain Messi became the first player to score in 15 consecutive seasons and also score against 34 different teams in the competition as Barcelona reached the Round of 16 as one of 6 unbeaten teams.
With 9 goals conceded in 12 European games in 2019, Barcelona have the lowest tally of goals conceded per game of any team to have played over 10 games during the year. Barcelona's 7 European clean sheets during the year is equaled only by Chelsea (7 clean sheets in 15 games).
