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The most awaited competition in European football, the UEFA Champions League, commences today. Out of the 32 teams competing at this stage, only 16 will proceed into the knock-out stage.
The group stage fixtures generally start in September and last till December. In all the total number of matches played in the group stage come out to be 96. With 16 matches being played every matchday.
When so many games are played in the group stage, it is not hard to see a fixture where one of the team ends up absolutely dominating the other.
In the group stage, the possibility of a small team facing off against one of the biggest names across Europe is the highest and thus the possibility of a high scoring game is the highest in the group stage. That's why it is the most entertaining stage of the competition for the fans.
Over the years, there have been a lot of fixtures where one side had scored 5 or more goals against their opponents. This just tells the story that when two teams of completely different class face each other, there's only one outcome, that is the minnows getting overwhelmed.
So, with the excitement for this season to get rolling at its peak, let's take a look at the highest scoring fixtures in the history of UEFA Champions League.
#5 Bayern Munich 7-1 AS Roma
Bayern Munich was up against Roma in their Group E fixture in the 2014-15 season. Both teams looked more or less evenly matched on paper, and it was one of the biggest group stage fixtures of the season.
But, the result surprised everyone. Bayern who had scored 7 goals in the group stage before, repeated their performance again, but against a big club like Roma this time.
The only response Roma could give was a consolation goal, scored by Gervinho. There have been other 7-1 matches in the competition, but this one was special as Bayern absolutely dominated a decent Roma side, which included Ashley Cole, Totti, Nainggolan, and that too on the home ground of the Romans.
#4 Liverpool 8-0 Besiktas
To this date, the 8-0 demolition of Besiktas by Liverpool remains the biggest ever victory in the history of the competition.
In the 2007 Group A fixture at Anfield, the Reds were out for blood. Even before the half-time whistle blew, the score was already 4-0. After the break, Steven Gerard also got on the scoresheet and by the time the full-time whistle was blown the score was 8-0.
With the current Liverpool side looking sharp in front of the goal, can they repeat history at Anfield this season? Let's see.
#3 Real Madrid 8-0 Malmö FF
This 8-0 victory of Real Madrid over Malmo is the biggest win ever in the history of Champions League and only the second fixture so far to have ended with an 8-0 scoreline.
In the final Group A fixture of the 2015-16 season, Los Blancos annihilated the Malmo defence, with superstar Ronaldo scoring 4 goals, while striker Benzema managing to score a hat-trick.
As a result, the aggregate score between the two teams was 10-0, which is one of the highest ever in the group stage meetings between any two teams.
#2 Monaco 8-3 Deportivo la Coruña
AS Monaco, the club which is known more for producing talents than for scoring goals, is only the fourth team in history to score 8 goals in any Champions League match. And until the 2016 season, their 8-3 victory over Deportivo La Coruña was the highest scoring fixture in the Champions League.
In the 2003-04 season, Monaco was doing surprisingly well. They managed to score 8 goals against a Deportivo side which had managed to defeat PSV in the previous fixture.
After this goal fest, Monaco topped their group and made it all the way to the Champions League finals, only the second French team ever to do so. Unfortunately, it hasn't been able to repeat this kind of performance again.
#1 Borussia Dortmund 8-4 Legia Warsaw
The record for the highest scoring fixture in the history of Champions League was smashed by this match between Borussia Dortmund and Legia Warsaw. It surpassed the previous record of Monaco's 8-3 over Deportivo after 13 years.
The match held on 22 November 2016, was truly a historical fixture. The 8-4 scoreline was not only the highest ever in the league but also the first match where 8 different players got on the score-sheet. And of the 12 goals scored 7 were scored in the first 32 minutes of the game.
Matches like this one only happen once in a while and this record is here to stay, any team will find it quite difficult to beat a scoreline like this.
