Nissan and leading scientists have created a formula that officially proves the UEFA Champions League’s most exciting games, teams and players this season.
The unique method called the Nissan Excitement Index – created with scientists at Loughborough University – shows that FC Barcelona are officially the most exciting football team in Europe.
| POSITION | TEAM: | SEASON EXCITEMENT SCORE: *based on Nissan Excitement Index formula |
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 57.2 |
| 2 | Real Madrid CF | 53 |
| 3 | FC Bayern Munich | 44.6 |
| 4 | FC Borussia Dortmund | 36.5 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 32 |
Top 5 Most Exciting Teams to date (determined using the Nissan Excitement Index formula)
FC Barcelona also feature as part of the ‘exciting eleven’ team sheet from the tournament’s group stage, with star striker Lionel Messi taking one of the places, alongside Juventus FC defender Dani Alves and Arsenal FC’s Mesut Özil.
The Nissan Excitement Index also ranked the twelve goal thriller in November, between FC Borussia Dortmund and Legia Warsaw, as the ‘most exciting game of the tournament’ so far.
| POSITION | MATCH: | SEASON EXCITEMENT SCORE: *based on Nissan Excitement Index formula |
| 1 | FC Borussia Dortmund 8 – Legia Warsaw 4 (MD5 – Nov 22) |
72.0 |
| 2 | FC Barcelona 4 – Manchester City FC 0
(MD3 – Oct 19) |
55.7 |
| 3 | FC Borussia Dortmund 2 – Real Madrid CF 2
(MD2 – Sept 27) |
44.1 |
| 4 | Manchester City FC 3 – FC Barcelona 1
(MD4 – Nov 1) |
44 |
| 5 | Real Madrid CF 2 – FC Borussia Dortmund 2
(MD6 – Dec 7) |
38.7 |
Top 5 Most Exciting Games to date (determined using the Nissan Excitement Index formula)
In order to develop the Nissan Excitement Index, Nissan – the official global automotive sponsor of the UEFA Champions League – and Loughborough University gathered and analysed data from ‘live experiments’ on football fans at UEFA Champions League Matches, culminating in the creation of scientific formula to determine the most exciting moments according to science.
The Nissan Excitement Index scientific formula* calculates an excitement score based on match stats including: goal(s) scored (and when), involvement of star player(s), booking(s) and fan attendance.
Commenting on the return of the UEFA Champions League, Jean-Pierre Diernaz, Vice President for Marketing Nissan Europe said: “Last season we scientifically proved the UEFA Champions League gets people excited, now we’re delving even deeper into this emotion, together with Loughborough University.
Being able to scientifically track the most exciting players, clubs and moments of the game ensures that we at Nissan contribute to the most exciting journey possible for football fans.”
Nissan have also revealed the most exciting goal of the tournament so far – Cenk Tosun’s acrobatic effort for Besiktas J.K. on November 23rd. Chosen by fans around the globe the ‘Goal of the Week’ will continue throughout the knock out stage, giving you the opportunity to vote on the best and most exciting goals from the UEFA Champions League. When entering fans are also automatically entered into a draw to win a range of prizes.
‘Exciting Eleven’ team sheet of the group stage (determined using the Nissan Excitement formula and Opta statistics)*
| Position | Player | Team | Excitement Indicators |
| Goalkeeper | Jan Oblak | Atletico Madrid | Kept four clean sheets in the group stage, only conceding two of the 19 shots he faced. |
| Defender (LB) | Ludwig Augustinsson | FC Copenhagen | As well as being part of a defence that kept four clean sheets, he assisted three goals and created more goal scoring chances (17) than any other defender. |
| Defender (CB) | Mathias Jorgensen | FC Copenhagen | Made the most clearances in the group stage (62). |
| Defender (CB) | Raphael Varane | Real Madrid CF | Only of only three defenders to score two goals and 88% pass completion rate from defence in the group stage. Won 73% of duels against opponents. |
| Defender (RB) | Dani Alves | Juventus FC | Got forward to create14 goal scoring chances – more than any other defender in the group stages. |
| Midfielder | Steven N’Zonzi | Sevilla FC | Only Marco Verratti completed more passes than N’Zonzi (459). Also completed the 3rd most in the opposition half (288). |
| Midfielder | Danilo Pereira | FC Porto | Completed 90% of his passes in the group stage. 84% passing accuracy. |
| Midfielder | Mesut Özil | Arsenal FC | More UEFA Champions League goals this season (4) than in any previous campaign. Had a hand in seven goals in the group stage. |
| Forward | Lionel Messi | FC Barcelona | Top goal scorer in the group stage (10), only Cristiano Ronaldo has ever scored more in the group stage of the competition (11 in 2015/16). |
| Forward | Alexis Sanchez | Arsenal FC | Created more goal scoring chances than anyone else on the Arsenal FC teams. |
| Forward | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid CF | Scored four goals and attempted the second most shots on target in the group stage (12). Became the 6th player ever to reach 50 UEFA Champions League goals. |
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