Champions League provides a spectacle with 43 goals during a record-breaking evening

The UEFA Champions League had one of the most dramatic and high-scoring nights in history on Tuesday as 43 goals were scored during the evening’s competition phase, accompanied by five red cards and six penalties.

Relentless action across Europe saw defending champions Paris St-Germain score seven times against Bayer Leverkusen in a 7-2 win. That match included red cards for both teams and a missed penalty for the German side’s Alejandro Grimaldo – one of six penalties awarded that evening, five of which were converted.

Elsewhere, PSV Eindhoven staged a remarkable comeback from a goal down to overwhelm Italian champions Napoli in a 6-2 victory. English clubs also enjoyed success, with Arsenal, Newcastle United and Manchester City all recording convincing victories. City’s Erling Haaland continued his productive run, scoring for the twelfth game in a row.

Tuesday’s goal celebration will immediately end up in the record books of the competition. The total of 43 goals is second only to the 64 goals scored on the final night of last season’s league phase; however, that record was achieved over 18 simultaneous matches.

The only Champions League night with more goals was October 1, 1997, when 44 goals were scored in twelve games. The evening included Manchester United’s 3-2 win against Juventus, with Paul Scholes and Zinedine Zidane among the goalscorers.

In terms of average goals per game, Tuesday’s action was eclipsed by only one other night in the competition’s history. On October 21, 2014, 40 goals were scored in just eight games: an average of 5.0 per game, slightly higher than Tuesday’s figure. That evening saw memorable 7-0 wins for both Bayern Munich (at Roma) and Shakhtar Donetsk (at BATE Borisov).

According to official statistics, English clubs were the highest scoring contingent on Tuesday, with nine goals. The Spanish players were the most productive individually, scoring six times, half of which came via a hat-trick for Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez. England players contributed five goals, including braces for Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes and Barcelona’s Marcus Rashford.

Only four teams – Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica, Kairat and Pafos – failed to find the net.

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