UEFA competition top scorer for Paris and Napoli, Edinson Cavani returns to the Stadio San Paolo on matchday four for the first time since moving to the French capital in 2013. UEFA.com breaks down the 31-year-old’s goalscoring habits.
• With 28 goals, Cavani is Paris’s top UEFA Champions League scorer, and also Napoli’s top UEFA competition scorer with 19 European goals from 2010-13, though Marek Hamšík (15) and Dries Mertens (18) are closing fast. Cavani’s goals-per-game average in all competitions was markedly higher with the Italian club (0.76 to 0.60).
• Both Cavani’s European hat-tricks came for the Partenopei in the UEFA Europa League – a treble in a 3-3 draw with Utrecht in December 2010 and a four-goal haul against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in November 2012.
• The striker’s longest drought came between 30 September 2015 and 16 February 2016 – a run of 380 minutes that included matchdays two through to six. Introduced as a 74th-minute substitute against Chelsea in the round of 16 first leg, Cavani struck four minutes later to end his barren run.
• Although Cavani has scored more goals in the UEFA Champions League (33 in 55 games) than the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League (14 in 19 games, including qualifying), he boasts a better goals-per-game average in the latter competition (0.74) than the former (0.59).
• Cavani’s European average of one goal every 128m46s is impressive, though not quite as dramatic as those of Lionel Messi (a goal every 100m7s) or Cristiano Ronaldo (one every 112m52s).
Who has Cavani scored against in UEFA competition?
| Opponents by club |
Games | Minutes | Goals | Minutes per goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIK | 1 | 90 | 1 | 90m |
| Ajax | 2 | 180 | 3 | 60m |
| Anderlecht | 3 | 254 | 2 | 127m |
| APOEL | 2 | 180 | 2 | 90m |
|
Arsenal |
2 | 180 | 2 | 90m |
|
Barcelona |
6 | 530 | 2 | 265m |
|
Basel |
2 | 180 | 1 | 180m |
| Bayern | 4 | 351 | 1 | 351m |
|
Benfica |
2 | 151 | 1 | 151m |
| Celtic | 2 | 180 | 4 | 45m |
| Chelsea | 8 | 624 | 3 | 208m |
| Crvena zvezda | 1 | 90 | 1 | 90m |
| Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | 2 | 128 | 5 | 25m36s |
|
Elfsborg |
2 | 118 | 2 | 59m |
| FCSB | 2 | 180 | 2 | 90m |
| Leverkusen | 1 | 85 | – | – |
| Liverpool | 3 | 260 | – | – |
| Ludogorets |
2 | 180 | 3 | 60m |
| Malmö | 2 | 180 | 1 | 180m |
| Man. City | 4 | 347 | 3 | 115m40s |
| Mladá Boleslav | 2 | 210 | – | – |
| Napoli | 1 | 76 | – | – |
| Olympiacos | 2 | 180 | 2 | 90m |
| PSV | 2 | 110 | 1 | 110m |
| Real Madrid | 4 | 313 | 1 | 313m |
| Shakhtar | 2 | 101 | – | – |
| Utrecht | 2 | 180 | 3 | 60m |
| Viktoria Plzeň | 2 | 134 | – | – |
| Villarreal | 4 | 280 | 1 | 280m |
| TOTAL | 74 | 6052 | 47 | 128m46s |
• Cavani has struck more goals against English clubs (eight) than any other nation; Chelsea, Arsenal and Man. City have all been breached by the Uruguayan, who has however never scored against Liverpool in three attempts. He will have another chance to rectify that when the Reds visit the French capital on matchday five.
• Former club Napoli are one of only six clubs against whom Cavani has never found the net in UEFA competition – the others are Liverpool, Leverkusen, Shakhtar and Czech league rivals Mladá Boleslav and Viktoria Plzeň. Indeed, the only nations whose clubs Cavani has never scored against are the Czech Republic and Italy.
• German defences have also proved stubborn – Cavani has only scored once in five games against Bundesliga sides – but Scottish and Ukrainian clubs have been more obliging, with the Uruguayan on target once every 45 minutes or so.
Which nations’ clubs has Cavani scored against?
| Opponents by nationality |
Games | Minutes | Goals | Minutes per goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 3 | 254 | 2 | 127m |
| Bulgaria | 2 | 180 | 3 | 60m |
| Cyprus | 2 | 180 | 2 | 90m |
| Czech Republic | 4 | 344 | – | – |
| England | 17 | 1411 | 8 | 176m23s |
| Germany | 5 | 436 | 1 | 436m |
| Greece | 2 | 180 | 2 | 90m |
| Italy | 1 | 76 | – | – |
| Netherlands | 6 | 470 | 7 | 67m9s |
| Portugal | 2 | 151 | 1 | 151m |
| Romania | 2 | 180 | 2 | 90m |
| Scotland | 2 | 180 | 4 | 45m |
| Serbia | 1 | 90 | 1 | 90m |
| Spain | 14 | 1123 | 4 | 280m45s |
| Sweden | 5 | 388 | 4 | 97m |
| Switzerland | 2 | 180 | 1 | 180m |
| Ukraine | 4 | 229 | 5 | 45m48s |
| TOTAL | 74 | 6052 | 47 | 128m46s |
When Cavani has scored his UEFA Champions League goals
• Beware Cavani in the closing stages: the Uruguayan has scored nine of his 47 goals – almost 20% – after the 85-minute mark.
• The Paris No9 has never missed a penalty in UEFA competition, converting two for the French giants and four for Napoli.
| Time | Goals (penalties) |
|---|---|
| 0-10 | 4 |
| 11-20 | 6 (1) |
| 21-30 | 2 |
| 31-40 | 5 |
| 41-half-time | 4 (1) |
| FIRST HALF | 21 |
| 46-55 | 4 |
| 56-65 | 4 |
| 66-75 | 5 (2) |
| 76-85 | 4 |
| 85-full-time | 9 (2) |
| SECOND HALF | 26 |
| TOTAL | 47 |
Last updated: 29/10/18
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