Effect of match venue, scoring first and quality of opposition on match outcome in the UEFA Champions League

The aim of the present study was twofold. First, to identify the effects of situational variables, which are match location (ML), scoring first (SF) and quality of opposition (QO) all of them simultaneously when considering the minute of the first goal (GM) and the competition stage (CS) in the UCL; and secondly to analyze the match-related statistics when completing and explaining the obtained results. Sample was composed by 475 matches of 2009 to 2013 seasons. Data were analyzed in function of group stage and knockout stage. Regression analysis were used to analyze the effects of situational variables (scoring first, match location, quality of opposition, score differences of the first match and minute when the first goal was scored) in match outcome. Discriminant analysis was conducted to identify performance indicators that clarify teams in both competition stages. Results enhanced the importance of interactive effects of match location, scoring first and quality of opposition on UCL according competition stage. The findings of this study should help coaches to improve their match strategies and raining designs before competition.