ANALYSE THIS: PSG more likely to progress than historic results suggest

FOOTBALL – The Champions League first legs have all been played and the favourites to progress generally look in good shape to do so. There are two common ways to assess what the likelihood of going through actually is – the first uses historical results and calculates the frequency with which teams recording a particular result went through. The second uses a statistical model based on team ratings to assess the chances of progress. The two methods give broadly the same chance for each of the four ties won by the away team but if a match is drawn or results in a narrow home win, the chances from the two methods begin to diverge.

ANALYSE THIS: Euro Club Index makes unfamiliar opponents familar

FOOTBALL – The reaction to Manchester United’s defeat by FC Midtjylland has been one of shock with the English club being derided as “dismal” in the media and the display described as “unacceptable” by one of United’s own players, Michael Carrick. Five days earlier, United lost by a similar scoreline to Sunderland without the same level of criticism from either outside or within. According to the Euro Club Index, Danish champions FC Midtjylland are actually at about the same level of quality as the Black Cats from England’s North East. Prior to Thursday night’s fixture, Midtjylland were ranked 136^th by this pan-European ranking with Sunderland 132^nd . The difference in opinion therefore lies in people’s perspective with the quality of smaller clubs like Midtjylland being underestimated by media and fans alike because of their lack of knowledge of the team or the league in which they play.

ANALYSE THIS – Champions League Group of Death?

FOOTBALL – The Euro Club Index (www.euroclubindex.com) rates all teams in top flight football in Europe and today has proved a guide to assess the 2015/2016 Champions League group stage draw. It points out the Group of Death, the teams facing strongest/weakest opposition and also the teams that were most fortunate/unfortunate in the draw.

RECORD: Spain to serve up five-star CL campaign

FOOTBALL – Valencia CF reached the main stage of the Champions League and made Spain the first country ever to be represented by five teams in one CL season. In Thursday’s draw pots Valencia will be joined by fellow Spanish sides FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Sevilla FC.

REVIEW: Barça claim fifth European crown

FOOTBALL – FC Barcelona claimed their fifth Champions Cup/Champions League trophy (1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015), after beating Juventus 3-1 in the final in Berlin on Saturday.

Enjoy our live widget for the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final

FOOTBALL – To enjoy the UEFA Champions League Final even more click here to load the Infostrada Sports live widget for the Juventus – FC Barcelona showdown in Berlin.

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Continue reading for a sample of our media services for the 2015 Champions League Finale.

IN THE NEWS: Sevilla 4th Spanish team in 2015/2016 CL

FOOTBALL – With Sevilla FC winning the Europa League final, they have automatically qualified for the 2015/2016 Champions League group stage, making it the fourth Spanish side among the 22 teams already qualified for next season’s CL main tournament.

THE WAVE: FC Barcelona – Bayern München

FOOTBALL – This was a very lively and open match, especially considering the size of the stakes. Bayern attempted to keep pace with the hosts in the possession battle, but soon found Barça’s opportunities piling up. Bayern managed a few chances for themselves, but in the final 15 minutes the floodgates burst and Lionel Messi scored twice and in stoppage time set up Neymar for Barca’s third.

REVIEW: Messi & Ronaldo and the German connection

FOOTBALL – Lionel Messi scored twice for Barcelona in their 3-0 win against Bayern Munchen to reach a total of 14 CL goals against German teams, equal as many as Cristiano Ronaldo. Check out more below.

THE WAVE: Juventus – Real Madrid

FOOTBALL – Juventus beat Real Madrid 2-1 at home to secure their 50th home win in the Champions League. Juve (7 on target) and Real (3 on target) both had 12 shots each this match and our wave shows how evenly matched both teams were in this semifinal. The score in the end, however, was in favor of the Italians.