Our 5-1 success against Sporting CP will live long in the minds of all Gooners as we put the Portuguese champions to the sword in Lisbon, and has also forced its way into our record books.
That’s because it is our joint-biggest away win in our European Cup and Champions League history, matching the famous 5-1 win against Inter Milan at the San Siro in 2003. It is the third time we have recorded a four-goal winning margin on our travels in Europe’s premier club competition, which also includes a 4-0 win against PSV Eindhoven in 2002:
When it comes to all European competitions, our win in Lisbon sits joint-third on our all-time biggest away wins, with the 7-0 rout of Standard Liege in the 1993/94 UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup still top of the tree, and is indeed the largest win on our travels in any competition.
Arsenal's biggest away European wins
**Date**
**Opponent**
**Score**
**Competition**
03/11/1993
Standard Liege
7-0
Cup Winners' Cup
25/09/1963
Copenhagen XI
7-1
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
25/11/2003
Inter Milan
5-1
**Champions League**
**26/11/2024**
**Sporting CP**
**5-1**
**Champions League**
15/04/2021
Slavia Prague
4-0
Europa League
25/09/2002
PSV
4-0
**Champions League**
The result was made all the more remarkable in that this was Sporting's first defeat at home across all competitions in over a year, as we ended a 30-match unbeaten run as we ran riot. We scored five or more goals in an away match in the Champions League for only the third time, and for the first time since October 2008 when we recorded a 5-2 victory at Fenerbahce.
We accumulated an xG of 3.89, our most on record for a match in the competition (since 2013/14):
Arsenal's biggest xG totals in Champions League
**Date**
**Opponent**
**Score**
Venue
**xG**
**26/11/2024**
**Sporting CP**
**W 5-1**
A
**3.89**
28/09/2016
Basel
W 2-0
H
3.05
24/11/2015
Dinamo Zagreb
W 3-0
H
2.95
29/11/2023
Lens
W 6-0
H
2.58
26/11/2013
Marseille
W 2-0
H
2.56
Sporting will also be glad to see the back of us, and will want to avoid a potential meeting in the knockout stages given that we now lost none of our seven games against the Poetuguese champions, which is the most we’ve faced an opponent in major European competition without ever losing.
Best records against opponents in Europe
Opponent
P
W
D
L
**Sporting CP**
**7**
**3**
**4**
**0**
Standard Liege
6
5
1
0
Paris Saint-Germain
5
2
3
0
Fenerbahce
4
2
2
0
Lazio
4
2
2
0
Marseille
4
3
1
0
Slavia Prague
4
2
2
0
Sparta Prague
4
4
0
0
It was just the third time we have had five different Gunners on the scoresheet (excluding own goals) in a major European away match, following on from the six that netted against Standard Liege in 1993, and the five that found the net at Fenerbache in 2008.
As for those five goalscorers, each hit a milestone including Bukayo Saka, who starred by grabbing a goal and an assist. That was the fourth time he’d achieved that feat in his 13 Champions League appearances so far, meaning he’s done that in 31% of his matches in the competition - the highest of any player who has played at least three times.
Most games with a goal and assist in CL history
**Player**
**Games**
**Games With Goal + Assist**
**%**
**Bukayo Saka**
**13**
**4**
**31%**
Eric Carriere
17
4
**24%**
Lars Stindl
19
4
**21%**
Mark Viduka
17
3
**18%**
Dwight Yorke
36
6
**17%**
Luis Fabiano
18
3
**17%**
Julian Alvarez
22
3
**14%**
Lionel Messi
163
22
**13%**
> My apologies that I don't have all-time assists. But Bukayo Saka has become the 6th player to register both 60+ goals and 60+ assists for the [#Arsenal](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Arsenal?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) since the 1988-89 season:Thierry HenryDennis BergkampPaul MersonTheo WalcottRobert PiresSaka
>
> Not bad company to be in