Tactical trends and the players and coaches who set last season's UEFA Champions League alight were the focal point of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League technical report, UEFA official website said.
A total of 345 goals were scored in last season's UEFA Champions League – 10 fewer than 2010/11, but 25 more than 2009/10. Some 78% were the result of open play. There was a slight decrease in the number of goals from combinations and through/forward passes. Crossing and finishing, and incisive passes, were the main ways of creating opportunities. For the third successive campaign, there was a rise in goals being scored by players cutting the ball back from the byline for a supporting team-mate – often the end product of effective flank play.
Set-play goals fell slightly to 76 in 2011/12 from 82 in the two previous seasons. Meanwhile, the number of penalty goals rose from 14 in 2009/10 to 28 in 2011/12.
Added to this were statistics, the technical observers' UEFA Champions League 2011/12 squad and the best goals of the season.