The dust has settled on a truly memorable summer of European Championship football.
While the trophy ultimately eluded our City stars taking part at the tournament, there was joy for former manager Roberto Mancini, who steered Italy to the crown.
In total, 13 different players from Pep Guardiola’s current crop battled for glory and, astonishingly, all progressed into the knockout stages from their respective groups.
From quickfire strikes to incredible clean sheet records, you can find a selection of the most impressive City-centric stats from Euro 2020 below…
City’s attacking impact
Of our 13 players to take part at this summer’s European Championship, six registered either a goal or assist.
In total, Pep Guardiola’s men contributed eight goals to the tournament, with England’s Raheem Sterling leading the way with three strikes.
Ferran Torres grabbed a brace for Spain, while his fellow countryman Aymeric Laporte, Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne and Ukraine’s Oleks Zinchenko also got in on the act for their home nations.
Dutch defender Nathan Ake also laid on an assist for Denzel Dumfries in the Netherlands’ thrilling 3-2 victory over Ukraine on Matchday One, making an instant impact off the bench.
Spain dominate possession
La Roja’s success since ending a 44-year wait for silverware at Euro 2008 has been forged on a brand of free-flowing, possession-based football.
And Laporte, Rodrigo, Torres and co. took that fact to new levels in terms of ball retention when they locked horns with Sweden in Group E.
Spain registered 85% possession in their goalless draw with the Swedes in Seville, the highest number for a team in a European Championship match since the data first started being collected in 1980.
Kevin the creator
Kevin De Bruyne’s reputation as one of the finest midfielders in world football has been honed across a glittering five-year period at Manchester City.
It therefore comes as no surprise to learn that he continued that creative spark at this summer’s tournament when he lined up for Belgium.
Only Italy’s Marco Verratti created more chances than the PFA Player of the Year’s 11, and did so while also playing five matches in comparison to De Bruyne’s four.
The City midfielder can also boast the highest amount of chances created per 90 minutes, averaging an astonishing 2.75 per match as the Red Devils reached the last eight.
Torres on target
Substitutions, particularly attacking ones, are usually conducted with the hope that the player entering the fray will make an instant impact on proceedings.
Based on this premise, Ferran Torres’ goalscoring contribution from the bench in Spain’s final Group E match against Slovakia couldn’t have gone any better.
The City winger exquisitely flicked home at the near-post with his first touch of the ball 44 seconds after coming on for Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata.
In doing so, the 21-year-old registered the fastest goal scored by a substitute at the European Championships since his fellow countryman Juan Carlos Valeron was on target inside 39 seconds against Russia in 2004.
Ukraine make history
While Oleks Zinchenko’s dreams of Euro 2020 glory were dashed at the quarter-final stage, Ukraine’s march to the last eight proved to be an historic journey.
Having lost six successive matches across three tournaments, Andriy Shevchenko’s side edged out North Macedonia 2-1 on Matchday Two.
They would go on to win their first ever knockout game at the European Championships, earning an extra time victory over Sweden, before bowing out to England in the last eight.
It was a tournament of unprecedented success for Zinchenko and co., and one that they will hope to build on in future.
Three Lions’ dogged defending
While England’s tournament would end in penalty heartbreak, the Three Lions broke new ground by reaching a first international final in 55 years.
Much of this success was achieved courtesy of a watertight defence with John Stones and Kyle Walker helping Gareth Southgate’s side keep five successive clean sheets from their opening match to the semi-final.
Before Denmark’s Mikkel Damsgaard fired home from a free-kick 30 minutes into their last four clash at Wembley, England had gone an astonishing 507 minutes without conceding at Euro 2020.
It was a remarkable run of clean sheets which saw England stopper Jordan Pickford pick up the Golden Glove award, given to the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets.
With Stones playing in all seven of the Three Lions’ matches this summer and Walker featuring in six, our defensive duo were unquestionably a crucial part of that magnificent milestone.
