The Fastest Sprinters in the 2019/20 Champions League - Ranked
By Tom Gott
One of the best things about modern football is the pace at which the game is played. Nothing gets fans off their seats quite like an electric run from one of the game's speedsters.
The 2019/20 Champions League campaign saw plenty of lightning-quick runs from players all across Europe, and UEFA have compiled a list of all the fastest sprints we saw throughout the competition in their latest technical report. Spoiler alert: seven of them came against Paris Saint-Germain (for some reason).
Let's take a look at the top ten.
10. Luis Muriel - 33.01 km/h
Kicking things off is a name which will come as no surprise to any players of FIFA, Atalanta's Luis Muriel.
The first entry to turn the jets on against PSG, Muriel clocked an impressive speed of 33.01 km/h when the two sides met in the quarter-final back in August.
He came off the bench after 70 minutes and clearly wanted to make the most of his fresh legs.
9. Erling Haaland - 33.02 km/h
Players the size of Erling Haaland are not supposed to run at 33.02 km/h, but that's what the Borussia Dortmund man managed to do against none other than PSG.
In a tournament in which he scored ten goals in eight games, Haaland's battle with PSG in the last 16 was one of the stories of the entire competition.
The Norway international bagged two goals in the first leg but attracted the wrath of PSG, whose impressive comeback sparked some of the weirdest celebrations you've ever seen.
8. Kingsley Coman - 33.20 km/h
Can you guess against whom Kingsley Coman clocked a top speed of 33.20 km/h?
The Frenchman scored the winning goal in the final against PSG, breezing past his former employers to net easily the biggest goal of his career.
It wasn't the fastest speed clocked in the final, however. Stay tuned.
7. Ferland Mendy - 33.32 km/h
Finally! Somebody who ran fast against a team other than PSG!
The first man to offer us some sweet respite was Real Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy, who reached a top speed of 33.32 km/h when his side met Manchester City in the last 16.
Unfortunately for Mendy, it wasn't enough to get the job done as City picked up 2-1 victories in both legs.
6. Kyle Walker - 33.35 km/h
Clearly not wanting to be outdone by Mendy, City's Kyle Walker (a frequent flyer at the top of the Premier League's sprint charts) managed to move ahead of the Frenchman in the quarter-final loss to Lyon.
Walker, who was playing as a wing-back in a wild 3-1-4-2 formation, recorded a sprint at 33.35 km/h, which was pretty much the only 'positive' of the game for City.
Lyon walked away with a 3-1 victory, bringing an end to yet another frustrating European campaign for Pep Guardiola's side.
5. Alphonso Davies - 33.37 km/h
One-upping Coman in the final was Bayern team-mate Alphonso Davies, for whom the Champions League was a breakout competition.
The Canadian winger-turned-defender clocked in at 33.37 km/h.
Davies' energy and dribbling made him one of the most exciting players in the entire tournament. To any defender who faced him, it probably felt like he was running at twice that speed.
But that still wasn't the fastest speed in the final.
4. Achraf Hakimi - 33.46 km/h
Continuing the trend of accelerating past PSG was then-Dortmund full-back Achraf Hakimi.
The Spain-born Morocco international, whose electric form earned him a huge move to Inter during the summer, registered a top speed of 33.46 km/h during the last 16 meeting with PSG.
Antonio Conte clearly loved what he saw, throwing £36m at Real Madrid to sign Hakimi a few months later.
3. Hans Hateboer - 33.71 km/h
If you've ever watched Atalanta play, you'll know that their wing-backs are a key part of what makes them so exciting.
The left-sided Robin Gosens doesn't make it on to this list, but partner-in-crime Hans Hateboer soared all the way up to third when he recorded a run of 33.71 km/h against PSG in the quarter-final.
It was that kind of energy which helped the Dutchman finish the tournament with two goals and an assist to his name.
2. Lukas Klostermann - 33.82 km/h
RB Leipzig man Lukas Klostermann reached a top speed of 33.82 km/h in the semi-final defeat to PSG. He's a centre-back.
Yep. A centre-back was the second-fastest player in the entire competition last season. The rule book is well and truly out the window.
With the similarly speedy Dayot Upamecano alongside him, it's impressive that PSG managed to find the space to score three goals on the night.
1. Kylian Mbappé - 33.98 km/h
It's fitting that, after getting the run-around for the majority of this list, it's a PSG player who actually finished on top of the mountain. Unsurprisingly, that player was Kylian Mbappé.
73 minutes into the final against Bayern, Mbappé hit a top speed of 33.98 km/h, snatching the metaphorical award away from Klostermann in the dying embers of the competition.
He's the only forward in the top seven of this list, which tells you all you need to know about the modern game.