Two Danish goalkeepers surprisingly lead the stats in the 2024/25 Champions League ahead of the more well-known names.
UEFA Champions League 2024/25 has completed the draw for the knockout stage. The Round of 16 is set to begin in early March with the reigning champions, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Barcelona, and Inter Milan tipped as the favourites.
However, when it comes to the goalkeeping stats, none of the shot stoppers from those favourites is in the top five, let alone the top three, which is surprisingly dominated by Danish goalies.
They shared the same number of saves in competition and were followed by underrated names such as Slovan Bratislava’s Dominik Takáč, Shakhtar Donetsk’s Dmytro Riznyk, and AC Milan man Mike Maignan.
Sadly, neither of them would be featuring in the knockout stage as their team has been eliminated.
It would be interesting to see if they would stay on top or be overtaken by more famous names who are sitting sixth in the table ranks.
Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, Feyenoord’s Timon Wellenreuther, and Argentine international playing for PSV Eindhoven, Walter Benitez, are the potential candidates to be named the best UCL goalkeeper this season.
They are all set to continue their campaign in the next stages. Check out the two Danish goalkeepers who have contrasting club careers and international caps.
Danish Goalkeepers Leading the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League Stats
Kasper Schmeichel (Glasgow Celtic)
The 38-year-old shot stopper is still in his peak form this season.
He has been the key figure in Glasgow Celtic’s campaign in the Champions League this season as they finished 21st in the standings to secure one berth in the playoff. Such undoubtedly makes him one of the best Danish goalkeepers in history.
Kasper Schmeichel was rated the highest in two matches as The Bhoys snatched a goalless draw against Atalanta and held Bayern 1-1 on the road.
He managed to make five and nine saves, respectively.
The former Leicester City and OGC Nice man was even still able to make six saves when Celtic was hammered by Borussia Dortmund. They crushed the Scottish champions 7-1.
Overall, he kept clean sheets in three games with 41 saves in total.
Unfortunately, his contribution was not enough to help them go through the knockout stages. Celtic lost to Bayern Munich 3-2 on aggregate in the playoff stage.
Schmeichel is still the first choice between the sticks on the Denmark national team. He has earned 111 international caps and featured in several major tournaments, such as the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, plus EURO 2020 and 2024.
The son of Manchester United legend, Peter Schmeichel, could still feature in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
This season he has played in 43 games with Celtic and been able to keep clean sheets in 23 games.
Schmeichel has won the Scottish League Cup 2024/25. It is his first trophy since lifting the FA Cup in 2021 with the Foxes.
The goalkeeper who began his career with Manchester City can potentially add to his silverware collection.
Brendan Rodgers’s men are the league leaders in the Scottish Premiership with 13 points ahead of their archrival on second placed Glasgow Rangers.
His spell in Celtic has been quite a revelation after his trophyless stints in France and Belgium.
The shot stopper who was once loaned out five times during his years in Manchester only stayed for one season each with Nice and Anderlecht before plying his trade to the Scottish giant.
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Peter Vindahl (Sparta Prague)
The 27-year-old goalkeeper is currently on the top of the UCL goalkeeping stats tables in the 2024/25.
However, his career has been less impressive compared to Kasper Schmeichel’s or other renowned Danish goalkeepers in the national team.
Peter Vindahl is not playing in one of the teams in the European top five leagues and has yet to make his international debut.
The Dane only played one season in one of UEFA’s elite leagues when he was part of AZ Alkmaar’s squad in the 2021/22 season.
Vindahl was the first choice at that time, featuring in 49 games with 10 clean sheets. He helped them finish fifth in Eredivisie and reach the Round of 16 in UEFA Conference League.
Unfortunately, he lost his place in the following season. Such forced him to move out to play regularly by joining Bundesliga 2 side FC Nürnberg on loan before switching sides to Sparta Prague, initially as a loanee too, in 2023.
Since then, he has been the key figure in the Czech’s powerhouse, making 85 appearances in all competitions.
In this year’s campaign, Vindahl made 41 saves in total but only kept a clean sheet in one game.
The Danish goalkeeper who started his career with Nordsjælland was not really named the best player in any of the games as Schmeichel was, but his form was consistent between the sticks, including when his team was hammered by Manchester City 5-0.
Vindahl was able to deny five clinical shots on target in Etihad, including two attempts from Erling Haaland and one from Savinho.
His most notable games were the ones on German soil when Sparta Prague took on VfB Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen.
Vindahl made eight and nine saves, respectively, but his team only managed to pick up one point in the former match and suffered a defeat in the latter.
He was also in top form in the other fixtures against Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, Brest, and Inter Milan. Sadly, his great contribution could not stop his team from the defeat.
Nevertheless, his stats in UCL this season should prove his potential to be Schmeichel’s successor as one of the Danish goalkeepers in the major leagues and Denmark’s number one goalie.
The Helsingør-born shot stopper has been called up since November 2021, including in four games of UEFA Nations League 2024/25, but has only become a benchwarmer.
Peter Vindahl Jensen deserves better club than the European minnow in Eastern Europe.
His quality should attract some teams in the top five leagues, or at least make his return to the Dutch Eredivisie to improve his career.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / DeFodi Images
Recording Date: 18.02.2025