Hello and welcome to another LIVE coverage of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 season. Tonight, we will be covering the Lille vs Real Madrid match, set to be played at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve d'Ascq.

What happened in the last match?

Real Madrid, the most successful team in the tournament's history and the defending champions from last season, will be looking to continue their winning run after a tricky 3-1 win against Stuttgart at their home. Meantime, Lille suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sporting CP in Lisbon, as they had to fight with 10 men in that match.

Read Also | Lille vs Real Madrid: Champions League Preview, Head to Head, Possible Lineups and Fantasy XI Prediction

Current form

After their draw against Atletico Madrid in La Liga 2024-25, Ancelotti’s side are now unbeaten in 40 La Liga games. They have not been beaten in the league since September 2023, when they lost against Atletico. 

On the other hand, Lille scored six goals in their last two games in Ligue 1 and won the last game by 3-0 against Le Havre, their first win in five games across competitions. Les Dogues would be happy to return in form to face the world's strongest football team.

So, sit back and relax as we bring you all the updates of the Lille vs Real Madrid match from the web desk.

The English Premier League, or the Premier League, has been the best football league in Europe for a long now. As per UEFA Club Coefficients, the Premier League is the best football league on the continent, with the best standard of football and competitiveness. 

The competitiveness not only makes it tough for teams to finish at the summit of the points table, but the battle for the UEFA Champions League spot also intensifies. This season, Liverpool FC, Arsenal FC, Manchester City, Chelsea FC, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur have already qualified for the UEFA Champions League from the Premier League. 

This is the first time six teams from any league have qualified for the Champions League. Not only that, there is also a chance that another team can qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season, depending on Chelsea's performance in the Conference League final this season. 

Read Also | Ranking all 33 UEFA Champions League finals

How do teams qualify for the Champions League from a league?

Till the 2022-23 season, every top-four team from the European Leagues used to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Along with the top four teams, the Europa League winners also qualified for the Champions League next season. 

But, from the 2024 season, along with the top four teams and Europa League/Conference League winners, leagues started getting an additional European Performance Spot. EPS is awarded to the league with strong UEFA coefficient performances, which the Premier League earned this season as well. 

Read Also | Every Premier League club’s biggest Free Transfer Exit

Premier League teams to qualify for the Champions League every season since 2016

2015-16

In the 2025-16 Champions League season, Chelsea qualified as the champions of the Premier League 2014-15. Manchester City and Arsenal qualified as the second and third finishers of the league. 

Meanwhile, Manchester United qualified for the Champions League play-off round as the UEFA Europa League 2014-15 winners.

1. Chelsea
2. Manchester City
3. Arsenal
4. Manchester United

2016-17

Leicester City surprised everyone to win the 2015-16 Premier League after a historic season. They entered the Champions League as the champions of England. Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester City qualified as the second to fourth spot finishers. 

• Leicester City (Champions, 1st)
• Arsenal (2nd)
• Tottenham Hotspur (3rd)
• Manchester City (4th)

2017-18

Chelsea qualified for the Champions League by winning the 2016-17 Premier League. Spurs, who were very close of a title, finished second to qualify for Europe. Manchester City and Liverpool qualified as the third and fourth place finishers. 

Meantime, Manchester United, who were sixth in the league qualified after winning the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League. 

• Chelsea (Champions, 1st)
• Tottenham Hotspur (2nd)
• Manchester City (3rd)
• Liverpool (4th)
• Manchester United (6th, qualified via Europa League win)

2018-19

Manchester City's domination in the Premier League started with winning the 2017-18 season, as they entered the Champions League 2018-19 as the champions of England. Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool were the other teams to qualify for Champions League.

Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur played an all-England final where Liverpool defeated Spurs by 2-0 to win the title. 

• Manchester City (Champions, 1st)
• Manchester United (2nd)
• Tottenham Hotspur (3rd)
• Liverpool (4th)

2019-20

After winning the Champions League, Liverpool finished second in the Premier League, just one point behind the champions, Manchester City. Chelsea and Spurs qualified as the third and fourth team from Premier League.

• Manchester City (Champions, 1st)
• Liverpool (2nd)
• Chelsea (3rd)
• Tottenham Hotspur (4th)

2020-21

Liverpool finally broke City's Premier League domination as they lifted 2019-20 Premier League title with 18 points lead over Manchester City, who finished second. Manchester United and Chelsea were the other teams to qualify for the Champions League.

Manchester City and Chelsea played an all-English Champions League in 2021, where Chelsea won their second UCL title. 

• Liverpool (Champions, 1st)
• Manchester City (2nd)
• Manchester United (3rd)
• Chelsea (4th)

2021-22

Manchester City again won the Premier League title to qualify for Europe, with Manchester United finishing second in the league. Liverpool and Chelsea were the other tequalified as the third and fourth teams from the Premier League. 

Liverpool lost the Champions League final against Real Madrid in the 2021-22 season.

• Manchester City (Champions, 1st)
• Manchester United (2nd)
• Liverpool (3rd)
• Chelsea (4th)

2022-23

City defended the Premier League title in the 2021-22 season and entered the Champions League 2022-23, which they eventually won, beating Inter Milan in the final. 

Liverpool, who lost the Premier League race by just one point, qualified alongside Chelsea and Spurs.

• Manchester City (Champions, 1st)
• Liverpool (2nd)
• Chelsea (3rd)
• Tottenham Hotspur (4th)

2023-24

City won their third consecutive Premier League title helped them earn the Champions League spot. Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle United qualified for the Champions League 2023-24. 

• Manchester City (Champions, 1st)
• Arsenal (2nd)
• Manchester United (3rd)
• Newcastle United (4th)

2024-25

Back-to-back four Premier League titles for City ensured them another go at the Champions League. Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston Villa were the other teams from Premier League to qualify for the new format Champions Legaue. 

Arsenal were the only team from the Premier League to play semi-final that season.

• Manchester City (Champions, 1st)
• Arsenal (2nd)
• Liverpool (3rd)
• Aston Villa (4th)

Read Also | Most English Top Flight Titles: Liverpool equal with United

2025-26

A record six teams qualified for the 2025-26 Champions League season from the Premier League. Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea qualified as the top four teams. The EPS allowed an added spot as Newcastle United qualified as the fifth team.

Spurs qualified as the Europa League 2024-25 winners. Chelsea can also become the seventh team to qualify from the Premier League, if they win the UEFA Conference League final against Real Betis on 28th May. 

• Liverpool (Champions, 1st)
• Arsenal (2nd)
• Manchester City (3rd)
• Chelsea (4th)
• Newcastle United (5th)
• Tottenham Hotspur (17th, qualified via Europa League win)

The game between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad was stopped for a few minutes as Luka Modric was substituted in the second half.

Real Madrid players gave him a guard of honour while Toni Kroos and Carlo Ancelotti gave a special hug to Real Madrid's most decorated player ever. 

Read Also | Luka Modric to Depart Real Madrid After Club World Cup, Leaving Legacy as Club Legend

Modric will end his Real Madrid career with the FIFA Club World Cup and, till now, has won 28 trophies for the Los Blancos. 

Along with Modric, it was also Carlo Ancelotti's last home match for Real Madrid, as he will also be leaving Real Madrid at the end of this season. 

The European leagues are up and running and we have already witnessed some great encounters between the top European teams. The hunt to win the European Golden Boot is also taking shape for the 2024-25 season.

Some big names from the Top five European leagues are already in full swing and they are scoring loads of goals to clinch the coveted annual award for the highest goalscorer in Europe. However, some young and talented players have enlisted themselves in the charts as well; even from outside of the top five European leagues.

According to the coefficient rankings updated by UEFA on 7 November 2024, the top five European Leagues are the English Premier League, Serie A (Italy), LaLiga (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany), and French Ligue 1 respectively. 

Sportzpoint brings you all the details about the leading goalscorers in the top five European leagues, details of the UEFA League ranking, and the leading goalscorers competing for the 2024-25 European Golden Boot.

The European Golden Boot Race

The Golden Boot is awarded by European Sports Media (ESM) which is a unified association of Football Magazine publications such as Marca, Kicker, La Gazzetta dello Sport, Frankfurter AZ, etc. They took over since 1996-97 season and started a new ranking system based on the position of the league for the respective players. 

The UEFA coefficient ranking is considered a measure for weighting points, with the principle being to acknowledge players who score in leagues of higher quality according to rankings, which makes it tougher to find the back of the net.

The number of goals scored in the top five leagues of Europe are counted with a multiplier of two, while those from leagues ranked six to 21 receive a 1.5 multiplier, and goals from all other leagues are counted as one.

This is how the points system works. 

⚽️🏆 Players with the Most European Golden Boot Wins:

🇦🇷 Lionel Messi: 6
🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo: 4
🇺🇾 Luis Suarez: 2
🇫🇷 Thierry Henry: 2
🇵🇱 Robert Lewandowski: 2

😳😳😳🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/AObaXoSpah

— Sholy Nation Sports (@Sholynationsp) July 26, 2024

Before looking at the players' list, here is the official UEFA ranking of league coefficients:

UEFA Ranking: League coefficients

Rank 1-5

Goal scorers from these five leagues receive a multiplier of 2. 

Rank 6-21

Goal scorers from these leagues ranked from 6 to 21 receive a multiplier of 1.5. 

Top goalscorers of the 2024-25 season in the top 5 European Leagues (as of 24th May 2025):

Premier League | England

1. Mohamed Salah | 28 Goals

• Club: Liverpool FC
• Nationality: Egypt
• Appearances: 37
• Goals: 28

2. Alexander Isak | 23 goals

• Club: Newcastle United
• Nationality: Sweden
• Appearances: 33
• Goals: 23

3. Erling Haaland | 21 goals

• Club: Manchester City
• Nationality: Norway
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 21

4. Chris Wood | 20 goals

• Club: Nottingham Forrest
• Nationality: New Zealand
• Appearances: 35
• Goals: 20

5. Bryan Mbeumo | 19 goals

• Club: Brentford
• Nationality: Cameroon
• Appearances: 37
• Goals: 19

Serie A | Italy

1. Mario Retegui | 25 goals 

• Club: Atalanta BC
• Nationality: Italy
• Appearances: 35
• Goals: 25

2. Moise Kean | 18 goals

• Club: AFC Fiorentina
• Nationality: Italy
• Appearances: 10
• Goals: 5

3. Ademola Lookman | 15 goals

• Club: Atalanta BC
• Nationality: Nigeria
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 15

4. Romelo Lukaku | 14 goals

• Club: Napoli
• Nationality: Belgium
• Appearances: 36
• Goals: 14

5. Marcus Thuram | 14 goals 

• Club: Inter Milan
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 32
• Goals: 14

LaLiga | Spain

1. Kylian Mbappe | 30 goals

• Club: Real Madrid
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 34
• Goals: 30

2. Robert Lewandowski | 25 goals 

• Club: FC Barcelona
• Nationality: Poland
• Appearances: 33
• Goals: 25

3. Ante Budimir | 21 goals 

• Club: CA Osasuna
• Nationality: Croatia
• Appearances: 37
• Goals: 21

4. Ayoze Perez | 19 goals 

• Club: Villarreal
• Nationality: Spain
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 19

5. Raphinha | 18 goals

• Club: FC Barcelona
• Nationality: Brazil
• Appearances: 35
• Goals: 18

Bundesliga | Germany 

1. Harry Kane | 26 goals 

• Club: Bayern Munich
• Nationality: England
• Appearances: 31
• Goals: 26

2. Serhou Guirassy | 21 goals

• Club: Borussia Dortmund
• Nationality: Guinea
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 21

3. Patrik Schick | 21 goals

• Club: Bayer Leverkusen 
• Nationality: Czech Republic
• Appearances: 31
• Goals: 21

4. Jonathan Burkardt | 18 goals

• Club: 1.FSV Mainz 05
• Nationality: Belgium
• Appearances: 29
• Goals: 18

5. Tim Kleindienst | 16 goals 

• Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
• Nationality: Germany
• Appearances: 31
• Goals: 16

Ligue 1 | France

1. Ousmane Dembele | 21 goals 

• Club: Paris Saint-Germain
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 29
• Goals: 21

2. Mason Greenwood | 21 goals 

• Club: Olympique de Marseille
• Nationality: England
• Appearances: 34
• Goals: 21

3. Arnaud Kalimuendo | 17 goals

• Club: Stade Rennais FC
  
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 33
• Goals: 17

4. Jonathan David | 16 goals

• Club: Lille OSC
• Nationality: Canada
• Appearances: 32
• Goals: 16

5. Alexandre Lacazette | 15 goals

• Club: Lyon
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 15

Read Also | Most goals in Europe's Top Five Leagues in 2023/24 Season

The Ultimate European Golden Boot Race (Among the top 10 European Leagues according to UEFA coefficient rankings)

Considering the players from the top 10 European leagues in this list, this is what the current race of chasing the 2024-25 European Golden Boot looks like:

The Champions League has always been a huge honour for any team. Teams like Real Madrid have won the trophy as many as 15 times while AC Milan, FC Barcelona, Ajax and Bayern Munich have won found success in Europe's biggest club competition. 

As a result, the players from such elite teams as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax, and AC Milan dominate the charts of players with the most Champions League titles.

Also Read: Most Champions League titles won by Football Clubs

Players who have won the most Champions League titles

Iconic Real Madrid left-winger Paco Gento used to hold the record for the most Champions League titles by a player. He has won six trophies in his 18 years at the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, Real Madrid legends Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal, Luka Modric and Nacho have equalled his record and became the only players to win six Champions League titles in the UCL era. 

Former Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo is tied up at 5 UCL titles with players like Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Larence Seedorf as well as other Real Madrid giants in Hector Rial and Marquitos, Lucas Vázquez, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and a few others.

Also Read: Top 5 Defenders with the Most Champions League Goals

Former Barcelona superstars, Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, and Gerard Pique won four titles as a player. 

List of Players who have won more than four UCL titles:

Real Madrid CF announced that their captain, Luka Modric, will conclude his illustrious tenure with the club following the Club World Cup, set to begin on June 18 in the United States. The Croatian midfielder, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the club’s history, will bid farewell after an extraordinary 13-year journey.

Since joining Real Madrid in 2012, Modric has been a cornerstone of one of the most triumphant eras in the club’s storied history.

Over his 13 seasons, he amassed an unparalleled 28 titles, including 6 European Cups, 6 Club World Cups, 5 European Super Cups, 4 LaLiga titles, 2 Copas del Rey, and 5 Spanish Super Cups.

His trophy cabinet makes him the player with the most titles in Real Madrid’s 123-year history, a record shared by only five players in football history who have won six European Cups.

Modric’s individual accolades are equally remarkable. In 2018, he claimed the Ballon d’Or, FIFA The Best Men’s Player, and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year awards.

He has been named to the FIFA FIFPro World XI six times and was recognised as the Champions League Best Midfielder twice. On the pitch for Real Madrid, Modric made 590 appearances, scoring 43 goals, and earned a Golden Ball and Silver Ball at the Club World Cup.

Internationally, Modric is Croatia’s record holder for appearances with 186 caps. His leadership guided Croatia to a runner-up finish at the 2018 World Cup, where he won the Golden Ball, and a third-place finish in 2022, earning the Bronze Ball.

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez praised Modric’s impact, stating, “Luka Modric will forever remain in the hearts of all madridistas as a unique and exemplary footballer who has always embodied the values of Real Madrid. His football has captured the imagination of Madridismo and fans all over the world. His legacy will live on forever.”