Chelsea vs Villarreal: UEFA Super Cup match background, facts and stats

Chelsea and Villarreal contest the first silverware of the new European club season in the UEFA Super Cup at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park in Belfast.

• Chelsea claimed their second UEFA Champions League title in 2020/21, beating Manchester City in an all-English final in Portugal to add to their 2012 triumph. They are now looking to add to their single UEFA Super Cup success in 1998; they have lost three times in the match since that victory in Monaco.

• Villarreal also overcame Premier League opposition to claim European silverware last season, eventually defeating Manchester United in a marathon penalty shoot-out in the UEFA Europa League final in Poland to secure the first major trophy in their history. They are now looking to become the 25th club – and the sixth from Spain – to win the UEFA Super Cup, and the first new name on the trophy since holders Bayern München claimed the first of their two titles in 2013.

• The last three UEFA Super Cup matches, and six of the last eight, have gone to extra time.

• This is both sides' first UEFA competition game in Northern Ireland.

Super Cup pedigree

Chelsea

• Chelsea's record in the UEFA Super Cup is W1 L3:
1998: W 1-0 v Real Madrid (Monaco)
2012: L 1-4 v Atlético de Madrid (Monaco)
2013: L 2-2, 4-5 pens v Bayern (Prague)
2019: L 2-2, 4-5 pens v Liverpool (Istanbul)

• Chelsea's total of five UEFA Super Cup appearances is bettered by five teams: Barcelona (nine), AC Milan and Real Madrid (both seven) and Liverpool and Sevilla (both six).

• A Premier League side has not beaten non-English opponents in the UEFA Super Cup since Liverpool's 2005 victory against CSKA Moskva. England have since suffered five defeats, only claiming the trophy in 2019 when Liverpool beat Chelsea in the first all-English UEFA Super Cup match.

• Mateo Kovačić was in the Real Madrid side that beat Sevilla 3-2 after extra time in the 2016 UEFA Super Cup, and was on the bench as Manchester United were defeated 2-1 a year later. He also started Chelsea's 2019 defeat by Liverpool.

• César Azpilicueta was an unused substitute in Chelsea's 2013 defeat by Bayern. Two years ago against Liverpool he skippered a Chelsea team that also included Kepa, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, Emerson, Jorginho, N'Golo Kanté, Christian Pulišić and substitutes Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham.

Villarreal

• This is Villarreal's first UEFA Super Cup appearance; they are the 38th team to feature in the match and the first newcomers since Atlético de Madrid and Internazionale in 2010.

• Villarreal are the seventh Liga club to play in the UEFA Super Cup, after Barcelona (nine appearances), Real Madrid (seven), Sevilla (six), Atlético (three), Valencia (two) and Real Zaragoza (one).

• Spanish sides have won 15 UEFA Super Cups (Barcelona 5, Real Madrid 4, Atlético 3, Valencia 2, Sevilla 1), more than any other country. This is Spain's 29th appearance, also a competition record – ten more than second-placed England.

• Spanish sides won nine of the ten UEFA Super Cups played between 2009 and 2018, the exception Bayern's 2013 defeat of Chelsea, but have not lifted the trophy since.

• Villarreal coach Unai Emery took charge of Sevilla for their UEFA Super Cup defeats by Real Madrid in 2014 (0-2) and Barcelona in 2015 (4-5 aet).

• Sergio Asenjo was an unused substitute in Atlético's 2012 UEFA Super Cup win against Chelsea.

• Vicente Iborra was a non-playing substitute for Sevilla in their 2014 UEFA Super Cup defeat by Real Madrid but started both subsequent losses to Barcelona (2015) and Madrid (2016), captaining the side in the latter.

Previous meetings

• This is the first fixture between the sides. Villarreal will be the ninth Spanish side Chelsea have faced in UEFA club competition; Chelsea are Villarreal's seventh English opponents.

Form guide

Chelsea

• Chelsea qualifed for the UEFA Super Cup by beating Manchester City 1-0 in the all-English UEFA Champions League final at Porto's Estádio do Dragão on 29 May, Kai Havertz scoring the only goal in the first half – his first strike in the competition.

• The Blues had made smooth progress through their section, winning all three away games and dropping points only in their first and last fixtures, at home to Sevilla (0-0) and Krasnodar (1-1) respectively, as they finished first in Group E. Rennes were beaten 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and on their travels the English club picked up maximum points at Krasnodar (4-0), Rennes (2-1) and Sevilla (4-0); the latter result made sure of first place in the section, Olivier Giroud becoming the first Chelsea player to score four times in a European Cup match – and at 34 years 63 days the oldest hat-trick scorer in UEFA Champions League history.

• With Thomas Tuchel having replaced Frank Lampard as head coach, Chelsea then eased past Atlético de Madrid in the round of 16, winning 1-0 in Bucharest before a 2-0 home victory, and held off Porto in the last eight (2-0 a, 0-1 h) with both matches played in Seville. Chelsea then got the better of Real Madrid in the semi-finals (1-1 a, 2-0 h) before claiming their second UEFA Champions League title against City.

• Chelsea's overall record against Spanish clubs is W19 D17 L10. At neutral venues it is W3 D1 L1.

• A 1-0 home loss to Valencia on Matchday 1 of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League is one of only four defeats in Chelsea's last 30 matches against Spanish opponents overall (W11 D15). Before winning at Sevilla on Matchday 5 last season, the Blues had been victorious in only one of their previous 11 fixtures against Liga clubs, home and away (D6 L4); they have now won four of the last five, conceding only one goal.

• Fourth in the Premier League in 2020/21 for the second campaign in a row, Chelsea will embark on their 18th UEFA Champions League campaign, and a fourth in five years, this season. The exception came in 2018/19, when they won the UEFA Europa League under Maurizio Sarri.

• Last season Chelsea won nine of their 13 UEFA Champions League matches (D3 L1).

• Edouard Mendy kept nine clean sheets in 12 UEFA Champions League matches last season, the most in a campaign by a goalkeeper for an English side in the competition's history.

• Chelsea's record in six UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L4:
1-4 v Liverpool, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League semi-final
5-6 v Manchester United, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League final
4-3 v Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League final
4-5 v Bayern München, 2013 UEFA Super Cup
4-3 v Eintracht Frankfurt, 2018/19 UEFA Europa League semi-final
4-5 v Liverpool, 2019 UEFA Super Cup

• Chelsea are the only club ever to have lost a UEFA Super Cup on penalties – and have done so twice.

Villarreal

• Villarreal claimed their first major silverware in the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League final, beating Manchester United 11-10 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the Gdańsk Stadium. Gerard Moreno's first-half goal was cancelled out after the break but Villarreal converted all 11 of their kicks in the shoot-out, goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli scoring their last before saving from opposite number David de Gea to secure victory.

• Villarreal cruised to first place in Group I ahead of Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Sivasspor and Qarabağ to reach the round of 32 for the eighth time before comfortably disposing of UEFA Champions League group stage participants Salzburg (2-0 a, 2-1 h) and Dynamo Kyiv (2-0 a, 2-0 h). They also won both quarter-final matches against Dinamo Zagreb (1-0 a, 2-1 h) and then knocked out Emery's former employers Arsenal in the semi-final (2-1 h, 0-0 a). Villarreal were undefeated in Europe in 2020/21 with 11 wins and three draws.

• That means Villarreal are now undefeated by non-Spanish opposition in 24 European matches (W16 D8).

• The defeat of United came in Villarreal's first major European final, though they were twice winners of the UEFA Intertoto Cup (2003, 2004) having finished as runners-up in 2002.

• Villarreal's all-time record against Premier League opposition in six UEFA knockout ties is now W3 L3; before beating Arsenal last season, the only other success had come in the first of them, against Everton in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round (2-1 a, 2-1 h). Beaten twice by Arsenal in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League – in the 2005/06 semi-finals (0-1 a, 0-0 h) and the 2008/09 quarter-finals (1-1 h, 0-3 a) – their other defeat was against Liverpool in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League semi-final (1-0 h, 0-3 a).

• Villarreal's overall record against English clubs is W5 D8 L5. This is their second encounter at a neutral venue after the final against United.

• Seventh in the Spanish Liga in 2020/21, Villarreal's UEFA Europa League triumph means they will play in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the fourth time, and the first since 2011/12.

• Villarreal's record in three UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W3 L0:
4-3 v Torino, 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup third round
3-1 v Atlético de Madrid, 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup final
11-10 v Manchester United, 2020/21 UEFA Europa League final

Links and trivia

• Emery replaced long-serving Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger in May 2018 and oversaw 78 matches for the Gunners until his dismissal in November 2019. His three matches against Chelsea all came in 2018/19; Emery's second game in charge was a 3-2 Premier League loss at Stamford Bridge, before a 2-0 home win at the Arsenal Stadium on 19 January 2019. The season ended with a 4-1 Chelsea win against Emery's Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League final in Baku.

• Emery was also in charge of the Valencia side that drew 1-1 at home to Chelsea on Matchday 2 of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League before a 3-0 Matchday 6 loss in west London.

• While this is Thomas Tuchel's first match against Villarreal, the German is unbeaten as a head coach against Spanish clubs (W4 D4).

• Emery and Tuchel have never previously faced each other, though both are former head coaches of Paris Saint-Germain, the German having succeeded the Spaniard at the Parc des Princes in 2018.

• Have played in Spain:
Mateo Kovačić (Real Madrid 2015–18)
Marcos Alonso (Real Madrid 1999–2010)
Kepa (Athletic Club 2014–18, Ponferradina 2015 loan, Valladolid 2015/16 loan)
César Azpilicueta (Osasuna 2001–10)

• Have played in England:
Juan Foyth (Tottenham 2017–20)
Étienne Capoue (Tottenham 2013–15, Watford 2015–21)
Francis Coquelin (Arsenal 2008–18)
Alberto Moreno (Liverpool 2014–19)
Ramiro Funes Mori (Everton 2015–18)
Vicente Iborra (Leicester City 2017–18)
Dani Parejo (Queens Park Rangers 2008/09 loan)

• Kovačić was an unused substitute in Madrid's UEFA Champions League final victories in 2017 and 2018 having missed out on the matchday squad for their 2016 final triumph. He was also in Madrid's victorious squads in the 2016 and 2017 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2016/17 Spanish Liga and Super Cup.

• Kovačić was in the Croatia side defeated 5-3 after extra time by a Spain team featuring substitute Pau Torres in the round of 16 at UEFA EURO 2020. Azpilicueta scored Spain's second goal in that game.