The 155-game tournament snapshot
The verified whole-competition totals describe a tournament with 370 goals across 155 completed games, an average of 2.39 goals per game. One-goal decisions were the largest of the listed match-count indicators: 63 games, equivalent to 40.6% of the coverage. Draws represented 41 games, or 26.5%.
| Indicator | Count or total | Share or rate |
|---|---|---|
| One-goal decisions | 63 matches | 40.6% of games |
| Draws | 41 matches | 26.5% of games |
| 0-0 matches | 13 matches | 8.4% of games |
| Four-goal-plus matches | 34 matches | 21.9% of games |
| Total goals | 370 goals | 2.39 per game |
Shares are calculated against the 155-game denominator and rounded to one decimal place. The 13 nil-nil matches are already included in the 41 draws, while a four-goal-plus match can also have a one-goal margin. These are therefore overlapping indicators, not four buckets that should be added together.
What each scoreline indicator measures
Margins, totals and shoot-outs
A one-goal decision is a match whose recorded scoreline has a margin of exactly one goal. A draw is a level match scoreline, and a nil-nil is the 0-0 subset of those draws. A four-goal-plus match is one in which the two teams' match goals total at least four.
Penalty shoot-outs are separate from those scoreline measures. They settle advancement after a drawn match scoreline, but the kicks are not additional match goals. A match that is level on its recorded scoreline remains a draw in this classification, and a shoot-out does not turn it into a one-goal decision or add to the 370-goal total.
Why the totals cannot be added
The indicators use different lenses. One-goal decisions measure the margin, draws measure equality, 0-0 matches identify the lowest-scoring draw, and four-goal-plus matches measure the combined goal total. Their counts can overlap, so the meaningful comparison is each count against its stated denominator.
The distribution of games by phase
A by-round reading starts with the number of games each segment can contribute. The table below keeps the qualifying rounds, all six group-stage rounds and every knockout round separate.
| Phase | Round detail | Completed games |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | First qualifying round | 6 |
| Qualifying | Second qualifying round | 16 |
| Qualifying | Third qualifying round | 8 |
| Qualifying subtotal | All qualifying rounds | 30 |
| Group stage | Round 1 of 6 | 16 |
| Group stage | Round 2 of 6 | 16 |
| Group stage | Round 3 of 6 | 16 |
| Group stage | Round 4 of 6 | 16 |
| Group stage | Round 5 of 6 | 16 |
| Group stage | Round 6 of 6 | 16 |
| Group-stage subtotal | All six rounds | 96 |
| Knockout | Round of 16 | 16 |
| Knockout | Quarter-finals | 8 |
| Knockout | Semi-finals | 4 |
| Knockout | Final: Botafogo v Atlético-MG | 1 |
| Knockout subtotal | All knockout rounds | 29 |
| Total coverage | Qualifying, group stage and knockout | 155 |
The three phase subtotals sum to the full 155-game coverage: 30 qualifying games, 96 group-stage games and 29 knockout games. The verified scoreline numerators are reported for the complete sample. No phase-level allocation of the 63 one-goal decisions, 41 draws, 13 nil-nils or 34 four-goal-plus matches is stated here, so those counts should not be assigned to particular rounds without additional evidence.
How the later rounds became narrower
A shrinking bracket changes the denominator
The later rounds became narrower in match volume. The group stage supplies 16 games in each of its six rounds, whereas the knockout bracket moves from 16 Round-of-16 games to eight quarter-finals, four semi-finals and one final. That makes the final pairing of Botafogo and Atlético-MG a single observation within the 29-game knockout sample, not a typical stand-in for all 155 games.
This distinction matters when reading one-goal decisions, draws, 0-0 matches and four-goal-plus games by round. A raw count from a 16-game round cannot be compared directly with a raw count from a four-game round or the one-game final. The overall totals establish the competition-wide profile; they do not, on their own, reveal a monotonic phase-by-phase movement in any one indicator.
Description is not causation
The figures support a descriptive statement about match volume and scoreline markers. They do not prove that reaching a later round caused closer scorelines, more draws, fewer goals or any other outcome. A difference between phases would be a correlation to examine, not evidence of causation, and the aggregate numerators supplied here are not enough to calculate that phase comparison.
Method and coverage
The unit of analysis
The unit is one completed Libertadores game. The coverage is organized into the three qualifying rounds, the six group-stage rounds and the knockout rounds shown in the denominator table. The phase counts are match counts, and together they total 155.
Classification rules
- One-goal decision
- The recorded match scoreline has a goal margin of exactly one.
- Draw
- The recorded match scoreline is level, whether or not advancement is later settled by a shoot-out.
- 0-0 match
- The recorded scoreline is nil-nil; it is a subset of the draw total.
- Four-goal-plus match
- The two teams' recorded match goals add up to at least four.
- Total goals
- The sum of recorded match goals across the 155 games, excluding shoot-out kicks as match goals.
Percentages in this article use 155 as the denominator and are rounded to one decimal place. The goals-per-game figure is 370 divided by 155, rounded to two decimal places.
Limitations and safe interpretation
- Aggregate rather than phase numerators: the verified event totals are whole-competition figures. They cannot be redistributed across qualifying, group-stage or knockout rounds from the totals alone.
- Different denominators: the six group rounds each contain 16 games, but the knockout rounds contain 16, eight, four and one. Raw counts therefore reflect different sample sizes.
- Overlapping measures: 0-0 matches are part of the draw total, and the four-goal-plus and one-goal-margin tests can both apply to the same scoreline.
- No causal claim: a narrower later bracket describes the number of observations, not a proven reason for any scoreline pattern.
- Coverage boundary: the findings apply to the 155 completed games in this analysis and should not be extended to matches outside that stated coverage.
Botafogo and Atlético-MG provide the official final context, but the one-game final denominator is too small to represent the knockout sample or the tournament as a whole.
Five-question FAQ
What is the denominator for each major phase?
There are 30 qualifying games, 96 group-stage games across six rounds and 29 knockout games, for 155 completed games in total.
How frequent were one-goal decisions?
There were 63 one-goal decisions, equal to 40.6% of the 155-game sample.
How many draws finished 0-0?
Thirteen of the 41 draws were 0-0. That is 8.4% of all games and 31.7% of all draws, with the latter share rounded to one decimal place.
Can a match count as both a one-goal decision and a four-goal-plus match?
Yes. One measure uses the goal margin and the other uses the combined goal total, so the categories are not mutually exclusive and their counts should not be added.
Do penalty shoot-outs count as match goals or one-goal decisions?
No. Shoot-outs determine advancement after a drawn match scoreline; they do not change the match classification or add kicks to the 370-goal total.