Igor Akinfeev Has Kept His First Champions League Clean Sheet In 11 Years

He's done it, lads. He's finally done it. Igor Akinfeev has kept a clean sheet in the Champions League. And it's only taken him 11 years.

The CSKA Moscow goalkeeper has conceded at least one goal in every game he's played in European football's elite competition since 1st November 2006, during a group game against Arsenal.

While the Russia international did break his overall duck during a 2-0 victory against AEK Athens, this summer, that match was in the qualifying stages of the competition, rather than the tournament proper.

And it was another 2-0 victory that brought an end to Akinfeev's nightmare run in the main competition, which stretches back a remarkable 44 matches to that 0-0 draw with Arsenal, in 2006, as CSKA saw off Portuguese giants Benfica to keep their hopes of advancing to the round of 16 alive.

Tonight's victory over Benfica leaves CSKA on nine points, three ahead of Switzerland's FC Basel, who entertain Manchester United, tonight.

Well played, Igor. Maybe don't leave it 11 years until your next clean sheet though.

Topics: Football News, Football, Champions League

Joe Baiamonte

Northerner. Assistant Editor of SPORTbible. Studied Journalism and Broadcasting in a portakabin on a car park of Salford University for three years. Believes football peaked with Serie A in the '90s and strong-arms pro wrestling references into as many articles as possible. Neymar once took 50 euros off me during a game of poker.

@JoeBaia