Where does Brest's strong UCL start sit in the history of Ligue 1 clubs?

Stade Brestois 29 defied the odds on Tuesday by securing a famous win (0-4) away to RB Salzburg. But where does this superb performance fit into the history of French football in the European Cup?

"What we experienced last year is not ordinary, but it is not something that fell from the sky. It means that this team has something extra, it has a certain state of mind," recalled coach Éric Roy on Tuesday after Stade Brestois 29's incredible victory in the UEFA Champions League. It is difficult to contradict the Breton coach, as his players recorded one of the best away performances for a French club in the history of the Champions League. Here's a look back at the stats around the Brestois' feat.

Une soirée exceptionnelle ! 🇪🇺

Revivez les buts brestois en intégralité 👇🔴⚪

— Stade Brestois 29 (@SB29) October 2, 2024

After their inaugural victory against Sturm Graz (2-1), the "Ty-Zefs" confirmed their passion for facing Austrian sides by thrashing RB Salzburg on their home turf (0-4). Despite their novice status, SB29 have become the first French team outside PSG to win their first two games of a Champions League season since Olympique de Marseille in 2011/12.

Thanks to a double from Abdallah Sima and goals from Mahdi Camara and Mathias Perreira Lage, the Bretons became the first French club to score 4 goals in their first away game in the Champions League. More generally, an away victory of this magnitude is quite rare in the history of French football in Europe's top competition. Tuesday, SB29 became the sixth French team to win by at least 4 goals in a Champions League away game.

In this category, it was Stade de Reims that opened the show in October 1960, before being imitated by OM (twice), AS Monaco, OL (twice) and PSG (6 times). To date, the biggest French performance away from home in the competition remains the property of the Marseillais, who won by 7 goals (0-7) against the Slovak side Zilina in November 2010, with in particular a hat-trick from André-Pierre Gignac.

It should be noted that the biggest French victory away from home in the knockout phase is to be credited to PSG, winner by 4 goals (0-4) against Bayer Leverkusen in the Round of 16 in 2013/14. In the same edition, the Parisians had already made their mark a few months earlier, by winning (0-5) at Anderlecht.

Abdallah Sima on fire

Elected "Player of the match" for the second time in two games, Abdallah Sima once again stood out. Already the scorer of three goals in the competition, the 23-year-old Senegalese international currently occupies second place in the competition's scorers ranking, with Karim Adeyemi and Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund), behind leader Harry Kane (4 goals). 

Read more:

French Clubs' UCL debuts: From Auxerre to Brest

France in Europe so far: Ligue 1 clubs impress