UCL goal machine

©TM/IMAGO

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski made history on Tuesday night by becoming only the third player in Champions League history to score 100 goals in European competition. In a routine 2-0 win over Brest, the Polish striker needed just ten minutes to open the scoring for the LaLiga side as he went to the penalty spot and confidently fired the ball into the right corner of the net. The goal now means Lewandowski has scored a remarkable 100 goals in 125 Champions League games for Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and now Barcelona.

This success now means the 36-year-old talisman is behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in goals in the competition, with the Portuguese legend scoring 141 goals and his generational talent scoring 129 goals. However, with both players now playing elsewhere in world football, this means that Lewandowski is now the only active player in European football to have scored 100 goals in the tournament. And the Barcelona player may have every intention of leading Hansi Flick’s side to titles in the competition and far more goals along the way. But could Lewandowski really equal the records of Messi or Ronaldo before finally hanging up his shooting boots for the final time?

How does Lewandowksi compare to Messi and Ronaldo’s Champions League record?

As we can see in the table below, unlike Ronaldo and Messi who have played significantly more games, Lewandowski has a strong goals-per-game ratio of 0.8, demonstrating his incredible efficiency in front of goal . Comparing Lewandowski’s stats to those of Ronaldo and Messi, his goals-per-game ratio is slightly higher than Ronaldo’s (0.75), but slightly lower than Messi’s (0.79). This puts Lewandowski in the elite class and shows his ability to consistently score goals in fewer appearances. His efficiency is further highlighted by his 100-goal milestone, which he scored in 125 games, cementing his reputation as one of the best strikers in Champions League history.

Lewandowski’s closest competitors in the top 10 include Karim Benzema, who scored 90 goals in 152 games, and Raul, who scored 71 goals in 144 appearances. While Benzema’s contributions have been invaluable to Real Madrid’s success, Lewandowski’s goals per game rate of 0.8 is significantly better than Benzema’s 0.59, highlighting Lewandowski’s clinical finishing abilities. Among retired players, Ruud van Nistelrooy stands out with 60 goals in 73 games, a phenomenal rate of 0.82 that easily surpasses Lewandowski’s efficiency. The rest of the top 10 includes iconic names such as Thierry Henry, Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi, all of whom have made huge contributions to their teams’ European campaigns. However, none of these players come close to Lewandowski’s remarkable consistency and efficiency. His record reflects not only his longevity, but also his dominance as a modern striker capable of succeeding at the highest level of European football. And hints at what else could lie ahead for the Barcelona striker.

Could Lewandowski equal Messi or Ronaldo’s Champions League goalscoring record?

Due to the expansion of the Champions League format, should Barcelona reach the final of the competition, Lewandowski could theoretically play a further 10 games in Europe until the end of the season. And then possibly another 15 games if the Spanish giants repeat the feat next season. Even though Flick’s side failed to achieve such results in this competition, it is safe to assume that the Polish striker is expected to play at least 15 more Champions League games before the end of his career. If we then take into account that he averaged 0.8 goals per game over the course of his career, that would mean that the striker could add another 12 goals to his tally and reach 112 goals by the end of the competition. In other words, Lewandowski would probably need another 36 or 37 games in this competition to match Messi’s goal tally. And while that’s not entirely impossible given the new competition format, it still seems highly unlikely.