3 days ago
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Ronaldo & Messi dominate
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The new Champions League format, which was brought in last season, is still met with mixed reviews from supporters around Europe, but one thing that it has guaranteed is more games. Which usually means more goals. There are eight games in the new league phase - two more than in the previous group stage - as well as a play-off round which adds a further 16 matches. And many attacking players have been taking advantage of the opportunity to find the net on more occasions. None more so than Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé.
The French superstar scored a remarkable 13 goals during the league phase and he netted his 14th of the competition against Bayern Munich. It was a severely disappointing night for Los Blancos as Bayern claimed a massive win the Santiago Bernabeu but Mbappe's second half strike preserves some hope ahead of the second leg in Munich. Mbappé ranks in the top 10 players with the most goals in a single Champions League season but it's looking very unlikely that he will break the all-time record.
Most goals scored in a Champions League season
Leading the way is the competition's all-time top goalscorer, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese legend scored as many as 17 goals in the 2013/14 campaign as Real Madrid went on to win 'La Decima' - their 10th Champions League trophy. Incredibly, Ronaldo also takes both second and third place, having scored 16 goals in the 2015/16 season and 15 goals in the 2017/18 campaign. Fourth goes to Robert Lewandowski who scored 15 goals for Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 season, whilst Karim Benzema scored 15 times for Los Blancos in 2021/22.
The magician, Lionel Messi takes sixth position, having scored 14 times in the 2011/12 season, but the Argentine's Barcelona did not win the Champions League that term. Mbappe has now joined Messi on 14 goals but it's very unlikely that the Frenchman will break Ronaldo's record as Bayern are massive favourites to progress into the semi-final. Lewandowski is back in seventh, having scored 12 in 2021/22. Barca's Raphinha and Borussia Dortmund Serhou Guirassy take eighth and ninth, having both scored 13 goals last term.
