Karim Benzema made headlines once again as he scored against Chelsea on Wednesday. However, he’s not yet among the players with the most UEFA Champions League quarterfinal goals in Europe’s top-5 leagues.
Of course, the Frenchman has now scored back-to-back goals in the UCL quarterfinals against the West London club.
Benzema is now among the players to score 90+ goals in the UEFA Champions League, as he was on the scoresheet at Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday.
Top 4 players to score more than 90 goals in the European Cup or UCL
- Cristiano Ronaldo – 140 goals
- Lionel Messi – 129 goals
- Robert Lewandowski – 91 goals
- Karim Benzema – 90 goals
Obviously, the Barcelona striker is no longer in the UEFA Champions League this season. As a result, the Frenchman may leapfrog him in the second-leg at Stamford Bridge.
Benzema has been making waves for the past two seasons, as he won the 2022 Ballon D’or award. Of course, he’s making headlines.
Therefore, Karim is expected to join the caliber of players who have scored the most UEFA Champions League quarterfinal goals in the 2023-2024 campaign.
Statistically, the Frenchman has now registered 20 goals against English opponents in the competition, only Lionel Messi is above him with 27 goals.
Surprisingly, Karim Benzema Real Madrid last 11 UEFA Champions League goals have been scored against Premier League teams.
He has now recorded 5 goals against Chelsea, 3 goals vs Manchester City and 3 goals against Liverpool, all of which came in the knockout stage.
Regardless, the Frenchman will have to step up his game, so as to be able to dine with the big boys based on the most UEFA Champions League quarterfinal goals.
Benzema should be called “Mr. Knockout Matches” in the UCL, he has scored 14 goals in his previous 9 games in that stage. Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Liverpool are his victims.
Speaking of the competition, Karim is most likely to break many more UCL records, because he’s currently unstoppable in all competitions for Los Blancos.
Of course, the competition’s knockout stages start from the round of 16, which means it’s not only quarterfinals. That’s why the Frenchman isn’t among the top five players.
Out of the footballers with the most UEFA Champions League quarterfinals goals, only Lionel Messi is still up and running in Europe’s top-5 leagues.
The Argentine got eliminated by Bayern Munich during the round of 16 fixtures. Nevertheless, he’s expected to be back in the competition next season.
It’s uncertain if he’s going to stay at Paris Saint-Germain or join Barcelona in the summer transfer window. Either way, he will be back at the UCL in 2023-2024.
Karim Benzema will definitely be available for the second-leg at Stamford Bridge, which means he may finally join the league of the big boys in the competition.
Who are the players with the most UEFA Champions League quarterfinal goals?
5. Andriy Shevchenko – 9 goals
The former Ukrainian striker played his most games at AC Milan, making 208 appearances and scoring 127 goals in all competitions.
He did struggle at Chelsea, having played 48 games but scoring just 9 goals for the West London club.
Andriy Shevchenko has retired from professional football since 2012. Surprisingly, he’s still among the top players with the most UCL quarterfinal goals.
Throughout his European games at Chelsea, AC Milan, and perhaps at Dynamo Kyiv, he scored 9 goals in the quarter-finals before his retirement.
Karim Benzema may take over for him next season, because he’s literally close to nine goals at that stage of the competition.
4. Filippo Inzaghi – 9 goals
The former Italian central-forward is actually tied up with Andriy Shevchenko. Because they both have the same goals in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Filippo Inzaghi spent his entire career in Serie A, as he played at AC Milan, Juventus, and Atalanta. However, he enjoyed most of his games with the Rossoneri.
Just like the former Chelsea striker, Filippo also retired in 2012. Amazingly, his nine goals at that stage of the competition are still breakable for Benzema.
Filippo Inzaghi is actually a goal-machine, as he scored two UCL hat-tricks for Juventus. Which were against Dynamo Kiev and Hamburger SV.
In the 1997–98 season, the Italian scored six goals, helping the Bianconeri reach the Champions League final. However, Real Madrid defeated them.
3. Raúl González – 10 goals
The Real Madrid’s legend retired from professional football in 2015, but his legacy remains intact at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Of course, Karim Benzema has taken over many Raúl’s records at Real Madrid, in the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, and other competitions.
Interestingly, Raúl González is the third player with the most UEFA Champions League quarterfinal goals in history, with ten goals.
The Spanish striker started his football career at Real Madrid, and some of his records are still unbreakable for Benzema. Even though the Frenchman is currently unstoppable.
During his time, Raúl González was one of the most dangerous forwards in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
2. Lionel Messi – 12 goals
The 2022 FIFA World Cup champion hasn’t played in any UCL quarterfinals game at Paris Saint-Germain, since he joined them in 2021.
Therefore, he took over Raúl González as the second player with the most UEFA Champions League quarterfinal goals at Barcelona.
Apparently, he spent his entire career with the Blaugranas, before his move to Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine created many UCL records at Barcelona.
So far, so good, Lionel Messi has recorded 12 goals in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, just a few goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Argentine captain is still in Europe’s top-5 leagues. As he recently rejected a €400 million contract offer from Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 25 goals
Of course, the Portuguese magnifico is called Mr. Champions League for a reason, many records in the competition actually belong to him.
Even though he’s currently out of Europe, playing for Al Nassr in the Saudi professional league. Ronaldo is the first player to score the most goals in the quarterfinals.
Unless he comes back to Europe’s top-5 leagues next summer’s transfer window, he may lose some of his UEFA Champions League records to Lionel Messi.
On the contrary, it may take Karim Benzema many seasons to score 25 goals in the competition’s quarterfinals. Even though he’s currently unstoppable.
Speaking of the most goals in the UCL quarter-finals, Cristiano Ronaldo is leading the race with 25 goals, having left Europe in 2023.