4 players to have scored 10 or more goals in the UEFA Champions League group stage
UEFA Champions League group stage matches may not be as nail-biting as the knockouts, but they are hardly any less important. These fixtures set the tone for the remainder of the season, foretelling what to expect from the biggest European teams and their players.
Today we will be taking a look at four goalscorers who have taken UEFA Champions League group stage fixtures seriously.
Here are the only four players who have scored 10 or more goals in the UEFA Champions League group stage:
#4 Robert Lewandowski (2019-20) - 10 goals
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski is rated one of the best strikers in the history of European football and for good reason. The Poland international can score for fun, create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates, and has excellent game-reading skills.
Seeing him miss out on the Ballon d’Or in 2021 has been gut-wrenching for many, but the 33-year-old isn’t letting it affect his game.
Since bursting onto the scene with four goals against Real Madrid in the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League, Lewandowski has been constantly improving. He may very well be on the wrong side of 30, but he has never looked more menacing.
Robert Lewandowski now has 100 #UCL goal involvements in his career.
82 goals. 18 assists. https://t.co/0aZ7OJ8dUj
In 2019-20, Lewandowski produced one of his best individual spells in the UEFA Champions League to lead Bayern Munich to a treble. In the opening five group stage matches that season, Lewandowski bagged 10 goals. Coach Hansi Flick decided to rest him for the sixth UEFA Champions League group stage clash.
Lewandowski scored five goals in the next four knockout fixtures, ushering Bayern into the final. He did not score the winner against Paris Saint-Germain in the final, but he was still Bayern’s most valiant warrior in that UEFA Champions League campaign.
#3 Sebastien Haller (2021-22) - 10 goals
Ajax star Sebastien Haller has become the fourth and latest player to score 10 or more goals in the UEFA Champions League group stage. From being a West Ham United reject to this season’s leading scorer in the premier European club competition, Haller’s rise has been nothing short of astonishing.
Under Eric Ten Hag, the Ivory Coast international has had the opportunity to work on his goalscoring traits. He reads the game better than many of his contemporaries and is not reluctant to drop deep when needed. Thanks to his goals, Ajax have sailed into the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 and there could be a few more in the knockouts.
🔟 Ten goals would have been enough for at least a share of the #UCL golden boot in 19 of the 29 seasons in the competition
👀 Sebastien Haller reached the landmark in the group stages alone - in his debut season in the competition https://t.co/A2IZlulp49
Haller made his UEFA Champions League debut on 15th September 2021, in Ajax’s Group C opener against Sporting Lisbon. He bagged four goals on the night, helping the Dutch side to a 5-1 win.
In the return leg, on matchday six, he scored another to maintain Ajax’s 100 percent record in the competition. Against Besiktas and Borussia Dortmund, Haller registered five goals and two assists over two legs.