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In 2003-04, the second group stage of the UEFA Champions League was replaced by three two-legged knockout rounds - the Round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, before a one-legged final.
Since Porto won the revamped Champions League in 2003-04, 8 other clubs have won the competition in its present format. The latest were Liverpool, who won their 6th title in the competition last season after beating fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in the final.
Record 13-time champions Real Madrid are the only club to contest the Round of 16 of the Champions League on each occasion since it was first introduced in 2003-04. Madrid will make their record 17th Round of 16 appearance when the 2019-20 Champions League resumes early next year.
Madrid's Liga counterparts Barcelona hold the record for most Round of 16 aggregate triumphs, doing so on 13 occasions. At the other end of the spectrum, Arsenal's 9 Round of 16 exits in the Champions League is a rather unwanted competition record for the London team.
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Cristiano Ronaldo (30) and Lionel Messi (28) lead a group of 12 players to have played over 20 Champions League Round of 16 games. On that note, let us look at the top 5 Round of 16 scorers in the competition.
#T4 Karim Benzema (9 goals)
The first player after Lionel Messi to score in 15 consecutive seasons in the Champions League, Karim Benzema's haul of 64 goals in the competition is the most by an active player in the competition - behind the leading duo of Cristiano Ronaldo (128) and Lionel Messi (114).
Benzema's 4 titles in the Champions League era are the most behind Ronaldo's tally of 5.
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Benzema has scored Round of 16 goals for two clubs - Olympique Lyonnais and Real Madrid. Only 4 other players have scored more goals in the Round of 16 of the Champions League than Benzema's tally of 9.
The Frenchman scored his most recent goal at this stage of the competition in the first leg of last season's Round of 16 as Real Madrid won 2-1 at Ajax. However, defeat in the second leg at home eliminated the three-time defending champions.
Also check out: Champions League Schedule Champions League table Champions league top scorers
#T4 Robert Lewandowski - 9 goals
Like Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski is one of the top 5 active scorers in the Champions League and is one of 5 players to have scored 9 or more Round of 16 goals in the competition.
The Polish international has scored 3 Round of 16 goals for Borussia Dortmund and 6 for Bayern Munich.
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Lewandowski's most recent goals at this stage of the competition came during the course of a brace in Bayern's 5-0 home win over Besiktas in 2017-18.
#3 Thomas Muller - 12 goals
With 44 goals in the tournament proper (not including qualifiers), Thomas Muller is the 5th most prolific active scorer in the UEFA Champions League.
This is also the highest tally of goals by a player without scoring a hat-trick in the competition.
Muller's 12 Round of 16 goals in the Champions League have all come for Bayern Munich. Like his club-mate Robert Lewandowski, the German midfielder has not scored in this stage of the competition since netting a brace in Bayern's 5-0 home win over Besiktas.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo - 23 goals
With 65 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for most knockout stage goals in the Champions League.
The Portugal captain cedes ground to another player when it comes to goals in the Round of 16 stage of the competition, but holds the record for most Round of 16 appearances by a player (30).
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Ronaldo has scored his Round of 16 goals for 3 different clubs - Manchester United (2), Real Madrid (18), and Juventus (3).
In his most recent outing at this stage of the competition, the all-time Champions League top-scorer scored a record-equaling 8th hat-trick (also Lionel Messi) as Juventus successfully overturned a two-goal deficit against Atletico Madrid to reach the quarter-finals.
#1 Lionel Messi - 26 goals
Messi's 46 knockout stage goals and 114 in the Champions League tournament proper are tallies bettered only by Ronaldo (65 knockout stage goals, 128 goals overall).
However, the Argentine maestro leads his Portuguese counterpart in terms of most Round of 16 Champions League goals.
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In his last appearance at this stage of the competition, Messi scored a brace at home against Olympique Lyonnais as Barcelona progressed to the quarter-finals with a 5-1 aggregate win.
Messi scored a staggering 5 goals in the 2011-12 Champions League Round of 16 as Barcelona trounced Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 at the Camp Nou for a record 10-2 aggregate win.
