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The Champions League has always provided top-quality entertainment for the fans. More than the goals, it is about the top European sides going head-to-head that excites the viewers more.
The competition has seen some world-class goal-scorers produce fascinating performances time and again. That being said, being a regular scorer in this prestigious tournament is not at all an easy task.
Champions League and world's best footballers
The competition has witnessed many performances that have become part of the folklore due to their unique brilliance. One of these types of performances involves a footballer scoring in a number of consecutive matches of the tournament.
In the history of the Champions League, there have been few players who have managed to score on a regular basis and continuously help their respective teams. Here, we take a look at the footballers who have had the 5 best streaks of goal-scoring in matches of the competition.
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid: 2013-14)
The 2013-14 season was a very memorable one for Cristiano Ronaldo given that he won his first-ever Champions League title with Real Madrid. Under the management of Carlo Ancelotti, Los Blancos secured La Decima in that very campaign.
Major credit goes to Ronaldo for that achievement given his stellar performances in front of goal. Out of the six group stage matches, the Portuguese played in five of them, scoring nine goals.
This included wins against Galatasaray once, FC Copenhagen twice, and Juventus once. In the knockout stages, Ronaldo was impressive in the round of 16 as he scored four goals against Schalke in two legs.
In the following round, he scored once against Borussia Dortmund in the first leg and was on the bench for the second leg. He failed to score against Bayern Munich in the first leg, which ended his spree of scoring in eight consecutive matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo went on to score 17 goals in the competition that season, failing to score in only one single match.
#4 Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United: 2002-03)
Ruud van Nistelrooy was a wonderful striker for Manchester United. Using his amazing positioning and clinical finishing, the Dutchman was a lethal threat in front of goal.
In the 2002-03 Champions League, van Nistelrooy had a run to remember. The Dutch striker went on to score in all nine matches that he played in that season of the tournament. Back then, the competition involved two group stages but it didn't really matter to the right-footed goal-scoring machine.
The Man U striker scored goals against Maccabi Haifa, Bayer Leverkusen, and Olympiacos in the first group stage, followed by goals against Deportivo La Coruna, Juventus, and Real Madrid.
Despite being knocked out by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, Ruud van Nistelrooy ended up as the highest goal-scorer in the Champions League with nine goals.
#3 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich: 2019-20)
The Champions League has had some amazing goal-scorers and it would be unjust not to include Robert Lewandowski on that list. The Polish striker was in terrific form in the 2019-20 season when he helped Bayern Munich win the title.
He was on fire in the group stage matches where he scored 10 goals in five matches. The fixtures involved facing Red Star Belgrade, Tottenham Hotspur, and Olympiacos. One of his best performances saw him score four goals against Red Star Belgrade.
His efforts in both legs against Chelsea in the round of 16 saw him score thrice and register four assists. Surprisingly, he only scored once in the 8-2 thrashing of Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
Robert Lewandowski scored once against Olympique Lyon in the semifinals. Unfortunately, the Polish superstar failed to score in the Final against Paris Saint-Germain but nonetheless played a massive role in securing the title.
#2 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich: 2020-21 and 2021-22)
The Bayern Munich striker appears for the second time on the list and that too in a unique fashion. This time, it sees Lewandowski's goal-scoring run stretch across two different seasons.
In the 2020-21 season, Bayern Munich were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing to Paris Saint-Germain. Lewandowski missed both legs with a stretched ligament but was quite influential prior to that. He had scored in four consecutive matches which involved goals against RB Salzburg and Lazio.
The 33-year old continued his brilliant form in the current Champions League season. He was terrific in the group stages, having scored in five consecutive matches. Lewandowski registered nine goals in those five matches before his run was stopped by Barcelona at the Allianz Arena in the final group stage match.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus: 2016-17 and 2017-18)
It comes as little surprise that Cristiano Ronaldo is at the top of the list. Given his goal-scoring abilities, there was hardly any chance that the Portuguese wouldn't have topped it.
Ronaldo had already scored in the 2016-17 Champions League Final against Juventus, where he helped Real Madrid to glory. The dynamic forward started the journey with a bang the following season, scoring nine goals in six matches in the group stage.
His formidable performance in both legs against Paris Saint-Germain in round of 16 saw Madrid through to the next round. Ronaldo scored three times in total against the French giants. He gave somewhat of a similar performance against Juventus in the quarter-finals, scoring three times in total.
Unfortunately, Ronaldo's goal-scoring run of 11 consecutive games came to an end against Bayern Munich in the semifinal. He eventually won the competition with Real Madrid as they defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the Final.
