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The UEFA Champions League has been graced by many world-class players across positions over the years. The competition has had goalscoring attackers, midfielders, defenders and even goalkeepers.
On the third matchday of the 2021-22 Champions League, two defenders - Harry Maguire and Gerard Pique - made a difference for their teams in the attacking third.
While Pique scored the winner in Barcelona's 1-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv, Maguire brought Manchester United on level terms after Atalanta had taken a 2-0 lead. United went on to win the five-goal thriller.
On that note, here's a look at the five most prolific goalscoring defenders in the history of the UEFA Champions League:
#5 Dani Alves - 12 goals
Dani Alves is arguably one of the best right-backs to have graced the Champions League. He has made over 100 appearances in the competition for four different clubs, making his name during a highly successful near decade-long stint with Barcelona.
With his tireless runs down the flanks, Alves added width to his team's attack. In this regard, he was one of the earliest examples of the modern full-back.
Suffice to say, Alves also had the defensive discipline to track back when his team was not in possession.
The three-time Champions League winner (all with the Blaugrana) scored only five times in the competition for the club. However, he produced an impressive 19 assists, playing a key role in their three Champions League triumphs, including one continental treble (in 2014-15).
The 38-year-old scored his other Champions League goals for Sevilla (2), Juventus (3) and PSG (2).
#4 Ivan Helguera - 15 goals
Ivan Helguera is one of the finest goalscoring centre-backs to have graced the Champions League.
The two-time winner scored all 15 of his goals in the competition during an eight-season stint with Real Madrid. He scored 11 of these goals during his first three seasons with Los Blancos, who won the competition in 1998 and 2000.
However, his attacking output, in terms of goals, dwindled in subsequent years, as he would score only four times in his next six Champions League campaigns.
Helguera made his last Champions League appearance with Valencia in 2007-08, while his last goal in the competition came for Real Madrid against Rosenborg in 2005.
#3 Sergio Ramos - 15 goals
Sergio Ramos is one of the most decorated defenders in UEFA Champions League history.
The four-time winner is one of only four defenders to have scored at least 15 goals in the competition. Two of the centre-back's strikes came in finals (2014 and 2016), making Ramos one of a handful of players to do so.
Ramos, who is now at PSG, has appeared in nearly 130 games in the Champions League, all for Real Madrid. He has scored at least once in 11 of 16 editions of the competition.
His most prolific campaign in the Champions League was in 2013-14. Ramos scored three times, including one in the final to force extra time, in Madrid's historic La Decima triumph that season.
#2 Roberto Carlos - 16 goals
Roberto Carlos is one of the finest goalscoring left-backs to have graced the Champions League. In fact, he is one of the best goalscoring full-backs in the history of the beautiful game.
Carlos played over 100 games in the Champions League. He made most of his appearances and scored all his goals in the competition during a decade-long stint at Real Madrid.
The three-time Champions League winner played a key role in Real Madrid winning three titles in five years in the late 90s and early 2000s. Carlos scored eight goals across these three victorious campaigns.
The 48-year-old twice scored four goals in a Champions League season, one of them coming in Real Madrid's victorious 1999-00 campaign.
#1 Gerard Pique - 16 goals
Gerard Pique has a decorated UEFA Champions League resume. The 34-year-old has scored 16 goals in the competition, netting all but two of his strikes in the competition for Barcelona.
Pique is one of a handful of players to have won the Champions League with two different clubs in as many seasons. The four-time winner, who plies his trade as a centre-back, has scored at least once in 12 of his 16 campaigns in the premier club competition.
With his latest strike in the competition - a winner against Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday - Pique became the joint-most prolific goalscoring defender in Champions League history.
His latest strike in the competition also made Pique the oldest Barcelona player to score in the Champions League. Incredibly, Barcelona have won all 14 games where Pique found the back of the net in.
