Top 5 highest-scoring games in Champions League history

Salah and co. have been on fire in the Champions League
Salah and co. have been on fire in the Champions League Pellegrini during his time as Villarreal boss 

Since the inaugural UEFA Champions League edition in 1992, fans have been treated to some splendid football and there have been a number of high-scoring dramatic games in the competition's history,

Liverpool managed to score seven times twice this season and recorded two of the biggest wins of the competition against Spartak Moskva and Maribor with 7-0 wins. Real Madrid and Barcelona have also recorded some massive victories in the last decade but none of the games features in the list of highest scoring games in the competition.

While the teams have played their part in the scorelines, it is the failure of their opponents to find a reply that denies them a place on this list, as we take a look at the five highest scoring matches in the competition.


#5 9 goals - Villarreal CF 6-3 Aalborg BK, 21 October 2008

Barcelona v Villarreal

During the 2008-09 group stage, Villareal thrashed Aalborg 6-3 in a game that became only the third game in the competition to have 9 goals in a game. Goals from Giuseppe Rossi, Joan Capdevila, Pires and a Joseba Llorente hat-trick secured the points for the Spanish side, while Saganowski, Enevoldsen and Johansson netted for Aalborg.

Manuel Pellegriniheld the reins at the Spanish club at the time and the manager guided the club to the quarter-finals, where Arsenal knocked the Yellow Submarine out of the competition. Manchester United went on to claim the trophy at the end of the year beating Chelsea in an all-English final.

The club currently sits in fifth place in La Liga, one point behind Real Madrid in fourth, although they have played a game more than the Spanish giants. Villarreal could make the Champions League spots this season under Javier Calleja with a good run of wins towards the end of the season.

#4 9 goals - Olympique Lyon 7-2 Werder Bremen, 8 March 2005

UEFA Champions League: Lyon v Rosenborg
Wiltord bagged three goals against Bremen

In the round of 16 of the 2004-05 season, French champions Lyon brushed aside Bremen in the second leg with a scintillating 7-2 display to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament with 10-2 aggregate scoreline. Sylvain Wiltord scored a hattrick, while Essien scored a brace and goals from Florent Malouda and Jérémy Berthod rounded the game off.

Under Paul Le Guen, Lyon reached the quarter-finals and bowed out to PSV Eindhoven as the Dutch side progressed to the semi-finals. While the French side dominated the national league from 2002 until 2008, winning it seven consecutive times, they are currently in search of their success from the last decade.

With less than half a season to go, second-placed Lyon looks unlikely to catch leaders PSG, who are 11 points ahead, but are still poised to secure a spot in the qualifying stages of the next year's Champions League.

At the time, their game against Bremen in 2005, was the second highest-scoring game in the competition's history and it still remains the highest scoreline in the knock-out rounds.

#3 9 goals - Paris Saint-Germain 7-2 Rosenborg BK, 24 October 2000

Metz v Paris Saint Germain - Ligue 1
Cavani, Mbappe and Neymar have been firing on all cylinders, yet only their predecessors make the list

During the 2000-01 season, PSG beat Swedish side Rosenborg 7-2 and recorded the first-ever nine goal game in the Champions League. During their group stage game at the Parc des Princes, PSG humbled their opposition with from goals from Frederic Dehu, Peter Luccin, Laurent Robert, Stéphane Dalmat and Christian, while Nicolas Anelka added a brace.

For Rosenborg, Christer George scored a brace in the first half to make the game competitive although an excellent second half showing from PSG proved way too much for the Norwegian power house. The tournament was eventually won by Bayern Munich, as PSG crashed out of the tournament in the second group stage.

The current PSG squad faces a mouth-watering tie against Real Madrid in the round of 16 as they look to clinch their maiden Champions League trophy. Under Unai Emery, the squad has been bolstered this season as they look to oust two-time defending champions Real Madrid.

#2 11 goals - AS Monaco 8-3 Deportivo La Coruña, 5 November 2003

Bildergebnis für Monaco Champions League finale
Monaco lost out to Porto in the 2004 Champions League final

During the 03-04 season, losing finalists and surprise title contenders Monaco were in sizzling form throughout the campaign. During the group stages of the tournament, Monaco took on Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna and tore them apart, winning 8-3. This game is the second highest-scoring game in the competition's history with 11 goals.

Dado Pršo struck four times for Didier Deschamps' team and was subsequently named man of the match for his performance. Further goals from Giuly, Cisse, Rothen and Plasil made the scoreline complete as the French side thumped eight goals past La Coruna in just 67 minutes.

After winning the competition twice as a player, once with Marseille and once with Juventus, Monaco manager Didier Deschamps guided the club from the principality to their first and only Champions League final appearance so far.

#1 12 goals - Borussia Dortmund 8-4 Legia Warszawa, 22 November 2016

Kagawa scored two for Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League against Warszawa
Kagawa scored two for Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League against Warszawa

The highest-scoring Champions League match of all time took place at the Signal Iduna Park between the home side Dortmund and Legia Warszawa. The game ended an astonishing 8-4 in favour of the home side and the record for the highest-scoring match in the tournament's history was broken.

Shinji Kagawa and Marco Reus scored a brace for the home side on the night, while Alexander Prejovic also scored two goals for Legia, as the three players stood out from the rest during this frantic Champions League evening.

The game took place during the group stage of the 2016-17 campaign, as Dortmund topped their group ahead of eventual tournament winners Real Madrid, while Warsaw finished third in the group and dropped down to the Europa Le.

Thomas Tuchel oversaw Dortmund's resounding victory and the club reached the quarter-finals, before losing out to Monaco over the course of two legs. Reus' deflected effort in the final minutes of the game sealed the record on a night to remember and assured the teams a place in the record books for the highest-scoring game in UEFA Champions League history.

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Edited by Christian Burke