Benzema's Champions League scoring rate now superior to Ronaldo's
Real Madrid's win over Napoli saw Karim Benzema open the scoring for the home side and enhance his extremely impressive Champions League record. <p>- Folloe the live coverage match: <a title="Real Madrid vs, Espanyol live online, liga santander" href=" http://en.as.com/en/2017/02/18/football/1487404085_747437.html"> Real Madrid–Espanyol</a></p>
Karim Benzema now has a better Champions League goalscoring rate than his star Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
The striker netted a header in Wednesday's 3-1 last-16 first-leg victory over Napoli at the Santiago Bernabeu to take his tally in Europe's elite club competition to 51 – the highest of any French player.
Ronaldo does have a superior total of 95 goals, but his have come at an average of one every 122 minutes, while Benzema has a rate of one every 120.
Only four players in Champions League history have at least 20 goals and a better minutes-per-goal rate than Benzema.
120 - @Benzema scores a goal every 120 minutes in the CL, best rate among the French players with minimum 20 goals in the competition. Ace. pic.twitter.com/1kRfSGGwwt
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) February 16, 2017
Barcelona star Lionel Messi is on top of the list with one every 99 minutes, followed by Mario Gomez (102), Ruud van Nistelrooy (109) and Filippo Inzaghi (119).
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While Benzema has scored only five times in 16 LaLiga matches this season, his strike against Napoli was his fifth in only seven Champions league outings.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, is enduring his worst drought in front of goal in the Champions League, having now gone 523 minutes without finding the net in the competition.