Cristiano Ronaldo vs Harry Kane: Battle of the goalscorers
The Portuguese and the Englishman have each scored 43 goals in 2017, with only Cavani, Lewandowski, and Messi finding the net more.
As the pre-match Champions League anthem fades from the speakers at the Bernabéu on Tuesday evening, two of Europe’s most potent marksmen will go head-to-head. Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane will both take to the turf having scored 43 goals this calendar year.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) has scored the same amount, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) and Edinson Cavani (PSG) have scored one more, and Lionel Messi (Barcelona) occupies his own stratosphere 15 goals ahead.
Top goalscorers of 2017
| Player | Country | Club | Goals | |
| 1 | Messi | ARG | Barcelona | 58 |
| 2 | Lewandowski | POL | Bayern | 44 |
| – | Cavani | URU | PSG | 44 |
| 4 | Cristiano | POR | Real Madrid | 43 |
| – | Aubameyang | GAB | Dortmund | 43 |
| – | Kane | ENG | Tottenham | 43 |
| 7 | Dzeko | BIH | Roma | 40 |
| 8 | Mertens | BEL | Napoli | 39 |
| 9 | Falcao | COL | Monaco | 38 |
| 10 | Bas Dost | NED | Sporting | 36 |
Ronaldo scored first LaLiga goal against Getafe
Despite Messi’s significant lead, Ronaldo and particularly Kane arrive in rich form. The Portugal international scored his first goal of the LaLiga season against Getafe on Saturday, ending an uncharacteristically-long barren streak. But beyond domestic competition, Ronaldo had already scored four goals in two matches in Group H of the Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Harry Kane | Head-to-head
| 2017 calendar year | 2017-2018 season | ||||||||
| Ronaldo | Harry Kane | Ronaldo | Harry Kane | ||||||
| League | 16 | 27 | 1 | 6 | |||||
| Champions League | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | |||||
| International | 11 | 7 | 4 | 4 | |||||
| Other competitions | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | |||||
| TOTAL | 43 | 43 | 10 | 15 |
Real Madrid’s No.7 has scored a record-breaking 109 goals in Europe’s most prestigious cup competition. Lionel Messi is in second place with 96 goals.
Spurs' Kane tops Champions League scoring
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Harry Kane’s numbers are similarly vertigo inducing. The English international has scored nine goals in his last five matches for club and country, lifting his total to 13 goals for the fledgling season. The 24-year-old is the leading scorer in the Champions League with five goals, including a hat-trick against APOEL.
Top goalscorers in Champions League history
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 109 | 6 | Henry | 50 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Messi | 96 | 7 | Ibrahimovic | 48 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Raúl | 71 | 8 | Shevchenko | 48 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Van Nistelrooy | 56 | 9 | Inzaghi | 46 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Benzema | 51 | 10 | Drogba | 44 |
Kane boasts a further six to his name in the Premier League, where he finished the 2016-17 season at the top of the chart with 29 goals.