CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Lewandowski pulls level with Cristiano and Van Nistelrooy in the Champions League
The Polish striker scored twice in Barcelona’s 5-0 victory over Young Boys, and equalled a record set by two former Real Madrid forwards.
It was a difficult weekend for Barcelona who crashed to a painful 4-2 defeat to Osasuna in the LaLiga. But Hansi Flick’s team responded by bouncing back in their second outing of the Champions League, by beating Young Boys 5-0 in Montjuïc on Tuesday. Robert Lewandowski was on target twice, increased his personal tally in the tournament to 96.
Champions League 2024/2025
| Classification | PTS | WM | TM | LM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9Bayern | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10Fútbol Club Barcelona | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11Aston Villa | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Upcoming matches | |
|---|---|
| Fútbol Club Barcelona - Bayern | W-23/10 15:00 |
| E. Roja - Fútbol Club Barcelona | W-06/11 15:00 |
| Fútbol Club Barcelona - Brest | T-26/11 15:00 |
*Data updated to date Oct 2nd, 2024
In doing so, the Polish striker also reached another personal landmark. It was the first time in his career that he had found the net against a Swiss team in Europe’s top club competition, and means that he now scored against clubs from 16 different countries. According to MisterChip, the Barça number 9 has equalled a feat achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The Polish captain is now just behind legendary players such as Alessandro Del Piero, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Thomas Müller, who have scored against clubs from 18 different countries. Ahead of them are Lionel Messi and Raúl González (19), and top of the list is Karim Benzema with 20.
Robert Lewandowski's Champions League victims
- Olympiacos, AEK Athens (Greece)
- Ajax, PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
- Real Madrid, Málaga, Atlético, Barcelona, Villarreal (Spain)
- Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine)
- Olympique Marseille, PSG, Olympique Lyon (France)
- Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea (England)
- Zenit, Rostov (Russia)
- Roma, Juventus, Lazio, Inter Milan, Napoli (Italy)
- Porto, Benfica (Portugal)
- Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
- Anderlecht, Antwerp (Belgium)
- Besitkas (Turkey)
- Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
- Salzburg (Austria)
- Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
- Young Boys (Switzerland)
Interestingly, one of the countries which is missing in Lewy’s list of Champions League victims is Germany, although that might be explained by the fact that he spent 12 seasons playing for Bundesliga clubs. And funnily enough, he will get the chance to add another notch to his list in the next matchday when Barça face Bayern Munich, his old club.
Lewandowski has faced Bayern three times in the Champions League - once with Dortmund (the 2013 final) and twice with Barcelona (the 2022/23 group stage) but he has never managed to score against them. There will be another chance on 11 December when he will face another of his former clubs, BVB.
The 36-year-old finds himself in a sweet moment of form, with seven goals and two assists in LaLiga, plus two in the Champions League which means he has played an active role in 11 of the team’s goals in 10 games since the season started.
Lewandowski, seventh top scorer in history
Robert sits third on the list of all-time Champions League goal scorers on 96, behind Cristiano (140) and Messi (129). Only four active players remain in the top 20: Thomas Müller (54), Kylian Mbappé (49), Mohamed Salah (44) and Erling Haaland (42).
With his brace against Young Boys, the Polish striker moved into seventh place on the list of top scorers in football history. He surpassed the 639 goals scored by Jimmy Jones to bring his total to 640. Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list on 904, followed by Lionel Messi (841), Pelé (762), Romário (756), Ferenc Puskás (725) and Josef Bican (722).
Considering his age, and between the time he has left with Barça (his contract runs to June 2026) and with Poland’s national team, Lewandowski has the chance to close in on Bican’s sixth place. The Blaugranas next game is against Alavés on Sunday.