The 2021-22 Champions League scoring crown is Karim Benzema’s to lose. After netting four times against Chelsea in the quarterfinals, the Real Madrid forward added another two goals in the first leg of the semifinal series against Man City, taking him one goal past Robert Lewandowski, 14-13.
The Bayern Munich forward and his team were eliminated from the competition in the quarterfinals and he has since watched Benzema catch up to him and overtake him. Benzema continued his magical season against Man City with a sensational volley and a panenka to give Real Madrid hope of turning things around in the second leg.
In the previous round, Benzema silenced Chelsea’s home crowd with three goals in the first leg, and then scored another in extra time of the second leg. He accounted for four of Real Madrid’s five goals in the 5-4 aggregate-goal quarterfinal triumph.
In third place in the top scorers table is Ajax forward Sebastien Haller who wrapped up his tournament with 11 goals, including scoring in each of his first seven matches. But Haller’s Ajax squad were eliminated in the Round of 16 after he could not score in an eighth straight game. Ajax lost that match at home to Benfica 1-0, dropping out of the tournament 3-2 on aggregate.
Lewandowski, Benzema and Haller all surpassed last season’s top scorer, Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland (10 goals). Only Benzema is left to chase Cristiano Ronaldo’s Champions League single-season record of 17 goals (2013-14).
In the chart below, the players are ranked by their goal totals beginning with the group stage. Assists are used as the first tiebreaker, and the second tiebreaker is fewest minutes played. Both are in line with the top scorer tiebreakers that European governing body UEFA implemented for the European Championships.
Champions League Top Scorers (2021-2022)
As of matches played on Tuesday, April 26.
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals (PKs) | Assists | Matches | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 14 (2) | 0 | 10 | 822 |
| 2. | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 13 (3) | 3 | 10 | 876 |
| 3. | Sebastien Haller | Ajax | 11 (1) | 1 | 8 | 667 |
| 4. | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 8 (1) | 0 | 10 | 742 |
| 5. | Christopher Nkunku | RB Leipzig | 7 | 0 | 6 | 531 |
| 6. | Leroy Sane | Bayern Munich | 6 | 6 | 10 | 799 |
| Kylian Mbappe | PSG | 6 | 4 | 8 | 673 | |
| Arnaut Danjuma | Villarreal CF | 6 (1) | 2 | 10 | 822 | |
| Riyad Mahrez | Man City | 6 (2) | 1 | 10 | 811 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Man United | 6 | 0 | 7 | 612 | |
| Darwin Nunez | Benfica | 6 (1) | 0 | 10 | 614 | |
| 12. | Roberto Firmino | Liverpool | 5 | 0 | 6 | 308 |
| Lionel Messi | PSG | 5 (2) | 0 | 7 | 630 | |
| 14. | Thomas Muller | Bayern Munich | 4 | 3 | 10 | 779 |
| Pedro Goncalves | Sporting CP | 4 (1) | 2 | 5 | 329 | |
| Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | 4 | 2 | 9 | 519 | |
| Gabriel Jesus | Man City | 4 | 1 | 7 | 191 | |
| Timo Werner | Chelsea | 4 | 1 | 5 | 245 |
- 3 goals: 23 players
- 2 goals: 31 players
- 1 goal: 108 players
Note: There have also been eight own goals among the total of 366 scored in the tournament.
Champions League Top Scorers (since 1992-93)
Here are the top scorers for each UEFA Champions League tournament since the new format was adopted in 1992-93.
No surprise as to who the players are who have topped the list on most occasions: Cristiano Ronaldo has led the charts seven times, and Messi six. Their dominant run has happened in the past 14 editions of the Champions League, though neither has claimed the honor in the past two campaigns.
| Year | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Erling Haaland | B. Dortmund | 10 |
| 2019-20 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 15 |
| 2018-19 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 12 |
| 2017-18 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 2016-17 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2015-16 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 16 |
| 2014-15 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 10 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 10 | |
| Neymar | Barcelona | 10 | |
| 2013-14 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 17 |
| 2012-13 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2011-12 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 14 |
| 2010-11 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 12 |
| 2009-10 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 8 |
| 2008-09 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 9 |
| 2007-08 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Man United | 8 |
| 2006-07 | Kaka | AC Milan | 10 |
| 2005-06 | Andriy Shevchenko | AC Milan | 9 |
| 2004-05 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Man United | 8 |
| 2003-04 | Fernando Morientes | AS Monaco | 9 |
| 2002-03 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Man United | 12 |
| 2001-02 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Man United | 10 |
| 2000-01 | Raul Gonzalez | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 1999-00 | Mario Jardel | Porto | 10 |
| Rivaldo | Barcelona | 10 | |
| Raul Gonzalez | Real Madrid | 10 | |
| 1998-99 | Andriy Shevchenko | Dynamo Kyiv | 8 |
| Dwight Yorke | Man United | 8 | |
| 1997-98 | Alessandro Del Piero | Juventus | 10 |
| 1996-97 | Milinko Pantic | Atletico Madrid | 5 |
| 1995-96 | Jari Litmanen | Ajax | 9 |
| 1994-95 | George Weah | PSG | 7 |
| 1993-94 | Hristo Stoichkov | Barcelona | 5 |
| 1992-93 | Franck Sauzee | Marseille | 5 |
