[ad_1]
The group stage and Spherical-of-16 of the UEFA Champions League pose their very own challenges, however the quarter-final is the place it begins to get critical. With the margin of error diminished to close zero, competing groups take additional care in conserving issues tidy on the again, making it extremely difficult for attackers to discover a method by means of. Whereas bizarre gamers shrink back from taking up such huge challenges, the greatest-ever gamers thrive on them.
Right now, we’ll check out some legendary attackers who’ve delivered goalscoring masterclasses within the quarter-finals because the event’s inception — then known as the European Cup — in 1955. Listed below are 5 gamers who’ve scored essentially the most objectives in Champions League historical past.
#5 Filippo Inzaghi – 9 Objectives
Legendary Italian striker, Filippo Inzaghi graced the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals together with his presence 12 instances, scoring 9 instances. He represented Juventus and AC Milan within the last eight of the competitors.
Inzaghi is without doubt one of the seven gamers to attain a hat-trick within the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals because the event’s transforming in 1992. The middle ahead’s triplet got here in a second-leg 4-1 victory over Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kyiv within the 1997-98 marketing campaign.
#4 Raul Gonzalez – 10 Objectives
‘The Prince of Actual Madrid’, Raul Gonzalez Blanco scored 10 objectives within the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in his profession. The previous Spain worldwide, who presently coaches Actual Madrid Castilla, performed 17 quarter-final video games between Los Blancos and Schalke.
Raul received three UEFA Champions League trophies (1997-98, 1999-2000, 2001-02) in his profession, all of which got here throughout his time at Actual Madrid. He performed 142 matches within the event of champions, scoring 71 instances and in addition offering 32 assists.
#3 Lionel Messi – 12 Objectives
Arguably one of the best participant in soccer historical past, Lionel Messi scored 12 objectives in 23 matches within the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals at Barcelona. The Argentina icon spent two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) after leaving the Blaugrana as a free agent in the summertime of 2021, however couldn’t push the Parisians past the Spherical of 16.
Messi, who’s making historical past in America after signing for Inter Miami final summer time, is the one participant in Champions League historical past — excluding the European Cup period — to attain 4 objectives in a quarter-final recreation. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s heroics got here in a 4-1 second-leg victory over Arsenal within the 2009-10 season.
#2 Alfredo Di Stefano – 14 Objectives
The person who put Actual Madrid on the map, Alfredo Di Stefano scored a whopping 14 objectives within the UEFA Champions League — then the European Cup — quarter-finals. The ‘Blonde Arrow’ performed 14 quarter-final matches in his profession, together with a quarter-final decider within the 1961-62 season.
Di Stefano, who performed as a second striker, helped Los Blancos to the primary 5 European Cups between the 1955-56 and 1959-60 seasons. The Argentine maverick performed 58 European Cup matches, scoring 49 instances.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo – 25 Objectives
Mr. Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo, has topped the record by a landslide, having scored a whopping 25 objectives within the quarter-finals through the years. Ronaldo, who presently plies his commerce at Al-Nassr, performed 22 quarter-final matches throughout Manchester United, Actual Madrid, and Juventus earlier than leaving Europe.
Ronaldo produced some iconic performances within the Champions League quarter-finals, however none can maintain a candle to his exceptional hat-trick towards Wolfsburg within the 2015-16 season. Because of his majestic treble, Actual Madrid secured a 3-0 win over the Germans within the second leg, overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit to proceed to the semi-finals.
The Portugal legend is the one participant to attain two hat-tricks within the UCL quarter-finals, together with his different treble coming towards Bayern Munich within the 2016-17 season.
[ad_2]
Source link