Top five players with most goals in single Champions League group stage

Three of these five footballers reached double digits in just six games.

The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is the pinnacle of European club football. Many regard it as the toughest club competition in the world. The group stage of the competition is the first instance where teams get eliminated. Therefore, the competition to succeed is fierce and results in epic encounters. In terms of scoring goals, some of the best attackers have created goalscoring records in the group stage. 

Here is a look at the five players who have scored the most number of goals in a single UEFA Champions League group stage:

5. Luiz Adriano - 9 goals (2014-15)

Luiz Adriano made a real impact while playing for Shakhtar Donetsk. He was one of the many Brazilian players that were part of the Ukrainian club. During the 2014-15 campaign of the Champions League, Adriano scored nine goals in the group stage. 

Impressively, five of those nine goals came in a single fixture against BATE Borisov. He proceeded to score a hat-trick against the same opponents in the second group stage fixture. The other goal came against FC Porto in a 2-2 draw. 

4. Robert Lewandowski - 9 goals (2021-22)

Robert Lewandowski is the best striker in the world at the moment. His goalscoring feats are unbelievable and he continues to shine this season too. During the ongoing 2021-22 UEFA Champions League, the Bayern Munich striker managed nine goals in six group stage matches. 

He scored in five of those games, barring the last one against Barcelona . He scored a hat-trick against Benfica and a brace each against Barcelona and Dynamo Kyiv. 

3. Lionel Messi - 10 goals (2016-17)

Lionel Messi scored 672 goals for Barcelona, won multiple trophies and broke several records. The Argentine scored in double figures during the 2016-17 Champions League group stages, becoming the second player to do so after Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Messi scored 10 goals in Group C, which included two hat-tricks against Celtic and Manchester City. FC Barcelona reached the quarterfinals that season, to be eliminated by Juventus.

2. Sebastien Haller - 10 goals (2021-22)

Sebastien Haller has been a revelation this year for AFC Ajax. He scored in all six fixtures in the UEFA Champions League group stage and scored a total of 10 goals, equalling Messi’s record. The Ivory Coast international started the European campaign with by scoring four goals against Sporting Lisbon. 

He scored a goal each in the other four games against Borussia Dortmund and Besiktas. He scored a brace against the Turkish team in the away fixture.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo - 11 goals (2015-16)

Cristiano Ronaldo, the top scorer in UEFA Champions League history, has scored some memorable goals over the years in the competition. The Portuguese also holds the distinction of scoring the most goals in a single group stage. Ronaldo scored a record-setting 11 goals during the 2015-16 campaign for Real Madrid, becoming the first player to score in double digits in the group stages. 

Infact, six of those strikes came in four games against Malmo FF, involving two hat-tricks. Real Madrid went on to win that season’s UCL, with Ronaldo scoring a total of 16 goals.

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