Vinicius Jr second only to Lionel Messi in non-European UCL knockout goals
The Brazilian’s brace helped Madrid reach the quarterfinals in the UCL.
In Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg encounter against Manchester City, Vinicius Jr was the team’s star player. He scored a game-winning brace to help Real Madrid win 2-1 on the night.
By doing this, the Brazilian has risen to second place, only behind Lionel Messi, on the record-breaking list of non-European goal scorers in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds.
Manchester City were forced to begin chasing the game following their 3-0 first-leg loss. So they pressed forward in an attempt to pull off the unlikely.
However, Bernardo Silva’s red card and Vinícius’ penalty effectively put an end to their aspirations early on. It was followed by the Brazilian’s tap-in in stoppage time to clinch a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium and secure Real Madrid’s spot in the quarterfinals.
Vinicius Jr sets new Champions League record
With the brace, Vinicius Jr is now tied with Senegalese icon and former Liverpool player Sadio Mané with 15 goals in the Champions League knockout rounds, making them the second-highest non-European goalscorer in the tournament’s history.
By doing this, Vinicius overtook former Chelsea and Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba. Drogba’s 14 knockout phase goals include his famous header against Bayern Munich in the 2011–12 final and a goal against Real Madrid in the quarterfinals during a brief stay with Galatasaray.
Will Vinicius Jr break Lionel Messi’s record?
However, it will be extremely difficult to overtake Lionel Messi in the knockout stage rankings, even for a player of Vinícius’ calibre.
With 49 goals in the UCL knockout stage, Messi leads all non-European players. The Brazilian is behind him by 34 goals. The Argentinian’s total goal total for the competition, including the group stage, is 129, with 38% of those goals coming in the knockout stages.
How many goals has Vinicius Jr. scored in the UCL so far?
He has 34 goals in the competition so far.
How many goals has Messi scored in the UCL?
He scored 129 in his UCL playing career.
Who leads the UCL knockout round charts as a non-European goalscorer?
Messi with 49 goals.
For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram.
After earning a bachelor's degree in mass media, Rajarshi began his career as a sports writer in 2019, driven by his passion for sports journalism. He has been working in the field for over six years. A devoted fan of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, Rajarshi has been involved in sports since childhood. Before turning his focus to journalism, he even represented his college at the state level. Along with covering football, he enjoys playing the game, watching movies, and experimenting with new recipes in his spare time, as cooking is one of his favorite hobbies.