OFFICIAL: Lewandowski Equals Messi’s Record in the Champions League

Robert Lewandowski has officially matched an impressive record held by Lionel Messi in the Champions League.

During Barcelona's victory over Copenhagen in the final group stage match of the Champions League, Robert Lewandowski scored to level the game and sparked a comeback for the Catalan side.

Beyond its impact on the scoreline, this goal also helped the Polish striker equal Lionel Messi’s record for scoring against the most different clubs in the Champions League. With Copenhagen becoming the 40th team Lewandowski has scored against, he now holds the record for the player who has scored against the highest number of different opponents in UEFA Champions League history.

Lewandowski’s goal-scoring journey in the Champions League began over 14 years ago. On October 19, 2011, he netted his first goal in the competition while playing for Borussia Dortmund against Olympiacos. That marked the start of a total of 107 goals Lewandowski, wearing Barcelona’s number 9 shirt, has scored in the Champions League to date.

Since that milestone, Lewandowski has played for two more clubs: Bayern Munich from 2014 to 2022, and Barcelona from 2022 onwards. At all three clubs, the 1988-born star has maintained a consistent goal-scoring rate. Notably, during his time at Bayern Munich, Lewandowski won the Champions League Golden Boot in the 2019/20 season with 15 goals and helped the Bavarian team claim the title.

Additionally, Lewandowski has scored 21 goals for Barcelona in the Champions League, placing him tied for fourth on the club’s all-time top scorers list in the competition, alongside Neymar and Patrick Kluivert. The top three spots are held by Lionel Messi with 120 goals, followed by Rivaldo and Luis Suarez, each with 25 goals.

Lewandowski’s hunger for goals seems unending, enabling him to match the remarkable record of Lionel Messi, widely regarded as the greatest footballer in history. Furthermore, in last week’s match against Slavia Prague, Lewandowski became the sixth oldest player ever to score in Champions League history.

Here is the full list of clubs and the number of goals Lewandowski has scored against them in the Champions League: Benfica (9 goals), Red Star Belgrade (7), Salzburg (6), Real Madrid (6), Dinamo Zagreb (5), Ajax (5), Olympiacos (5), Barcelona (4), Arsenal (4), Viktoria Plzen (3), PSV (3), AEK Athens (3), Dynamo Kyiv (3), Chelsea (3), Marseille (3), Tottenham Hotspur (2), Young Boys (2), Brest (2), Anderlecht (2), Zenit (2), Lazio (2), Beşiktaş (2), Borussia Dortmund (2), Inter (2), Napoli (2), Porto (2), Atletico Madrid (2), Shakhtar Donetsk (2), Slavia Prague (1), Olympique Lyonnais (1), Antwerp (1), Villarreal (1), Rostov (1), Juventus (1), Malaga (1), Roma (1), Man City (1), Bayern Munich (1), PSG (1), and Copenhagen (1).