We’re on the enterprise finish of the Champions League as PSG, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid goal for a spot within the 2026 closing.
Which gamers will rise to the fore within the final batch of knockout ties earlier than the ultimate itself? Whoever makes their mark within the semi-final will nonetheless have some method to go to achieve the document for objectives scored at this stage of the competitors since its 1992 rebrand.
Listed here are the gamers with probably the most objectives in Champions League semi-finals.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 13
By far and away the highest scorer in Champions League historical past, Ronaldo is a five-time winner of the competitors.
He’s the one participant with double figures of Champions League semi-final objectives, notching 13.
His first was for Manchester United in opposition to AC Milan in 2007 and his final completed off a hat-trick for Actual Madrid in opposition to Atletico Madrid 10 years later. It’s a document which may by no means be damaged.
2. Karim Benzema – 8
Along with being one of many extra doubtless gamers to help a Ronaldo aim, Benzema scored a good few for himself throughout his time with Actual Madrid.
It took till April 2013 for Benzema to attain his first Champions League semi-final aim, which was in opposition to Borussia Dortmund.
His final Champions League semi-final objectives have been scored within the 2021-22 season. He scored a brace within the first leg in opposition to Manchester Metropolis and an extra-time aim within the second leg to ship Madrid by to the ultimate, which they gained.
It was an identical scenario to some years earlier, when Benzema’s brace within the second leg in opposition to Bayern Munich put Madrid into the 2018 closing, the third in a row they’d win.
3. Robert Lewandowski – 7
The primary time Lewandowski performed in a Champions League semi-final, he wasn’t content material with simply scoring as soon as. As an alternative, he scored 4 objectives inside the area of an hour in a 4-1 Borussia Dortmund win over Actual Madrid.
His different three Champions League semi-final objectives all adopted throughout his spell with Bayern Munich.
4. Lionel Messi – 6
Astonishingly, Messi drew a clean in his first six Champions League semi-final appearances, lastly breaking his duck for that stage of the competitors with a brace for Barcelona within the first leg in opposition to Actual Madrid in 2011.
He additionally scored a semi-final brace in opposition to Bayern Munich in 2015, which proved to be one other good omen as Barcelona gained the competitors once more, similar to 4 years earlier.
His final Champions League semi-final objectives additionally got here as a pair, within the first leg in opposition to Liverpool in 2019. However a well-known comeback within the second leg prevented Barca from reaching the ultimate.
5. Alessandro Del Piero – 5
Del Piero had the privilege of profitable the Champions League on the first try in his profession with Juventus in 1995-96, though his final aim in that season’s version was within the quarter-finals.
The truth is, the Italian ahead featured in three consecutive Champions League finals between 1996 and 1998. Alongside the way in which, he was absent for the 1997 semi-finals, however scored a hat-trick in opposition to Monaco within the first leg in 1998 and one other aim within the second leg.
His final aim on the semi-final stage of the competitors was in opposition to Actual Madrid in 2003, earlier than Juventus misplaced an all-Italian closing to AC Milan on penalties. What a participant.
6. Jari Litmanen – 5
Litmanen scored a semi-final second leg brace for Ajax in opposition to Bayern Munich throughout his debut season within the match in 1995, the 12 months the Dutch aspect final gained the competitors.
He once more scored twice within the second leg in 1996, this time in opposition to Panathinaikos, earlier than Ajax misplaced the ultimate on penalties to Del Piero’s Juventus.
The 2 finalists met once more within the following season’s semi-finals, when Litmanen scored a first-leg comfort aim inside a 6-2 combination defeat.
Litmanen later performed for Barcelona, however by no means scored for them in Europe, and Liverpool, with whom he by no means made it past the quarter-finals. One other sensational participant.
7. Sadio Mane – 4
Eight gamers have scored precisely 4 Champions League semi-final objectives. Mane’s have been all for Liverpool – one in every leg in opposition to Roma in 2018 and one in every leg in opposition to Villarreal in 2022.
8. Thomas Muller – 4
Muller scored greater than 50 Champions League objectives total for Bayern Munich. Curiously, all 4 of his semi-final objectives have been in opposition to Barcelona: two within the first leg in 2013, one within the second leg and one in 2015’s second leg.
9. Arjen Robben – 4
Robben’s Champions League semi-final objectives all got here throughout his spell with Bayern Munich: in opposition to Lyon in 2010, Actual Madrid in 2012, and in each legs in opposition to Barcelona in 2013 – the 12 months he additionally scored and assisted within the closing to win the competitors for the one time in his profession.
10. Zinedine Zidane – 4
Zidane’s aim and double help within the second leg of the 1997 semi-final for Juventus in opposition to Ajax helped his aspect into the ultimate, the place they’d lose to Borussia Dortmund.
He scored within the first leg of the semi-final in opposition to Monaco the season after, however once more grew to become a overwhelmed finalist.
After transferring to Actual Madrid, the midfielder scored within the first leg of the 2002 semi-final in opposition to Barcelona and at last went on to win the match. He scored in opposition to Juventus within the following season’s semi-final, however by no means made it to that stage once more.
11. Andriy Shevchenko – 4
Shevchenko performed precisely 100 video games within the Champions League, scoring a brace on his first semi-final look in opposition to Bayern Munich for Dynamo Kyiv in 1999. His different semi-final objectives have been for AC Milan in opposition to Inter in 2003, when he gained the competitors, and in opposition to PSV in 2005, when he was a runner-up to Liverpool.
12. Riyad Mahrez – 4
Initially a part of the title-winning Leicester Metropolis aspect that made their first and solely entry into the Champions League in 2016, Mahrez finally gained the competitors with Manchester Metropolis in 2023.
By way of semi-finals, he scored in opposition to PSG within the first leg in 2021 after which a brace within the second, and within the second leg in opposition to Actual Madrid in 2022.
13. Vinicius Junior – 4
Vini Jr has scored in each of the Champions League finals he has performed in, in 2022 and 2024. In every of these seasons, he had scored within the semis too – within the first leg in opposition to Manchester Metropolis in 2022 and with a brace within the first leg in opposition to Bayern in 2024.
He additionally scored within the first leg of the 2023 semi-final in opposition to Metropolis, however was on the dropping aspect.
14. Ousmane Dembele – 4
Dembele earned the Ballon d’Or in 2025 after serving to PSG win the Champions League within the 12 months of his first Champions League semi-final aim.
It got here within the first leg in opposition to Arsenal, who might be PSG’s opponents on this season’s closing after Dembele scored a brace within the loopy first leg of the 2026 semi-finals in opposition to Bayern after which as soon as within the second leg to make sure a second consecutive closing look.
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