The group stage and Round-of-16 of the UEFA Champions League pose their own challenges, but the quarter-final is where it starts to get serious. With the margin of error reduced to near zero, competing teams take extra care in keeping things tidy at the back, making it incredibly challenging for attackers to find a way through. While ordinary players shy away from taking on such massive challenges, the greatest-ever players thrive on them.
Today, we will take a look at some legendary attackers who have delivered goalscoring masterclasses in the quarter-finals since the tournament’s inception — then called the European Cup — in 1955. Here are five players who have scored the most goals in Champions League history.
#5 Filippo Inzaghi – 9 Goals
Filippo Inzaghi Won 2 UCL Trophies With AC Milan
Legendary Italian striker, Filippo Inzaghi graced the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with his presence 12 times, scoring nine times. He represented Juventus and AC Milan in the final eight of the competition.
Inzaghi is one of the seven players to score a hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals since the tournament’s remodeling in 1992. The center forward’s triplet came in a second-leg 4-1 victory over Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kyiv in the 1997-98 campaign.
#4 Raul Gonzalez – 10 Goals
Raul Played A Whopping 741 Games For Real Madrid
‘The Prince of Real Madrid’, Raul Gonzalez Blanco scored 10 goals in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in his career. The former Spain international, who currently coaches Real Madrid Castilla, played 17 quarter-final games between Los Blancos and Schalke.
Raul won three UEFA Champions League trophies (1997-98, 1999-2000, 2001-02) in his career, all of which came during his time at Real Madrid. He played 142 matches in the tournament of champions, scoring 71 times and also providing 32 assists.
#3 Lionel Messi – 12 Goals
Lionel Messi Is The Only Player To Score 4 Goals In UCL QF
Arguably the…
Source link : https://sportslens.com/news/champions-league-quarter-finals-cristiano-ronaldo/
Author : Sushan Chakraborty
Publish date : 2024-03-15 05:05:15
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