Most Champions League Goals in a Season

The UEFA Champions League is considered the world's most prestigious club tournament. The players can become legends with great performances in Europe's top competition. And since scoring goals is considered the most glamorous skill in football, those who find the back of the net consistently can earn legendary status in the game. Talents like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe look like they have what it takes to match the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have left their indelible mark on this elite tournament. Now let's see the list of the players with the Most Champions League Goals in a Season.

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Ronaldo & Messi's goal-scoring record

At the end of the day, it's the trophy that everyone wants to win. One of the most difficult to win, and arguably the most prestigious honour any team in world football can achieve. Several individuals have dominated this competition like no other.

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the greatest player in the history of the tournament with five titles and 141 goals to his name. A blistering goalscoring record that has left legends of the game miles behind. Lionel Messi is in the second position in terms of scoring with 125 goals. He also has 4 titles to his name.

However, a contender is mounting a claim. The Machine of Manchester City, Erling Haaland made a lightning-fast start to life in the Champions League. Expectations are sky-high that he can challenge the all-time greats in the lists below.

Most Champions League Goals in a Season

1. Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013/14: 17 Goals

The greatest goalscoring season in UEFA Champions League history came in 2013-14 when Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo scored 17 times. He made a huge contribution to their title win. Ronaldo started the season in the best way possible. He scored a hat-trick in Real Madrid's 6-1 away win at Galatasaray on Match Day 1. He went on and struck more six goals in the group stage.

Ronaldo scored 4 goals combine against Schalke in the Round of 16. He also scored in the quarter-final and two in the Semi-Final. He finished off his campaign in style with a 120th-minute strike to seal a 4-1 victory in the final against rivals Atlético Madrid.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo in 2015/16: 16 Goals

Cristiano Ronaldo was one goal away from equalling his own record of goals scored in a Champions League season. He scored 16 times in the 2015-16 campaign on the way to winning the competition with Real Madrid once again. Ronaldo scored 11 goals in the group stage of the 2015-16 edition, which is a record by a single player in a UCL campaign.

Ronaldo yet again opened the season with a hat-trick, this time against Shakhtar Donetsk. He ended the group stage with another brilliant performance, scoring four goals against Malmö FF. The Portuguese didn't score in the final against Atlético Madrid but he did go on to score the winning penalty in the shootout, as Real Madrid picked up the trophy in Milan.

3. Robert Lewandowski in 2019/20: 15 Goals

Lewandowski came into the 2019-20 Champions League final knowing that a goal would see him replicate Ronaldo's feat of scoring in 10 different UCL games in a season. He didn't succeed but Bayern still picked up the trophy with a 1-0 win over PSG in the final. Lewandowski scored in all nine of his games prior to the final (15 goals).

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Most Champions League Goals in a Season

4. Karim Benzema in 2021/22: 15 Goals

Karim Benzema's 10 goals among the 15 goals in 2021-22 came in the knockout stages of the competition – a joint record alongside Ronaldo in 2016-17. He scored a hat-trick in the second leg of the last 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain. Benzema smashed another hat-trick in the first leg against Chelsea and a further goal in the quarter-final second leg. He didn't just stop there and went on to score three goals in the two semi-final games against Manchester City. He didn't score in the final versus Liverpool, but Real Madrid still won the title once again.

5. Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017/18: 15 Goals

Cristiano Ronaldo's third-highest-scoring UCL season came in 2017-18 at Real Madrid. The Portuguese scored 15 times as Real Madrid went on to win the competition in the final against Liverpool. Ronaldo didn't score in the final but did score in 10 other games that season to equal his own record tally of 10 UCL games scored in within a single season alongside 2013-14.

6. Lionel Messi in 2011/12: 14 Goals

Lionel Messi's best goalscoring season in the Champions League came back in 2011-12. This was a season where Messi broke all sorts of records, with a phenomenal 73 goals in 60 games. He scored 14 of those goals in the UCL, including five in a single match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in March 2012. This remained one of only two occasions that a player has scored five times in a Champions League match, but the only time that they have come in a knockout stage game. After 10 years, Haaland became the joint record holder in the 2022-23 season. Messi's Barcelona side were eventually knocked out in the semi-finals against the 2011-12 winners Chelsea. Messi failed to score in both legs despite attempting 12 shots overall.

Read Also: All-time top goalscorers for Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League

Most Champions League Goals in a Season

7. Robert Lewandowski in 2021/22: 13 Goals

Robert Lewandowski scored 13 goals in his final season as a Bayern Munich player. The Polish striker took 10 games to take his total UCL goal tally to 69 for the Bundesliga Champions. Only Lionel Messi (120 for Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (105 for Real Madrid), and Karim Benzema (74 for Real Madrid) have scored more for a single club in the competition.

Lewandowski looked on to possibly break the UCL season record. He scored nine goals in Bayern's first five matches but their eventual defeat in the quarter-finals against Villarreal denied his chances of scoring more.

8. Erling Haaland in 2022/23: 12 Goals

The phenomenal City striker, Haaland, has been a goal-scoring machine since his transfer from Dortmund. He is currently UEFA Champions League's top goal scorer in the 2022/23 season. He is also the top scorer in Europe. The 22-year-old Manchester City striker is running away with the UCL Golden Boot with 12 goals.

Haaland also became the third player in Champions League history to score five goals in a game as he led Manchester City to a dominating 7-0 victory against RB Leipzig in the second leg of their last-16 tie. He still has a game on his hand to score more or even he can get 2 games in total if Manchester City qualifies for the Final.

9. Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2002/03: 12 Goals

Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy was the top scorer, scoring 12 goals over the two group stages and knockout stage, in addition to two goals he had scored in the qualifying phase, although his side bowed out in the quarter-finals and missed out on the chance of playing in a final at their own stadium.

10. Lionel Messi in 2018/19: 12 Goals

FC Barcelona ace Lionel Messi was once again at his best in the UEFA Champions League season 2018-19. The 32-year-old won the season's Golden Boot by scoring 12 goals in 2018-19 including a hat-trick and 3 assists. He scored a brace in the first-leg win (3-0) over Liverpool in the semi-finals. Then the Blaugrana were knocked out of the tournament after they conceded four in the return leg at Anfield.

He Started with an unstoppable free-kick in the 4-0 win over PSV. Messi completed his hat trick in Barcelona's first group game. On matchday two, Messi scored two more in the 4-2 victory over Tottenham. Against PSV again, he was on the scoresheet. A perfectly executed panenka initiated the 5-1 beating handed out to Lyon in the second leg of the Round of 16 at Camp Nou. He also scored a brace against Manchester United at home which left De Gea red-faced after the match. 

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Most Champions League Goals in a Season