Can Ajax Amsterdam’s Sebastien Haller keep up with Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski? Haller has been the hottest goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League, scoring in every game his club has played and topping the goal charts. But he’ll have to deliver against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday to stay close to Bayern Munich’s star striker.
Haller exploded for four goals in Ajax’s opening group match and he also scored in the next two to reach six goals for the tournament. But Lewandowski got a hat trick in Matchday 4 to jump to eight goals, two in front of Haller. It’s an impressive haul for both players when you consider that last season’s top scorer, Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, had the best goal-scoring total with 10.
Keep an eye out for Mo Salah (Liverpool) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) who are both lurking behind the two top spots. Ronaldo scored twice against Atalanta to move to five goals, going even with Salah who has yet to play his match this week.
MORE: Champions League standings & results
In the chart below, the players are ranked by their goal totals beginning with the group stage. Assists are used as the first tiebreaker, and the second tiebreaker is fewest minutes played. Both are in line with the top scorer tiebreakers that European governing body UEFA implemented for the European Championships.
Champions League Top Scorers (2021-2022)
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals (PKs) | Assists | Matches | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 8 (1) | 1 | 4 | 349 |
| 2. | Sebastien Haller | Ajax | 6 | 1 | 3 | 263 |
| 3. | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 5 (1) | 0 | 3 | 239 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Man United | 5 | 0 | 4 | 342 | |
| 5. | Leroy Sane | Bayern Munich | 4 | 4 | 4 | 323 |
| Christopher Nkunku | RB Leipzig | 4 | 0 | 3 | 261 | |
| 7. | Paulo Dybala | Juventus | 3 (2) | 1 | 2 | 167 |
| Hans Vanaken | Club Brugge | 3 | 1 | 3 | 270 | |
| Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | 3 | 0 | 3 | 115 | |
| Darwin Nunez | Benfica | 3 (1) | 0 | 4 | 224 | |
| Riyad Mahrez | Man City | 3 (2) | 0 | 3 | 270 | |
| Lionel Messi | PSG | 3 (1) | 0 | 3 | 270 | |
| Karim Adeyemi | RB Salzburg | 3 (2) | 0 | 4 | 303 | |
| 14. | Serge Gnabry | Bayern Munich | 2 | 2 | 4 | 199 |
| Arnaut Danjuma | Villarreal | 2 | 2 | 4 | 299 | |
| Steven Berghuis | Ajax | 2 | 1 | 3 | 217 | |
| Paulinho | Sporting CP | 2 | 1 | 3 | 257 | |
| Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | 2 | 1 | 3 | 269 | |
| Sebastien Thill | Sheriff Tiraspol | 2 | 1 | 3 | 270 | |
| Roberto Firmino | Liverpool | 2 | 0 | 2 | 114 | |
| Ivan Rakitic | Sevilla | 2 (2) | 0 | 3 | 119 | |
| Rodrygo | Real Madrid | 2 | 0 | 3 | 127 | |
| Noah Okafor | RB Salzburg | 2 | 0 | 3 | 159 | |
| Sebastian Coates | Sporting CP | 2 | 0 | 2 | 180 | |
| Lukas Nmecha | Wolfsburg | 2 | 0 | 4 | 232 | |
| Alvaro Morata | Juventus | 2 | 0 | 3 | 233 | |
| Jorginho | Chelsea | 2 (2) | 0 | 3 | 242 | |
| Federico Chiesa | Juventus | 2 | 0 | 3 | 256 | |
| Joao Cancelo | Man City | 2 | 0 | 3 | 270 | |
| Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 2 (1) | 0 | 3 | 270 |
Note: Total of 79 players tied with one goal scored. There have also been six own goals among the total of 172 scored in the tournament.
Champions League Top Scorers (since 1992-93)
Here are the top scorers for each UEFA Champions League tournament since the new format was adopted in 1992-93.
MORE: How to watch the Champions League in the USA
No surprise as to who the players are who have topped the list on most occasions: Cristiano Ronaldo has led the charts seven times, and Messi six. Their dominant run has happened in the past 14 editions of the Champions League, though neither has claimed the honor in the past two campaigns.
| Year | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Erling Haaland | B. Dortmund | 10 |
| 2019-20 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 15 |
| 2018-19 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 12 |
| 2017-18 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 2016-17 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2015-16 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 16 |
| 2014-15 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 10 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 10 | |
| Neymar | Barcelona | 10 | |
| 2013-14 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 17 |
| 2012-13 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2011-12 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 14 |
| 2010-11 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 12 |
| 2009-10 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 8 |
| 2008-09 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 9 |
| 2007-08 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Man United | 8 |
| 2006-07 | Kaka | AC Milan | 10 |
| 2005-06 | Andriy Shevchenko | AC Milan | 9 |
| 2004-05 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Man United | 8 |
| 2003-04 | Fernando Morientes | AS Monaco | 9 |
| 2002-03 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Man United | 12 |
| 2001-02 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Man United | 10 |
| 2000-01 | Raul Gonzalez | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 1999-00 | Mario Jardel | Porto | 10 |
| Rivaldo | Barcelona | 10 | |
| Raul Gonzalez | Real Madrid | 10 | |
| 1998-99 | Andriy Shevchenko | Dynamo Kyiv | 8 |
| Dwight Yorke | Man United | 8 | |
| 1997-98 | Alessandro Del Piero | Juventus | 10 |
| 1996-97 | Milinko Pantic | Atletico Madrid | 5 |
| 1995-96 | Jari Litmanen | Ajax | 9 |
| 1994-95 | George Weah | PSG | 7 |
| 1993-94 | Hristo Stoichkov | Barcelona | 5 |
| 1992-93 | Franck Sauzee | Marseille | 5 |