Top 12 players with most Champions League goals in a single match

There is no bigger spectacle than an absolute goal fest of a football game; moreover, fans will always be in for a treat whenever a player scores a galore of goals in a single game. Throughout history, we have witnessed a legion of players breaking records for most goals in a single match. Here we take a look at the players who have scored the most goals in a single game in one of the topmost competitions in the world.

Players with the most goals in a single Champions League game

List of players with Most Champions League goals in a single game

12. Robert Lewandowski – 4 Goals

Scoring four goals in a game is one thing but doing it in the Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid is not everyone’s cup of tea unless his name is Robert Lewandowski. It was during the 2012-13 campaign when Lewandowski pulled off one of the best performances in UCL history after scoring all the goals in the 4-1 over Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi-final.

Dortmund, then led by Jurgen Klopp reached the finals but only to be beaten by their arch-rivals Bayern Munich. Nevertheless, Lewandowski had a terrific campaign with 10 goals, which catapulted him to one of the hottest players while earning him a move to Bayern later. Fast forward to a decade, and the Polish striker continues to be one of the best strikers the history has ever seen. The current Barcelona star recently also recently scored a sensational double in El Clasico, showing again his knack for scoring against Los Blancos.

11. Mario Gomez – 4 Goals

Next up on the list is another former Bayern Munich player, Mario Gomez. The former German international was one of the underrated strikers of his generation, known for his physicality, deadly poaching instincts, intelligence and above all, impressive consistency. Gomez scored four goals in Bayern’s 7-0 demolition of  Swiss side FC Basel in the last-16 of the Champions League in March 2012. During his time at Bayern, Gomez was a beast of a striker, netting 113 goals and 26 assists in 174 games.

10. Bafetimbi Gomis – 4 Goals

Former French footballer Bafetimbi Gomis had a productive spell at Lyon between 2009 and 2014, winning the French Cup and and French Super Cup. During his stint, the striker bagged four goals in Les Gones’ 7-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League in 2011, thereby becoming the first-ever French player to do so in European competitions in more than four decades. Gomis also had spells at St Etienne, Marseille, Galatasaray and Al Hilal.

9. Lionel Messi – 4 Goals

Arguably the best player in the world Lionel Messi was always a top performer when it comes to the Champions League as he is the second all-time top scorer in the competition. The entire world witnessed the Argentine’s magic in a UCL knockout game against Arsenal in 2010. The Gunners managed to secure a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the quarter-finals and also took the lead early in the second leg, but little were they aware of the hurricane that was about to hit them.

Messi singlehandedly dismantled Arsene Wenger’s side by scoring four goals to help Barca secure a 4-1 victory. It was one of the most enthralling individual performances ever and the highlight was Messi’s chip over goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. The display also led to Wenger describing Messi as a play-station player.

8. Andriy Shevchenko – 4 Goals

One of the best players in the history of AC Milan and the strikers of all time, Andriy Shevchenko netted four goals in Rossoneri’s 4-0 victory against Fenerbahce in the Champions League in 2005. The Ukrainian legend also achieved the feat of becoming the first-ever player to score as many as four goals in a UCL away game. Shevchenko went on to win the Golden Boot in that UCL season, scoring nine goals.

7. Ruud van Nistelrooy – 4 Goals

The current Manchester United interim manager was one of the prolific strikers back in his playing time. Especially, the Dutch legend was always at his lethal best during the Champions League games, strengthened by the fact he is the sixth all-time top scorer of the competition with 60 goals.

He became the first Man Utd player since Denis Law in 1968 to score four goals in a European game after doing so in a UCL group game against Sparta Prague in the 2004-05 season.

6. Dado Prso – 4 Goals

Former Croatian legend Dado Prso was in sublime form during his time at AS Monaco, with whom he won one Ligue 1 title in the 1999-2000 season and two other domestic titles. Moreover, he was an integral part of the French side that reached the UCL finals of the 2003-04 season before losing to Porto. En route, Prso scored half of Monaco’s goals in the 8-3 win against Deportiva La Coruna. He has also won the Croatian Footballer of the Year award three times.

5. Simone Inzaghi – 4 Goals

The current Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi may appear as a surprise name but he still joins this elite list. Not as prolific as his brother Filippo Inzaghi during his playing days, Simone managed to score a quadruple of goals in Lazio’s 5-1 win against Marseille in a UCL game in 2000. 

4. Marco van Basten – 4 Goals

One of the fabled “Three Musketeers” of AC Milan alongside Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard, former Dutch legend Marco van Basten is arguably one of the best players of all time. Van Basten became the first player to score four goals since the Champions League’s rebranding from the European Cup, after doing it in a game against Swedish side IFK Goteborg in 1992 at San Siro. He has won the European Cup two times and also has three Ballon d’Ors to his name.

3. Erling Haaland – 4 Goals

Next up on the list is the modern goal machine and Manchester City star Erling Haaland, who continues to conquer record after record. Having already earned the status of the best player in the world, The Norwegian centre-forward is destined to further enrich his legacy in the future. At the age of 24 and only in his third season at Man City, Haaland has already won two Premier League titles and one Champions League title.

Haaland had a surreal run in the 2023-24 UCL winning season, ending as the competition’s top scorer. Among the notable performances was his 5 goals against RB Leipzig in the 7-0 victory, the third player ever in the competition’s history to do so.

2. Luiz Adriano – 5 Goals

Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano ran riot for Shakhtar Donetsk in the 7-0 win over Bate Borisov in a Champions League group game in 2014, netting 5 goals, thereby becoming the second player to achieve the feat in the competition’s history. He also scored a hat-trick against Borisov in the reverse fixture, which also saw him create a record for the most goals scored against a single opponent.

1. Lionel Messi – 5 Goals

Standing at the top is Messi, who also makes the cut on this list for the second time. The record Ballon d’Or winner and the World Champion produced one of the iconic performances in the Champions League history against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012, scoring an unprecedented five goals in the 7-1 win in the last 16 2nd leg. The German side were completely thunderstruck by La Pulga’s sorcery. 

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