The new era is here. It’s already shaping up to be Kylian Mbappe vs. Erling Haaland for the UEFA Champions League golden boot.
The two young stars — Mbappe is 23 and Haaland is 22 — both logged two goals each in their opening Champions League group match of 2022/23, leading their respective clubs to victory.
Joining them atop the scoring chart is a surprise name: Shakhtar Donetsk’s Marian Shved. The 25-year-old Ukrainian winger contributed to Shakhtar’s shock win at RB Leipzig with two goals.
There are still eight more matches to play in the opening round of group matches with another Golden Boot candidate, Robert Lewandowski, getting his campaign started in his new Barcelona colors against Viktoria Plzen. This home match might be his best chance to pile on the goals given Bayern Munich and Inter Milan are also in Barcelona’s group.
The table below is updated after each round of matches, 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.
Forget the Ronaldo vs. Messi debate.
Haaland vs. Mbappe is here 😅 pic.twitter.com/So3grziHvH
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 6, 2022
MORE: Benzema joins all-time Champions League elite scorers
Champions League Top Scorers 2022/23
Updated as of Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals (PKs) | Assists | Matches | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Marian Shved | Shakhtar Donetsk | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 | 62 |
| Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 | 70 | |
| Kylian Mbappe | PSG | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 | 90 | |
| 4. | Mykhaylo Mudryk | Shakhtar Donetsk | 1 (0) | 2 | 1 | 90 |
| Eden Hazard | Real Madrid | 1 (0) | 1 | 1 | 60 | |
| Phil Foden | Manchester City | 1 (0) | 1 | 1 | 70 | |
| Alex Grimaldo | Benfica | 1 (0) | 1 | 1 | 90 | |
| Lassina Traore | Shakhtar Donetsk | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 20 | |
| Weston McKennie | Juventus | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 45 | |
| Mislav Orsic | Dinamo Zagreb | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 76 | |
| Rafa Silva | Benfica | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 79 | |
| Luka Modric | Real Madrid | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 80 | |
| Alexis Saelemaekers | AC Milan | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 80 | |
| Vinicius Jr. | Real Madrid | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 80 | |
| Raphael Guerreiro | Borussia Dortmund | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 86 | |
| Marco Reus | Borussia Dortmund | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 86 | |
| Noah Okafor | RB Salzburg | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 89 | |
| Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dortmund | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 90 | |
| Ruben Dias | Manchester City | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 90 | |
| Mohamed Simakan | RB Leipzig | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 90 | |
| Edson Alvarez | Ajax | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | TBD | |
| Steven Berghuis | Ajax | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | TBD | |
| Mohammed Kudus | Ajax | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | TBD | |
| Marcus Edwards | Sporting CP | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | TBD | |
| Francisco Trincao | Sporting CP | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | TBD |
There have been 28 goals scored after one group matchday in the 2022/23 Champions League.
Champions League Golden Boot 2021/22
The 2021-22 Champions League scoring crown was claimed by Karim Benzema. He didn’t score in the final against Liverpool, but he did enough damage in the previous knockout rounds to finish on 15 goals, two better than Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, but short of Cristiano Ronaldo’s single-season record of 17 (2013/14).
Benzema, who also won the scoring race in La Liga with 27 goals, had a magical season in the Champions League, willing Real Madrid into the final with his goals. His three goals against Man City in the semis were critical, and in the quarterfinals Benzema silenced Chelsea’s home crowd with three goals in the first leg, and then he scored the decisive blow in extra time of the second leg.
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals (PKs) | Assists | Matches | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 15 (3) | 1 | 12 | 1106 |
| 2. | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 13 (3) | 3 | 10 | 876 |
| 3. | Sebastien Haller | Ajax | 11 (1) | 1 | 8 | 668 |
| 4. | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 8 (1) | 2 | 13 | 1008 |
| 5. | Riyad Mahrez | Man City | 7 (2) | 2 | 12 | 986 |
| Christopher Nkunku | RB Leipzig | 7 (0) | 0 | 6 | 531 | |
| 7. | Leroy Sane | Bayern Munich | 6 (0) | 6 | 10 | 798 |
| Kylian Mbappe | PSG | 6 (0) | 4 | 8 | 673 | |
| Arnaut Danjuma | Villarreal CF | 6 (1) | 2 | 11 | 906 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Man United | 6 (0) | 0 | 7 | 611 | |
| Darwin Nunez | Benfica | 6 (1) | 0 | 10 | 613 | |
| 12. | Rodrygo | Real Madrid | 5 (0) | 2 | 11 | 505 |
| Sadio Mane | Liverpool | 5 (0) | 1 | 13 | 822 | |
| Roberto Firmino | Liverpool | 5 (0) | 0 | 7 | 323 | |
| Lionel Messi | PSG | 5 (2) | 0 | 7 | 630 | |
| 16. | Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | 4 (0) | 6 | 13 | 1199 |
| Thomas Muller | Bayern Munich | 4 (0) | 3 | 10 | 778 | |
| Timo Werner | Chelsea | 4 (0) | 2 | 5 | 246 | |
| Pedro Goncalves | Sporting CP | 4 (1) | 2 | 5 | 329 | |
| Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | 4 (0) | 2 | 9 | 518 | |
| Gabriel Jesus | Man City | 4 (0) | 1 | 8 | 352 | |
| Luis Diaz | Liverpool/ Porto |
4 (0) | 1 | 13 | 908 |
- 3 goals: 20 players
- 2 goals: 30 players
- 1 goal: 111 players
NOTE: There were nine own goals among the total of 380 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.
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 15 editions of the Champions League, though neither has claimed the honor in the past three campaigns.
| Year | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 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 |
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