KARIM BENZEMA THE THIRD
Karim Benzema, third player with 30 opening goals in UCL
The goal scored by Karim Benzema in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final Real Madrid vs Chelsea (2-0) - Picture - became his 30th opening goal in the tournament.
He is the third player in UCL history to reach this mark, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (48) and Lionel Messi (40).
In the ranking, the right column means total goals of a player in UCL.
| MOST OPENING GOALS | IN | CHAMPIONS | LEAGUE | ||
| Player | Goals | Nationality | Years | Total | |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 48 | Portugal | 2003–2022 | 140 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | 40 | Argentina | 2005– | 129 |
| 3 | Karim Benzema | 30 | France | 2005– | 90 |
| 4 | Raúl | 26 | Spain | 1995–2011 | 71 |
| Robert Lewandowski | 26 | Poland | 2011– | 91 | |
| 6 | Filippo Inzaghi | 21 | Italy | 1997–2012 | 46 |
| 7 | Andriy Shevchenko | 19 | Ukraine | 1994–2012 | 48 |
| Zlatan Ibrahimović | 19 | Sweden | 2001– | 48 | |
| 9 | Alessandro Del Piero | 18 | Italy | 1995–2009 | 42 |
| Thierry Henry | 18 | France | 1997–2012 | 50 |