The Champions League is into a new era when it comes to goalscoring greatness, in the first full season since Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi moved away from Europe, Reelradio.com.ng reports.
Erling Haaland’s incredible first season at Manchester City saw him break new ground in the Premier League Golden Boot race with 36 goals scored for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Haaland added the Champions League Golden Boot award to his domestic crown, with 12 goals in European action, as City wrapped up a historic treble at the end of the campaign.
The Norwegian goal machine is being challenged by Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe this season, but with Karim Benzema joining Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, Haaland and Barcelona hotshot Robert Lewandowski are the only current Champions League players to have previously won the award.
Champions League top scorers 2023/24
Kylian Mbappe has moved ahead of Harry Kane and is in first place in the list of Champions League top scorers for the 2023/24 season, with another two stars sitting just one goal behind in a competitive Golden Boot battle.
The UCL group stage concluded last year after six dramatic matchdays and, after a long break, the tournament returned with the last 16 across February and March.
Now we have enjoyed the quarter-finals, where Arsenal took on Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid played Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid battled holders Man City and PSG faced off against Barcelona.
The first legs were on April 9 and 10, with the return matches played just a week later on April 16 and 17.
Going into those pivotal games, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland were all tied at the top in a superb four-man leading group.
And they were being pursued by the likes of Alvaro Morata, Julian Alvarez, Jude Bellingham and Robert Lewandowski in the UCL scoring standings.
Kane became the outright leader on seven UCL goals after netting in Bayern’s dramatic 2-2 away draw against Arsenal. Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard moved on to four goals in the competition with their strikes in the match.
There was also excitement as Real Madrid and Man City drew 3-3 in Spain. Phil Foden is now just three goals off the top of the standings after scoring in a game which also saw Rodrygo improve on his tournament tally.
Kane remained in front after Mbappe could not add to his competition total as PSG lost 3-2 to Barcelona in the first leg courtesy of a double from Raphinha. Atletico beat Dortmund 2-1 in the other game, although there were no goals from either Griezmann or Morata.
But Mbappe moved into top spot in the second leg, scoring two of PSG’s goals in a dramatic 4-1 second-leg triumph on Tuesday, progressing 6-4 on aggregate. Morata and Griezmann’s Golden Boot hopes were ended on the same night, as a 4-2 win for Dortmund in the second leg sent Atletico out in a 5-4 aggregate loss.
Wednesday saw the final two ties settled. Premier League sides Arsenal and Man City were both eliminated as with Bayern and Real Madrid progressed.
Madrid’s victory on penalties came after Rodrygo had scored a crucial goal for the Spanish side. Elimination for Man City ended Haaland’s hopes of defending his Golden Boot crown.
The semi-finals will begin on April 30 and May 1.
Goalscoring standings 2023/24
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Kylian Mbappe | PSG | 8 |
| Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 7 |
| Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | 6 |
| Erling Haaland | Man City | 6 |
| Alvaro Morata | Atletico Madrid | 5 |
| Galeno | Porto | 5 |
| Rodrygo | Real Madrid | 5 |
| Julian Alvarez | Man City | 5 |
| Rasmus Hojlund | Man Utd | 5 |
| Phil Foden | Man City | 5 |
| Evanilson | Porto | 4 |
| Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | 4 |
| Lois Openda | RB Leipzig | 4 |
| Leandro Trossard | Arsenal | 4 |
| Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | 4 |
| Ciro Immobile | Lazio | 4 |
| Gabriel Jesus | Arsenal | 4 |
| Danylo Sikan | Shakhtar Donetsk | 4 |
| Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | 3 |
| Joselu | Real Madrid | 3 |
| Mathys Tel | Bayern Munich | 2 |
| Kingsley Coman | Bayern Munich | 2 |
| Jamal Musiala | Bayern Munich | 2 |
