Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski is the oldest forward in the UEFA Champions League at the moment (36) and yet, he continues to show why he is the best in the business.
As it turns out, leading the La Liga scoring charts is not enough for the Pole as he wants to build a legacy of his own, especially in the UEFA Champions League.
To put things in perspective, since the 2019-20 season, the Barcelona striker has dominated the Champions League, standing out as the top scorer in the competition.
In the past five seasons, including the current campaign’s two games, Lewandowski has racked up a total of 43 goals in 42 matches. Erling Haaland follows closely with 42 goals in 41 games, while Kylian Mbappe holds third place with 35 goals in 49 matches.
Lewandowski vs Mbappe vs Haaland
Before beginning, it must be noted that the timeline (2019-20) has been taken since the three of them have been active in the European competition.
Lewandowski’s first season competing against both Mbappé and Haaland was during his time at Bayern Munich, while Mbappe was at PSG, and Haaland at RB Salzburg (later moving to Borussia Dortmund).
During the 2019-20 season, Lewandowski outshone both, scoring 15 goals, which equalled the combined tally of Mbappe (5) and Haaland (10). Lewandowski’s outstanding form helped Bayern Munich lift the Champions League trophy in Lisbon that year.
The following season, Haaland managed to score 10 goals, beating Mbappe’s total by two and Lewandowski’s by five. In the 2021-22 season, Lewandowski hit back with 13 goals, once again outscoring Mbappe (6) and Haaland (3).
Haaland is catching up
When Haaland joined Manchester City for the 2022-23 season, he recorded his best tally yet, scoring 12 goals in the Champions League.
This was five more than Mbappe and seven more than Lewandowski, who saw his campaign cut short after Barcelona were eliminated in the group stage. Last season was the first time Mbappe (8) scored more than Lewandowski (3) and Haaland (6).
So far in the current edition of the competition, Lewandowski, despite his age, has already made his mark. His brace against Young Boys puts him ahead of his rivals, both Mbappe and Haaland, who have scored just one goal each.
