The Real Madrid forward’s strike in Wednesday night’s quarter-final clash with Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabeu was his 14th of the 2013-14 campaign
Cristiano Ronaldo has equalled Lionel Messi’s goals record for a single Champions League season.
| CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MOST GOALS IN A SEASON |
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| Player Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo Mario Gomez Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo R. van Nistelrooy |
Season 2011-12 2013-14 2011-12 2010-11 2012-13 2002-03 |
Goals 14 14 12 12 12 12 |
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The Real Madrid forward’s strike in Wednesday night’s quarter-final first-leg clash with Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabeu took his tally for the 2013-14 campaign to 14.
Ronaldo is now level with Messi, who netted 14 times in 11 games during the 2011-12 tournament.
Remarkably, the Portuguese has matched the Barcelona ace’s tally in just eight outings this term, averaging a goal every 49.07 minutes.
No player has ever scored at such a rate in Europe’s premier club cup competition.
Messi’s average during his record-breaking 2011-12 season was a goal every 70.71 minutes, while Ruud van Nistelrooy was even more prolific during Manchester United’s run to the quarter-finals in 2003.
The Dutchman netted 12 times in total, giving him an average of a goal every 57 minutes.
Given that Ronaldo is scoring at an ever higher rate, and that Portuguese is, barring injury, guaranteed at least one more game in this season’s competition, the record now seems his for the taking.