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November 6 2024, 21:43 · Trystan Pugh
Updated: November 6 2024, 22:35

The Numbers Behind Robert Lewandowski’s Champions League Goals

The Numbers Behind Robert Lewandowski’s Champions League Goals
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Robert Lewandowski now stands just one goal away from becoming only the third player in history to score 100 Champions League goals.

From the moment he scored his first Champions League goal for Borussia Dortmund back in October 2011, Robert Lewandowski has never looked back. The Polish striker has gone on to become one of Europe's most potent forwards, finding the net with incredible regularity at each of the three clubs he has represented in the Champions League.

Lewandowski has accumulated 99 Champions League goals across his storied career, third highest on the all-time list of Champions League goalscorers behind Lionel Messi (second) and Cristiano Ronaldo (first). Of those 99 goals, 69 came whilst Lewandowski was playing for Bayern Munich and 17 back when he played at Dortmund. The remainder have been scored at current club, Barcelona.

But how has Lewandowski proven so successful over such a long period of time in European football's marquee club competition? In this feature, we go through all the important numbers, diving into the key data when it comes to all of the former Champions League winner's goals across the tournament.

Last updated after Matchday 4 of the 2024-25 season

BY SEASON

  • Lewandowski struck a double-figure number of goals in three of his 14 seasons in which he played Champions League football.
  • His best campaign came in 2019-20, when he scored 15 goals to help Bayern win the competition.

BY ROUND

  • 67.7% of Lewandowski's Champions League goals have come in the group stage / league phase.
  • Across the knockout stages, Lewandowski has racked up 32 goals, with over half of those (19) coming in the round of 16.

BY PITCH AREA

  • Lewandowski's reputation as one of the best poachers in football is enhanced by the fact that 68.7% of his UCL goals have been scored from inside the penalty area (not including the 6-yard box).
  • Only five of the Pole's 99 goals have been scored from outside the penalty area.

METHOD OF GOALS

  • More headers have been scored by Lewandowski in the Champions League than shots with his left foot.
  • Unsurprisingly, his favoured right foot has accounted for the vast majority of his goals in Europe, 61.6% of them to be precise.

TYPE OF GOALS

  • 82 of Lewandowski's 99 goals coming from open play simply underlines what an excellent striker he is, being able to always fashion opportunities against active opponents, rather than benefitting from dead ball scenarios such as penalties.
  • Lewandowski boasts one successful direct free-kick across his Champions League career so far, back in the 2016-17 group stage for Bayern at home to Atletico Madrid.

BY HALF

  • The offensive prowess of Lewandowski is prominent across both halves, having recorded 45.5% of his Champions League goal-tally in the first period of matches.
  • As it stands though, the second half is where the 36-year-old has scored most of his goals, 54 in total.

BY MINUTE

  • The numbers tell us that Lewandowski gets slightly more dangerous the longer a game goes on, with 37 of his European goals coming after the hour-mark.
  • With only 13.1% of Lewandowski goals occurring within the first 15 minutes of matches, it suggests that it takes him time to settle into a contest before striking.

NATIONS SCORED AGAINST

  • Lewandowski's goal against former side Bayern was his first against a German club across his Champions League career and the 17th nation he has scored against in the competition.
  • Spanish and English teams have suffered the wrath of Lewandowski the most as the only two nations that have conceded a double-figure number of goals to the Pole.

TEAMS SCORED AGAINST

  • Over the course of his career so far, Lewandowski has accumulated five goals or more against seven different clubs.
  • Benfica and Crvena zvezda have suffered the most pain at the hands of Lewandowski, as the only two clubs whom he has scored seven times against.

GOALKEEPERS SCORED AGAINST

  • As Benfica's first-choice between the posts between 2018-2023, it is perhaps no surprise that goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos has conceded the most number of goals to Lewandowski.
  • Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is no doubt happy that Lewandowski is now on his side at Barcelona, with the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern star having scored against him four times in the past.

TOP ASSISTERS

  • Over a quarter of Lewandowski's 99 Champions League goals were unassisted, another indication of his individual quality and ability to conjure up chances on his own.
  • The player to have assisted him the most across his career so far is former Bayern teammate Thomas Müller, who set Lewandowski up for nine goals, more than half the times that any other player has managed.