Over the past several years, Kylian Mbappe has established himself as one of the most potent strikers in Europe and his goalscoring record is testament to that. The French superstar’s record in the Champions League is excellent and continues to improve year-upon-year. By the time Mbappe retires, who knows what he will have reached.
Now on 49 career goals in Europe’s premier club competition representing AS Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and currently Real Madrid, Mbappe is now among the top ten goalscorers in Champions League history and is likely to continue climbing with four of those ten players having now retired.
But how has Mbappe proven so effective in the Champions League and what has been the main formula to his success in front of goal? In this analysis, we break down the key numbers.
Last updated after Matchday 1 of the 2024-25 season
- Mbappe has scored at least six Champions League goals across each of the last four seasons heading into 2024-25.
- His most successful campaigns from a goalscoring perspective came in 2020/21 and 2023/24 when his former club Paris Saint-Germain reached the semi-finals on both occasions.
BY ROUND
- Of Mbappe’s 49 goals, more than half of those were scored during the Champions League group stage, 30 in total (goals scored in the revamped league phase are classed as 'group stage' goals in this analysis).
- He has accumulated 11 (22.5%) so far across the round of 16, which is played over two legs.
BY PITCH AREA
- It will come as no surprise that Mbappe has scored over 75% of his Champions League goals from inside the penalty area, including spot kicks
- However, that does not account for goals scored by Mbappe from inside the 6 yard box, further underlining his efficiency at close range.
METHOD OF GOALS
- Mbappe’s trusted right foot has shot home 41 (83.7%) of his 49 Champions League goals.
- The Frenchman has only scored two headers across his career so far in the competition.
TYPE OF GOALS
- 87.8% of Mbappe’s goals have come from open play, whilst only six have come from the penalty spot.
- Unlike players above him in the all-time Champions top-scorers list such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Mbappe has not scored a free kick in the tournament as of yet.
BY HALF
- Mbappe’s attacking threat tends to grow the longer a game goes on, with a higher percentage of his goals coming during the second half of matches, 55.1% to be precise.
- Defenders may find it slightly easier to restrict Mbappe in the first half but have failed to stop him accruing 22 goals across the first period of Champions League games.
BY MINUTE
- Only three (6.1%) of Mbappe’s 49 goals came between the 16th and 30th minute - his lowest total in normal time.
- Mbappe has found the net plenty of times towards the latter stages of matches, scoring 20 goals inside the final half-hour of games as defences tire and his pace becomes even more effective.
NATIONS SCORED AGAINST
- Just under a quarter of Mbappe’s Champions League goals have come against Spanish opposition.
- Whilst Mbappe boasts goals against clubs from ten separate nations, he is still yet to score against a Dutch club.
TEAMS SCORED AGAINST
- Real Madrid’s new marquee forward has scored against Barcelona six times (12.2%) across his senior club career, more times than any other team outside of France.
- Having accumulated three goals vs Real Madrid prior to signing for the club, Los Blancos fans will know all about Mbappe’s qualities.
GOALKEEPERS SCORED AGAINST
- All of Mbappe’s six goals against Barcelona saw him beat goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, who has conceded the most times against the Frenchman across his career as it stands.
- Currently, 26 goalkeepers have given up at least one goal to Mbappe in Europe, with one of those having since retired (Gianluigi Buffon).
TOP ASSISTERS
- No player has managed to assist Mbappe more than six times, with Angel Di Maria and Neymar the only two players to have reached that figure, both of whom having been teammates of his at Paris Saint-Germain.
- Over 30% of Mbappe’s goals were not registered as assisted.
- Lionel Messi is the only player above Mbappe in the Champions League top goalscorers list to have assisted him in Europe.