This Wednesday, Real Madrid secured an important 4–3 win over Olympiacos in Greece, improving their position in the UEFA Champions League group standings. Kylian Mbappe scored four goals, achieving a feat reminiscent of the best years of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was the first time Mbappe reached that number in a single Champions League match in his career. His previous best was three goals, something he accomplished on three occasions: twice with Paris Saint-Germain (against Club Brugge in 2019 and Barcelona in 2021) and once this year with Real Madrid (against Kairat Almaty).
These numbers place Kylian in a select group of players whose performances in European competition have amazed fans in recent decades. Cristiano Ronaldo is part of that group as well, though with one detail that further highlights Mbappe’s achievement: despite being the all-time leading scorer in Champions League history and having played the competition until age 37, CR7 reached the four-goal mark only once.
On December 8, 2015, Ronaldo scored four goals against Malmo in Real Madrid’s 8–0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. That was his best European performance, followed by seven other matches in which he recorded hat-tricks. Mbappe, at only 26 years old, has plenty of time to surpass those numbers.
How many times has Messi scored 4 or more goals in the Champions League?
After Cristiano Ronaldo, the player with the second-most goals in UEFA Champions League history is Lionel Messi. It’s no surprise the Argentine forward has remarkable numbers in the competition, rivaling those of any soccer legend.
Between his European debut in 2004 and his arrival at Inter Miami in 2023, Messi competed in 19 editions of the Champions League with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. On six occasions, Leo recorded hat-tricks, all with Barcelona, while in two other matches he scored even more.
On April 6, 2010, Messi led Barcelona to a 4–1 win over Arsenal at Camp Nou in the second leg of the quarterfinals. That day, the Argentine forward scored all four of his team’s goals. And two years later, he surpassed even that feat: on March 7, 2012, Messi scored five goals against Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16.
* Developing story
