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UEFA Champions League or UCL is the elite football club competition in Europe. Clubs like Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, who do not face much competition in domestic leagues, sweat it out for continental glory.
The competition also brings some of the best players in Europe head-to-head against each other for some interesting matchups. While the group stage of the competition is not intensely competitive, the round of 16 is an interesting stage of the competition.
Several big clubs, including league winners, have been eliminated from this two-legged tie over the past few editions of the tournament.
The UCL round of 16 first-leg fixtures for this season returns this week. This season, two clubs out of PSG, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Inter Milan will be sent home packing from round 16 fixtures.
On that note, here we take a look at the five players with the most goals at this stage of the competition so far.
#5 Karim Benzema - 11 goals in UCL round of 16 fixtures
Karim Benzema is one of the most consistent strikers of his generation and has enjoyed a fruitful spell with Real Madrid. The French striker never won the top scorer's award in UCL but finished as the joint top assist provider (5) in the 2011-12 edition.
He has won the competition four times with Los Blancos, including three consecutive between 2016 and 2018. He scored his first goal in round of 16 during his spell with Lyon in the 2007-08 campaign.
Since then, he has found the back of the net 11 times at this stage of the competition. Given his current form, he is the favorite to score against PSG in the first leg.
#4 Thomas Muller - 12 goals in UCL round of 16 fixtures
While Thomas Muller has made a name for himself with his goal-creating abilities, he is also a capable scorer of goals himself. He is one of just eight players to reach the 50-goal mark in UCL, with 12 of them coming in the round of 16 fixtures.
He has won the Champions League twice with Bayern Munich, with the club winning the treble on both occasions in 2012 and 2020. The German forward remains a key member of the Bundesliga club and is expected to shine against Red Bull Salzburg.
#3 Robert Lewandowski - 14 goals in the UCL round of 16 fixtures
Robert Lewandowski has won the UCL just once in his career in the 2019-20 edition. He came up second in the 2012-13 campaign with Borussia Dortmund losing to his current employer Bayern Munich.
He is the third-highest goalscorer in the history of the competition with his current tally standing at 82 goals. 14 of these goals have been scored in the round of 16 fixtures.
He is also fourth in the all-time goalscoring standings with goals for one club, with 65 of his 82 goals coming for Bayern Munich. He secured the European Golden Shoe last season and is on track to defend his title this term.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo - 25 goals in the UCL round of 16 fixtures
Cristiano Ronaldo finds himself at the top of the UCL goalscoring charts with 140 goals. He has 25 goals in the round of 16 fixtures but this tally was not enough to secure him the top spot on our list.
He has found the back of the net at this stage of the competition with all three clubs that he has featured for in the competition. He first scored in the round of 16 in his first spell at Manchester United against Lyon in the 2007-08 campaign.
He is the leading goalscorer in the knockout stage fixtures with 67 goals and has finished as the top scorer in seven campaigns. The four-time winner is the top scorer for Manchester United in the competition with six goals this season.
He is also expected to deliver results against one of his favorite opponents Atletico Madrid.
#1 Lionel Messi - 29 goals in the UCL knockout stage fixtures
This will be the first season that Lionel Messi will be featuring in the UCL round of 16 fixtures for a club other than Barcelona. The Argentine forward, second in the all-time goalscoring charts, leads the way with 29 goals in the round of 16 fixtures.
He has scored five goals in five games with PSG in the Champions League this season and is their top scorer in the competition. He has won the competition four times with the Catalan club and is the top scorer in the group stage of the competition.
He faces old foes Real Madrid in the round of 16 fixtures this month and his team-mates will be looking up to him for some inspiration in the final third.
