'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The UEFA Champions League is the blue-riband event of European club football for almost three decades. Over the years, some of the best players and teams have graced the competition.
It is often the best players in the world who prove to be the difference makers in the competition. They have the ability to produce moments of magic on the grandest stage when their teams need it the most.
Players such as Zinedine Zidane, Steven Gerrard, Arjen Robben and Andreas Iniesta, to name a few, have all scored key goals in the Champions League. The ability to produce the goods in the Champions League is what separates great players from the good.
On that note, here's a look at the five greatest match-winners in UEFA Champions League history:
#5 Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o was widely considered to be one of the best strikers in the world during his time with Barcelona and Inter Milan. He scored several key goals for Barcelona during his five years with the club. Eto'o was often the difference maker in the Champions League.
Eto'o was a prolific scorer for Barcelona, netting 130 times across competitions. But two of his most notable goals for the Spanish giants came in the Champions League finals against Arsenal in 2006 and Manchester United in 2009.
Eto'o is only the fourth player in the Champions League history to win the competition with two different teams. But he is the only one to win consecutive European trebles with two different clubs. After helping Barcelona do so in 2008-09, he repeated the trick with Inter Milan in 2009-10.
#4 Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini spent his entire 25-year football career with AC Milan. He helped the club win five Champions League titles (one in the pre-Champions League era). Maldini also won seven Serie A titles and four European/UEFA Super Cups, among other honours.
The Italian captained AC Milan for over a decade, forming a formidable partnership in the centre of defence with Alessandro Nesta. Maldini holds the record for most appearances for AC Milan, making 902 appearances for the club and scoring 33 goals. One of those strikes came in the 2005 Champions League final, which Milan lost after squandering a three-goal half-time lead.
Maldini captained AC Milan to two Champions League titles (2003, 2007). His ability to produce warrior-like performances for AC Milan on the biggest stage. That made him one of the greatest match-winners in Champions League history.
#3 Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos is one of the greatest players in Champions League history. He won four titles in the competition with Real Madrid. Ramos has scored key goals in the Champions League; he is one of a handful of players to score in multiple Champions League finals.
Ramos was named in the competition's Team of the Season in all four of Real Madrid's Champions League-winning campaigns. He is one of the most prolific goalscoring defenders in the competition's history. Ramos scored a stoppage-time equaliser against Atletico Madrid in the 2014 UEFA Champions League final. Madrid won that game in extra time to win their La Decima.
He also won the Man of the Match award in the 2016 UEFA Champions League against Atletico Madrid. The Spaniard has also been elected to the UEFA Team of the Year nine times, a record for a defender.
#2 Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is, without a doubt, one of the greatest players in the game's history. During his incredible 17-year career with Barcelona, Messi won four Champions League titles.
Messi is one of two players to score over 100 goals and eight hat-tricks in the competition. He scored in two Champions League finals, both against Manchester United, doing so in 2009 and 2011.
Messi has scored 120 goals in 150 appearances in the competition. Now with French giants PSG, the 34-year-old will hope to lead Mauricio Pochettino's men to their first success in the Champions League.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is the most prolific scorer in Champions League history. He has won the competition a record five times once with Manchester United and four times with Real Madrid.
Ronaldo has scored 135 goals in 177 appearances in the Champions League. He has a slew of records in the competition. Ronaldo has won several games in the competition over the years.
The 36-year-old has scored four goals in UEFA Champions League finals. He scored once for Manchester United (in 2008), and twice for Real Madrid (2014 and 2016). He is the only player to score for two different winning teams in the competition's final.
