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The Champions League has witnessed some marvellous performances over the years. While a lot of teams have done well, it is the individual brilliance of the players that has always been more eye-catching.
Plenty of goal-scoring machines have left their mark on the competition by being brutally effective in front of goal. Some of them have even gone on to score multiple hat-tricks in Europe's highest club competition.
Scoring a Champions League hat-trick is no mean feat
It takes a lot of effort to be a reputed goal-scorer in the Champions League. With the best teams across Europe competing in the competition, scoring a hat-trick is an immense ask. It is certainly tough but only adds more value to a player's capabilities.
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Some of the top footballers have been able to score consecutive hat-tricks in the Champions League. Without further ado, let's take a look at the great players who have managed to score back-to-back hat-tricks in the competition so far.
#4 Luiz Adriano (Shakthar Donetsk)
Coming through the ranks at Internacional, Luiz Adriano is best known for his time at Shakhtar Donetsk. He spent nine seasons at the club and won the Ukrainian Premier League six times.
His goals were crucial to Shakhtar's cause and more so when it came to the Champions League. In the 2014-15 season, Adriano had a stellar time in the competition.
In the group stage, the Brazilian striker scored five goals in a single match when they faced BATE Borisov away from home. In the very next fixture, Adriano went on to score a hat-trick against the same opposition.
It was the very first time a footballer scored back-to-back hat-tricks in the Champions League. Adriano went on to score nine goals in the competition that campaign, helping Shakhtar Donetsk reach the round of 16. They were beaten 7-0 on aggregate by Bayern Munich at that stage.
#3 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi has a number of records to his name and has scored plenty of hat-tricks in his stellar career so far. The Argentine has scored the most number of hat-tricks (8) in the history of the Champions League, a record he shares with Cristiano Ronaldo.
With the record still intact, it goes on to show how difficult it is to achieve this remarkable feat. Only a player of Messi's quality is capable of something like this.
This record has seen the Argentine forward score back-to-back hat-tricks once in his career. In the 2016-17 season, Messi registered his first hat-trick of the season in a thumping 7-0 victory against Celtic while playing for Barcelona.
The next group stage fixture saw him meet his former manager Pep Guardiola, this time managing Manchester City. Messi didn't let that come in the way and went on to score a hat-trick to register a 4-0 victory.
They were eventually beaten by that season's finalists Juventus in the quarter-finals.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
You just cannot keep Cristiano Ronaldo off the list with goals and hat-tricks, especially in the Champions League. The Portuguese has been a phenomenal goal-scorer throughout his football career and continues to do the same.
He still holds the record for most goals in the Champions League with 140 goals to his name. Having played for some of the top European clubs, Ronaldo is joint top with Messi for most number of hat-tricks scored in the competitions (8).
He was in stunning form in the competition during the 2016-17 season, scoring 12 goals in that campaign for Real Madrid. Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in the second leg of the quarter-finals, eliminating Bayern Munich with a 4-2 win against the Bavarian club.
Real Madrid faced rivals Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals that very season. In the first leg of the fixture, Los Blancos registered a 3-0 win courtesy of a Ronaldo hat-trick. In this fashion, the Portuguese captain registered back-to-back hat-tricks to help Madrid win the competition for the 12th time.
He became the first player to achieve this feat at the knockout stages of the competition.
#1 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid have had some amazing goal-scorers in the club's history and Karim Benzema is definitely one of them. It hasn't been that easy for Los Blancos since Ronaldo left after the 2017-18 season for Juventus.
Since the Portuguese's departure, Benzema has taken the onus on him to lead the attacking line with great efficiency and class. He hasn't let his fans down one bit. This is more so because of how efficient he has been in the Champions League for Madrid.
Benzema has been terrific in the competition in the 2021-22 season, with 12 goals already to his name. He is second on this season's top scorer list behind Robert Lewandowski (13). The Frenchman, however, will have a chance to overtake the Pole when Madrid face Manchester City in the semi-finals.
One of his best performances this campaign came against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 second leg. After trailing by a goal in the first leg, Madrid saw themselves go 2-0 down on aggregate till the 61st minute of the second leg. However, the Frenchman scored a 17-minute hat-trick to register an impressive comeback and secure qualification in the next round.
Real Madrid faced Chelsea in the quarter-finals and in the very first leg, Benzema's hat-trick ensured a 3-1 victory against the Blues. These back-to-back hat-tricks from the French striker have been of immense help to Los Blancos. With him being in superb form this season, Madrid might go on to win the competition once again.
