It was a good week for Champions League football with all the 16 matches played between 21st and 22nd October this week. 59 goals were scored this week with Luis Adriano being the pick of the performer after becoming the second player after Lionel Messi to have scored five goals in a Champions League fixture as he netted five against BATE Borisov during their 7-0 win.In this slideshow, we pick the best ones:
#7 Lukas Podolski - Arsenal v Anderlecht
Arsenal came pretty close to a defeat against RSC Anderlecht if not for two late goals from Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski to give the Gunners all the three points.
Lukas Podolski’s goal came in the 91st minute of the match after a cross from Gibbs found Alexis Sanchez inside the penalty box who controlled it with his chest, and then crossed it towards Podolski who smashed it home after closely collecting the ball.
#6 Karim Benzema - Real Madrid v Liverpool
Karim Benzema has always been a top performer in the Champions League, regardless of his rather poor form in the domestic matches. During Real Madrid’s 3-0 away win over Liverpool, the Frenchman bagged a brace including one header which finds a spot in our list.
Benzema scored the first from a brilliant header while his second one came from his foot as he took his goal tally in the Champions League to 40 goals in 67 appearances,
#5 Eden Hazard - Chelsea v Maribor
During Chelsea’s midweek Champions League tie against Slovenian side Maribor, Eden Hazard netted a brace as the London based-team registered a thumping 6-0 win.
With Chelsea already 5-0 up, the Belgian International rounded off a long throughball from Nathan Ake in the 90th minute to score the final goal of the game.
#4 Edinson Cavani - Paris Saint-Germain v APOEL
Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani scored a late winner during their Group F tie against APOEL Nicosia to stay on pole position of their group. The goal was a perfect display of the Uruguayan’s pace, power, strength and determination.
His goal followed him with an interesting celebration as he sent out a message to the Ligue 1 officials after he was sent off earlier in a Ligue 1 match against Lens.
#3 Marco Reus - Borussia Dortmund v Galatasaray
The magic of Marco Reus seems to be back in full-form as the German midfielder struck a stunning goal from 30-yards-out during their Champions League group stage fixture against Galatasaray.
Reus picked up the ball on the right, and with no one closing on him, the 25-year-old launched a long shot that finds its way past Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera with the perfect amount of power and direction.
#2 Arjen Robben - Bayern Munich v AS Roma
Bayern Munich have always been one of the favourites since the start of this season’s Champions League campaign, but a dominance of this sort was not expected at all, especially against a side like Roma who had a brilliant campaign defensively last season.
Arjen Robben’s goal in the 9th minute gave the Germans the lead following a pass from skipper Philip Lahm and a trademark finish from the Dutchman who stunned Roma’s Ashley Cole in process.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid v Liverpool
“20 goals from 13 appearances already! This man is a beast!”
Cristiano Ronaldo indeed is not just an ordinary human. The Portuguese had his scoring shoes on as he netted the opener with a stunning first-time finish against Liverpool during their Champions League encounter at Anfield. Ronaldo's goal was a showcase of brilliant finishing and good vision from James Rodriguez who provided the pass for the goal.
He stands second in the list of all-time top scorers in the Champions League with only two goals shy of breaking a record set by Raul.