The race to win the Champions League in 2022-23 is well and fully on, with some of the world’s best strikers in Erling Haaland, Vinicius Jr, vying for both collective and individual honours. The Golden Boot in continental competition is up for grabs, with Erling Haaland, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr, Kylian Mbappe, among the possible leading scorers.
Karim Benzema did both last season, as his 15 goals earned him the Golden Boot and helped Real Madrid win the Champions League for the 14th time. And the Ballon d’Or winner finally got off to a good start this season, scoring twice against Liverpool in the first leg of Los Blancos’ last-16 tie.
Erling Haaland eyes another record in the Champions League
While Benzema was the star of the Champions League last season, Erling Haaland has apparently bowed to dethrone both the Frenchman and his Real Madrid as the reigning champions. Haaland leads the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League scoring chart with 12 goals as the competition has entered the semifinals.
On the other hand, Erling Haaland is also aiming for another record this season, in the top tier European competition this time. The Man City ace is attempting to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s single-season Champions League record of 17 goals in 2013/14, but he now only has two games to accomplish so, after failing to score in the first leg of the semifinal against the Los Blancos.
Erling Haaland has already smashed two records – becoming the City player with most goals in a single season surpassing club legend Tommy Johnson, and also breaking Alan Shearer and Andy Cole’s record for most goals in a Premier League season with 35 goals so far.
On eight goals, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool is second to Erling Haaland, but the Egyptian international is no longer in the competition after losing in the Round of 16. The only significant threat to Haaland now that Kylian Mbappe and PSG have been eliminated from the competition is Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr., who scored in the first leg against Man City.
2022/23 Champions League Top Scorer table:
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erling Haaland* | Manchester City | 12 |
| 2 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 8 |
| 3 | Kylian Mbappe | PSG | 7 |
| 4 | Vinicius Jr* | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 5 | Joao Mario | Benfica | 6 |
| 6 | Robert Lewandowski | Barcelona | 5 |
| =6 | Olivier Giroud | AC Milan | 5 |
| =6 | Victor Osimhen | Napoli | 5 |
| =6 | Rodrygo* | Real Madrid | 5 |
| =6 | Medhi Taremi | Porto | 5 |
| =6 | Rafa Silva | Benfica | 5 |
*still in the competition
Who won the Champions League Golden Boot for 2021/22?
Karim Benzema won the 2021–22 Champions League Golden Boot. Although he was held without a goal in the final against Liverpool, he managed to score enough goals in the earlier knockout stages to end with 15, two more than Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich but two short of Cristiano Ronaldo’s single-season record of 17 (2013–14).
With 27 goals in La Liga and the Champions League combined, Benzema not only led the league in scoring but also forced Real Madrid into the final. In the quarterfinals, Benzema silenced Chelsea’s home crowd with three goals in the first leg, and he also scored the game-winning goal in extra time of the second leg. His three goals against Man City in the semifinals were crucial as well.