Kylian Mbappe made the decisive contribution as Paris Saint-Germain eliminated Barcelona from the Champions League this week.
Mbappe scored twice as the French champions completed a comeback win in Catalonia, with a 4-1 win on the night securing PSG a semi-final showdown with Borussia Dortmund.
The forward’s brace also saw him move up the list for all-time goals in Champions League knockout round games on the road.
Here are the five players with the most away goals in the Champions League knockout rounds:
Sadio Mane – 10
Sadio Mane sits fifth on this list after reaching 10 goals in away knockout round games. The Senegalese forward formed part of the Liverpool team that reached three finals in five seasons between 2018 and 2022, including the club’s victorious campaign in 2019.
Mane’s return includes a hat-trick against FC Porto at The Estádio do Dragão in 2017/18, and a brilliant brace as Liverpool downed Bayern Munich in the last 16 the following campaign.
Mané in Munich ????#UCL pic.twitter.com/MRs5da4EhQ
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 28, 2023
He is the fourth-highest-scoring African footballer in Champions League history, behind Mohamed Salah, Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o.
Lionel Messi – 12
Lionel Messi has scored 12 goals in away Champions League knockout round ties.
The Argentine is one of just two players, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, to have reached 100+ goals in the competition and has finished as the Champions League’s leading scorer in six different seasons.
???? Magnificent Messi #OnThisDay in 2011 ???? #UCL | @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/QbD1A0cFeS
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 27, 2019
Messi’s most memorable away performance in the Champions League came for Barcelona in the 2010/11 semi-final against Real Madrid. He was the difference in an El Clásico contest between the great rivals in Europe, scoring both goals – including a sensational solo effort – at the Bernabeu.
Karim Benzema – 14
Karim Benzema’s haul of 14 includes five goals in away knockout ties during an iconic individual campaign in 2021/22.
Benzema scored 15 goals during Real Madrid’s run to European success that season, performances that earned the French forward the Ballon d’Or.
In the knockout rounds, he scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win at Chelsea and netted two more on his return to English football to face Manchester City in the last four.
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⚽⚽⚽ @Benzema ???? @ChelseaFC
???? 06/04/22#RealFootball pic.twitter.com/Fy1Q4IF1vU— Real Madrid C.F. ???????????????? (@realmadriden) December 27, 2022
The forward’s final goals on the road in the knockout rounds came with a brace in Real Madrid’s 5-2 thrashing of Liverpool in 2022/23.
Kylian Mbappe – 15
Mbappe’s brace in Barcelona has seen him climb to second on the all-time list, moving past Benzema to reach 15 goals in away Champions League knockout ties.
Incredibly, five of Mbappe’s goals have come against Barcelona, with only Cristiano Ronaldo having scored more times against a single opponent away from home (Ajax) in the history of the Champions League.
Nous sommes le Paris Saint-Germain. ???????? pic.twitter.com/q9QGP2PbtO
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) April 16, 2024
Mbappe’s double also saw him enter the all-time top 10 goalscorers in Champions League history, moving level with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Andriy Shevchenko (48).
Cristiano Ronaldo – 23
It will be little surprise to see Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of this list as the record scorer in the history of the Champions League.
The Portuguese icon has scored a record-breaking 140 goals in 183 appearances in the competition, collecting a host of records, including for the most goals in a Champions League season (17), most goals in the knockout stages (67), and most seasons as top scorer (7).
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— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 15, 2020
Ronaldo has won five Champions League titles, one with Manchester United and four with Real Madrid.
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