Lionel Messi and the 10 Most Time-Effective Strikers in Champions League Play
The mark of a true striker, that which distinguishes him from the average, is the ability to transform a minimum of field time into goals on the board.
This list explores those players who have had the greatest impact in terms of the goals/minutes played ratio, taking into account both tournament play and the qualifying stages. To avoid statistical outliers, all the following players have over 300 minutes and a minimum of five goals. A few names might surprise you.
10. Cristiano Ronaldo
1 of 10
Minutes Played: 841
Goals Scored: 6
Minutes Per Goal: 140.2
At the top of the list, Cristiano Ronaldo, the Iberian we know and love/hate. The Portuguese winger has plucked a respectable six goals in the Champions League, all of them in the tournament phase, one every 140 minutes. Though trammelled by a hamstring injury, Ronaldo continues to be instrumental to Real Madrid's trophy quest.
This season the Primera Division has been largely a contest between Ronaldo and his diminuitive Argentine counterpart Lionel Messi, and the two technical wizards will face off twice more in the all-Spanish semifinal.
9. Matheus, Sporting Braga
2 of 10
Minutes played: 684
Goals Scored: 6
Minutes per goal: 114
One of the least recognizable names on this list, Matheus' goals garnered Sporting Braga a surprise inclusion in the tournament phase of the Champions League. His home and away goals against Sevilla shockingly ejected the Andalusians from qualifying stages; Matheus would also go on to bury two more against Arsenal in a home fixture that doomed the London side to a second place berth. However, the 28-year-old Brazilian was not enough to prop Braga up, with the Czech side careening out in third place.
8. Samuel Eto'o
3 of 10
Minutes Played: 900
Goals Scored: 8
Minutes per Goal: 112.5
There have been few better bargains this decade than Inter's trade of Ibrahimovic for Eto'o plus a cool 40 million euro bonus. While the giant Swede lasted a single underperforming season, Eto'o has gone on to win everything out there, dominating both the Serie A and the Champions League with his finesse shot, physicality and trophy mentality. The Cameroonian was instrumental in Inter's qualifying run, as he also has four assists, and continues to make a case for the best African footballer of all time.
7. Cleo, Partizan Belgrade
4 of 10
Minutes Played: 1110
Goals: 10
Minutes Per Goal: 111
Another relative unknown, Cleo went on a goalscoring rampage early in the campaign, netting eight in the qualifying stages of the Champions League. He had less luck in the tournament phase, scoring two (both against Arsenal), while Partizan Belgrade lost all six of their games. Cleo now kicks it at Guangzhou Evergrande, having transferred for a Chinese record of 3.2 million euros.
6. Peter Crouch, Tottenham Hotspurs
5 of 10
Minutes Played: 671
Goals Scored: 7
Minutes per Goal: 95.86
Everybody's favorite scarecrow, the lanky Englishman has been a travelling goal-slinger for the majority of his career. Having finally settled at the club that originally brought him up, Crouch has helped Tottenham make the most of their historic European run (barring his two yellows at the Bernabeu). Critically, he tapped in the all-important away goal at the San Siro against AC Milan, with which Tottenham acceded to the quarterfinals for the first time in the club's history.
5. Lionel Messi, Barcelona
6 of 10
Minutes: 777
Goals: 9
Minutes Per Goal: 86.33
Wondering where this little guy was going to slot in, eh? While numerically he is the leading goal scorer of the tournament phase, here he sits in the middle of this pack, averaging a little over a goal per match. Messi has the opportunity to add to his tally against the merengues and one up his Madrid counterpart Ronaldo.
4. Nicolas Anelka, Chelsea FC
7 of 10
Minutes Played: 582
Goals Scored: 7
Minutes per Goal: 83.14
Chelsea have had a disappointing season, no hiding that fact. They've plodded through the Premier League, mailed it in at the European level and face a trophyless season (with Carlo Ancelotti to pay for it). It seems that Nicolas Anelka did not get the memo. The Frenchman has cooly dispatched a lucky number seven, though admittedly against less-than-marquee opposition.
3. Mario Gomez, Bayern Munich
8 of 10
Minutes Played: 606
Goals Scored: 8
Minutes Per Goal: 75.75
The most expensive intra-Bundesliga transfer of all time, Mario Gomez took his time to adapt to the Bayern style. This time around it's been a different dance. Gomez leads the Bundesliga in goals and holds second in the Champions (after Messi). Gomez has scored in vital encounters against Inter and Roma, as well as notching a hat trick against Cluj. So maybe the 30 million euro is starting to pay off.
2. Roberto Soldado, Valencia
9 of 10
Minutes Played: 415
Goals: 6
Minutes per Goal: 69.17
How does one replace David Villa? Following an excellent season at Getafe, Soldado moved to Valencia as a like-for-like for the Barcelona-bound Villa. Soldado continues to evince the form that got him noticed at Getafe, boasting a 13-goal pot in La Liga and six in the Champions, with a double at Rangers and Bursaspor especially of note. Though he rarely plays a full 90 in European competition, Soldado has milked his short appearances for all they're worth, scoring once every 70 minutes.
1. Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
10 of 10
Minutes Played: 373
Goals Scored: 6
Minutes per Goal: 62.17
Finally. The much-maligned Frenchman has begun to live up to his 25-million euro billing. Mourinho the motivator and the special tutelage of a certain bald-pated Zizou have revitalized the former Lyon man, now a totally different player from the sad sack Madrid fans have become accustomed to glowering at on the bench. A hat trick at Auxerre, one at Lyon home and away: Could this be the beginning of a new Benzema?
