Edinson Cavani has fallen short of the record of scoring in nine onsecutive UEFA Champions League matches, but the Paris striker's run is one of only three of streaks of seven and above.
Edinson Cavani has fallen short of the record of scoring in nine onsecutive UEFA Champions League matches, but the Paris striker's run is one of only three of streaks of seven and above.
Cavani's run began on 23 November last year in the 2-2 draw at Arsenal and was ended today against Anderlecht. That is only one short of Cristiano Ronaldo's feat between 17 September 2013 and 2 April 2014, when his 14 goals in eight games were a key factor in Real Madrid's eventual triumph.
The record remained the nine-game UEFA Champions League scoring streak set by Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2002/03. Cavani's run is the only one of those three to stretch over more than a single season or not have to exclude any missed matches.
The seven-game (or more) streaks
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United) – 9 games
18 September 2002, first group stage v Maccabi Haifa (h), W5-2, 1 goal
24 September 2002, first group stage v Bayer Leverkusen (a), W2-1, 2 goals
13 November 2002, first group stage v Bayer Leverkusen (h), W2-0, 1 goal
26 November 2002, second group stage v Basel (a) W3-1, 2 goals
11 December 2002, second group stage v Deportivo La Coruña (h), W2-0, 2 goals
19 February 2003, second group stage v Juventus (h), W2-1, 1 goal
25 February 2003, second group stage v Juventus (a), W3-0, 1 goal
8 April 2003: quarter-final first leg v Real Madrid (a), L1-3, 1 goal
23 April 2003: quarter-final second leg v Real Madrid (h) W4-3, 1 goal
Van Nistelrooy actually scored in ten consecutive games in United's run as a whole, having struck twice in the second leg of the third qualifying round on 27 August 2002 in the 5-0 defeat of Zalaegerszeg. In the midst of his run he was an unused substitute against Basel on 12 March 2003.
Watch Ronaldo's first 100 European goals
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – 8 games
17 September 2013, group stage v Galatasaray (a), W6-1, 3 goals
2 October 2013, group stage v København (h), W4-0, 2 goals
23 October 2013, group stage v Juventus (h) W2-1, 2 goals
5 November 2013, group stage v Juventus (a), D2-2, 1 goal
10 December 2013, group stage v København (a), W2-0, 1 goal
26 February 2014, round of 16 first leg v Schalke (a), W6-1, 2 goals
18 March 2014, round of 16 second leg v Schalke (h) W3-1, 2 goals
2 April 2014, quarter-final first leg v Borussia Dortmund (h), W3-0, 1 goal
Those 14 goals were part of the record tally of 17 managed by Ronaldo in helping Madrid win their tenth European Cup that season.
Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain) – seven games
23 November 2016, group stage, v Arsenal (a), D2-2, 1 goal
6 December 2016, group stage v Ludogorets Razgrad (h), D2-2, 1 goal
14 February 2017, round of 16 first leg, v Barcelona (h), W4-0, 1 goal
8 March 2017, round of 16 second leg, v Barcelona (a), L1-6, 1 goal
12 September 2017, group stage v Celtic (a), W5-0, 2 goals
27 September 2017, group stage v Bayern München (h), W3-0, 1 goal
18 October 2017, group stage v Anderlecht (a), W4-0, 1 goal
Before tonight Cavani had only failed to score in one of his 11 UEFA Champions League appearances since the start of the 2016/17 season, the 2-1 win at Basel on 1 November 2016 (he also began that group with four goals in the opening three games).
