Robert Lewandowski breaks Benzema’s Champions League scoring record

FC Barcelona blitzed past Viktoria Plzen in their first UEFA Champions League fixture of the season, hammering them 5-1 at Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday night.

It was a stunning display of sheer dominance from Xavi’s Barça, who never have their opponents a chance on their way to a huge victory that sends them to the top of Group C.

There were several top performers for the Blaugrana on the night, with the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Franck Kessie and Pedri all making a huge impression.

But the spotlight belonged to a certain Robert Lewandowski. The 34-year-old hitman scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona to lead them to a resounding win over the champions of the Czech Republic.

With his three strikes, Lewandowski became the first-ever footballer to score a hat-trick for three different teams in the Champions League, having previously achieved the feat with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

While the performance and the result will have made it a memorable night for Lewandowski, there was another personal milestone to celebrate for the Poland captain.

With his three goals, the 34-year-old went past Real Madrid superstar Karim Benzema on the list of all-time highest goalscorers in the Champions League. Lewandowski now has 89 goals in Europe’s premier footballing tournament, while his Real Madrid counterpart finds himself at 86.

The Barcelona summer signing is now the third-highest goalscorer of all time in the competition – only Cristiano Ronaldo (141) and Lionel Messi (125) have scored more than him.

Robert Lewandowski now has more Champions League goals (89) than Karim Benzema. (86) pic.twitter.com/Wl3lOHvOdL

— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) September 7, 2022

With eight goals in just five games for Barcelona, Lewandowski is carrying on from where he left off at Bayern Munich and could be primed for the Golden Boot award come the end of the season.