In the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, Alvarez scored a masterpiece that left everyone in awe. Receiving a pass from Javi Galan on the left wing, Alvarez eliminated Eduardo Camavinga, ran into the penalty area and drew a perfect arc with his right foot into the far corner of Real Madrid’s net.
Although Atletico eventually lost 1-2, Alvarez still recorded an impressive personal milestone. According to statistics, after the first 26 matches in the Champions League, Alvarez had 15 goals, more than Messi at the same stage (13). While Messi was only 21 years old when he reached this milestone, Alvarez is currently 25 years old. However, if we consider the number of matches alone, the former Man City star still did better than his senior (Messi needed 29 matches to reach the 15-goal mark).
Notably, Alvarez’s achievement is even better than Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar had to wait until his 27th match to score his first goal in the Champions League. In addition, CR7 needed 52 matches to reach 15 goals, exactly 2 times more than Alvarez.
Although still far from the greatest goalscorers in the Champions League (Ronaldo 140 goals, Messi 129 goals, Lewandowski 103 goals), with his current form, Alvarez can absolutely aim for more impressive numbers in the future.
Top strikers still playing in the Champions League:
- Robert Lewandowski – 103 goals
- Thomas Muller – 56 goals
- Kylian Mbappe – 55 goals
- Erling Haaland – 49 goals
- Mohamed Salah – 47 goals
Finally, if only counting Atletico’s shirt, Alvarez already has 7 goals in his first season in the Champions League. With just one more goal, the reigning world champion will be equal to the legendary Vava and striker Diego Costa (both 8 goals) in the list of players who scored the most goals in their first Champions League/Cup 1 season for Atletico.
