Wednesday’s decisive matchday in the UEFA Champions League league phase brought moments of maximum tension and pressure, with clubs fighting for their future in the competition. Barcelona and Copenhagen were no exception, and it was there that Robert Lewandowski scored a goal that allowed him to equal one of Lionel Messi’s records.
The Danish side had taken an early lead thanks to a goal from Viktor Dadason. However, after the break, Barcelona pulled level through the Polish striker, who finished off an excellent team move with a delicate right-footed touch.
With that goal, Lewandowski equaled Messi’s record as the player who has scored against the most teams in Champions League history. Since making his debut in the competition with Borussia Dortmund during the 2011–12 season, Lewandowski has now scored against 40 different clubs.
The 37-year-old forward struggled to reach this milestone. He had finished last season just two goals shy of Messi’s record, but physical issues over the past few months prevented him from reaching it sooner.
Robert Lewandowski of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring a goal.
In fact, during the league phase, Barcelona faced three opponents that Lewandowski had never scored against before (Newcastle, Club Brugge, and Eintracht Frankfurt), and he was unable to do so this time as well. It was only last week against Slavia Praha that Lewandowski added another club to his list of victims, and he had one more chance on Wednesday against Copenhagen, an opportunity he did not waste.
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Robert Lewandowski is the third-highest scorer in Champions League history, with 107 goals in 140 matches, trailing only Lionel Messi (129 goals) and Cristiano Ronaldo (140 goals). As a result, it comes as no surprise that so many clubs have suffered at the hands of the Polish striker.
Over the course of his career with Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona, the club he has scored against most often is Benfica, with a total of nine goals. Behind them are Red Star Belgrade with seven, followed by Real Madrid and Salzburg with six each.
Can Lewandowski surpass Messi and claim the record outright?
Considering that Lionel Messi no longer competes in the Champions League, and that his contract extension with Inter Miami through December 2028 makes a return to Europe unlikely, Robert Lewandowski has a strong chance to claim the record outright.
However, uncertainty surrounding his own future means the Polish striker may not have many more opportunities to do so. With that in mind, Barcelona’s upcoming matches in the Champions League knockout stages could prove crucial in giving him the chance to secure the record.
Among the teams still alive in the 2025–26 Champions League, Lewandowski has not scored against several of them: Liverpool, Newcastle, Sporting CP, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiacos, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, AS Monaco, Qarabag FK, and FK Bodo/Glimt. Whether Barcelona are drawn against any of those sides in the later rounds will come down to chance—and to Lewandowski’s ability to score the goal that would give him the outright record.
