Kylian Mbappe boosted his hopes of winning a second UEFA Champions League Golden Boot as he ended the league phase by scoring twice in Real Madrid’s 4-2 defeat by Benfica.
The game will be remembered for a late goal scored by Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin — which dramatically spared the Portuguese club from elimination.
However, it also saw Mbappe add two goals to his 2025/26 Champions League tally, moving him five clear of Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane in the battle for the Golden Boot.
Mbappe previously shared the 2023/24 Golden Boot with Kane after they each scored eight Champions League goals that season. Kane has already hit the eight-goal mark again this term, while Mbappe has bagged 13 in his first eight matches.
Champions League top scorers 2025/26
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kylian Mbappe | Real Madrid | 13 | 621 |
| 2 | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 8 | 607 |
| 3 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 7 | 617 |
| 4 | Victor Osimhen | Galatasaray | 6 | 496 |
| 5 | Gabriel Martinelli | Arsenal | 6 | 383 |
| 6 | Anthony Gordon | Newcastle United | 6 | 562 |
| 7 | Harvey Barnes | Newcastle United | 6 | 453 |
| 8 | Marcus Rashford | Barcelona | 6 | 464 |
| 9 | Gorka Guruzeta | Athletic Bilbao | 5 | 469 |
| 10 | Fermin Lopez | Barcelona | 5 | 533 |
| 11 | Vitinha | Paris Saint-Germain | 5 | 719 |
Kylian Mbappe moves onto 13 goals in eight Champions League games
Mbappe fired Madrid 1-0 up 30 minutes into the game at the Estadio da Luz with his 12th Champions League goal of the season when he met a deep Raul Asencio cross with a powerful header.
Two goals from Andreas Schjelderup either side of a Vangelis Pavlidis penalty then put Benfica 3-1 in front, before Mbappe struck again on 58 minutes with a first-time finish from 14 yards following an Arda Guler cutback.
Benfica were ahead 3-2 as the clock hit 90 minutes but they still needed to score again in order to sneak into the top 24 on goal difference. So, after Madrid had been reduced to nine men due to quickfire red cards for Asencio and Rodrygo, Trubin went up for a free-kick and became the fifth goalscoring goalkeeper in Champions League history.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Kane scored his eighth Champions League goal of the season to seal Bayern’s 2-1 win at PSV Eindhoven, while Erling Haaland’s seventh European strike of the campaign set Manchester City on their way to a 2-0 victory over Galatasaray.
Real Madrid’s Champions League slip-up could help Kylian Mbappe’s record bid
Bayern and Man City finished second and eighth respectively in the league phase table, ensuring direct progress to the round of 16. Arsenal finished top of the Champions League table with a perfect record.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid ended up ninth, meaning they will now face either Bodo/Glimt or a rematch with Benfica in a two-legged knockout play-off.
Although Madrid will have wanted to avoid the play-off round due to the fixture congestion it will cause, failing to finish in the top eight actually increases the probability of Mbappe turning his fine goalscoring start to the campaign into a record-breaking haul.
Two extra fixtures could make all the difference as Mbappe bids to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time record for the most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season.
Ronaldo scored 17 goals in 11 Champions League games for Real Madrid in the 2013/14 season.
No player has scored more than 17 goals in a single season in the history of the Champions League / European Cup, while Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema are the only other players to net 15 times in a single campaign. Ronaldo also netted 15 goals in 2017/18, having struck 16 in 2015/16.
Most prolific Champions League seasons in terms of goals by one player
| Season | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/14 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 17 |
| 2015/16 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 16 |
| 2017/18 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 2019/20 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 15 |
| 2021/22 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 15 |
Ronaldo averaged 1.55 goals per Champions League game in his record-setting season of 2013/14. After eight games this term, Mbappe is currently averaging 1.63 goals per match.
Should Mbappe continue scoring at the same rate, he would need to play between three and four more matches this season to overtake Ronaldo as the record holder.
Despite Wednesday’s result in Lisbon, Real Madrid will be heavily expected to get the better of Benfica or Bodo/Glimt in their play-off, in which case they would be guaranteed at least two further fixtures.
Indeed, were Real Madrid to go all the way to the final then Mbappe could increase his tally of Champions League appearances this season from eight all the way up to 17. Should that happen then Mbappe might not just break Ronaldo’s record but demolish it.
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