Barcelona superstar nearing a major Champions League record held by Lionel Messi | OneFootball

UEFA Champions League records are some of the most difficult records in football to rewrite, simply because they require a player to consistently feature and star for a top European club and make an impact in limited high-stakes games.

Most records, thus, are held by the legends of the sport, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, given their longevity at the highest level.

Robert Lewandowski is another player who is close to the top of the charts on multiple fronts, and his placement shows the impact he has had on the game over the years.

As Barcelona take to the field against Newcastle United later tonight, the Polish striker embarks on yet another season of the competition and has his eyes on some major records as part of his objective.

One step closer

The UEFA Champions League record for a single player scoring against the most teams in the event currently stands with Barcelona legend Lionel Messi, who has scored against a staggering 40 opponents over the years in the competition.

Lewandowski is not too far behind on that front, as he has scored against 38 different teams and has the chance to close the gap, given that he is still active in the tournament, unlike Messi.

In his illustrious Champions League career, during which he also happens to be the third-highest goalscorer behind Ronaldo and Messi, Lewandowski has scored against as many as 38 different clubs.

Goal machine. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Lewandowski has scored nine goals against Benfica, seven against Crvena Zvezda, six each against Real Madrid and Salzburg, five each vs Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb, and Olympiacos, and four against Arsenal and Barcelona.

He has netted three goals each vs AEK Athens, Chelsea, Dynamo Kyiv, Marseille, PSV Eindhoven, and Viktoria Plzen.

The Barcelona veteran has scored twice each against Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit, Porto, Atletico Madrid, Anderlecht, Besiktas, Napoli, Lazio, Tottenham, Young Boys, Inter, Brest, and Borussia Dortmund.

Finally, Lewandowski has scored one goal each against Malaga, Roma, Manchester City, Juventus, PSG, Lyon, Rostov, Antwerp, Villarreal, and Bayern Munich.

Tonight’s game against Newcastle United gives him precisely that opportunity as the Polish striker has never scored against the Premier League-based side in his career.

Should he find the back of the net, his tally will move to 39, just one behind Messi.

The question, however, is whether he will feature as a starter at St James Park with Hansi Flick facing a serious dilemma over whether to hand him the start or Ferran Torres, who has been in good form in recent times.