Barcelona superstar only three goals away from joining elite company with Messi, Ronaldo | OneFootball

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski has been in absolutely red-hot form this season, rediscovering his best level under the management of Hansi Flick.

The 36-year-old Poland centre-forward has plundered 17 goals in 15 games already this season, with 14 coming in La Liga and three more in the UEFA Champions League.

Lewandowski close to joining an elite club with Ronaldo, Messi

As Barcelona get set to take on Crvena Zvezda in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, Lewandowski is inching closer to etching his name in the history of the competition.

With 97 goals in the top European competition, the Barça striker is only three away from reaching the century mark which would place him at the table of the greatest goalscorers in the competition’s history: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Only the two of them have surpassed 100 goals in the Champions League. The Portuguese icon scored 140 goals in the competition with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, while the Argentine legend managed 129 between Barcelona and PSG.

Three goals away from a century in the UCL. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Lewandowski has excellent numbers in the Champions League with the three teams he has played in this competition.

With Borussia Dortmund, he managed to score 17 goals in 28 matches, at Bayern Munich, where he won the trophy under Flick, he netted 69 goals in 78 games, and at Barcelona, he has already scored 11 goals in 17 matches.

It would not be far-fetched to think that Lewandowski could reach this magical figure against Crvena Zvezda.

After all, Lewandowski had scored goals in five consecutive matches for Barcelona in recent weeks – a brace against Young Boys, followed by a hat-trick vs Alaves, before netting two more against Sevilla, one against Bayern Munich, and another double against Real Madrid.

Lewandowski failed to find the back of the net in the derby against Espanyol, an anomaly considering his numbers this season, and will surely want to remedy that against Crvena Zvezda tomorrow.