There have been many a night of goals for fans in the UEFA Champions League, but one match trumps all. Borussia Dortmund won 8-4 against Legia Warszawa on 22 November 2016 in a group stage game. It was already 5-2 within 32 minutes as Shinji Kagawa (two) and Marco Reus by the same token added to the goals. Three more goals came in the final ten minutes, making this 12-goal clash the highest-scoring match in the competition’s history.
So I have plenty of other games. Bayern Munchen hammered Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in 2024, and Monaco routed Deportivo La Coruna 8-3 way back in 2003. It remains the most goals ever in a Champions League knockout tie, after Barcelona lost, 2-8, to Bayern in the 2020 quarterfinals. Between them, Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon, Villarreal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Benfica have all been involved in nine-goal thrillers that had us on the edge of our seats.
High-scoring ties have also been exhilarating. Juventus and Borussia Dortmund recently played out a 4-4 draw, entering classics such as Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen 4-4 Roma. Even larger scores have been recorded in older European competitions, including the 1969/70 European Cup when Feyenoord defeated KR Reykjavik 12-2 and Sporting CP beat APOEL 16-1 in the 1963 Cup Winners’ Cup, a record for all UEFA club competitions.
Table of Contents
Highest-Scoring Champions League Matches
| Goals | Match | Date | Stage |
| 12 | Borussia Dortmund 8-4 Legia Warszawa | 22 Nov 2016 | Group Stage |
| 11 | Bayern München 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb | 17 Sep 2024 | Group Stage |
| 11 | Monaco 8-3 Deportivo La Coruña | 05 Nov 2003 | Group Stage |
| 10 | Barcelona 2-8 Bayern München | 14 Aug 2020 | Quarter-final |
| 9 | Paris SG 7-2 Rosenborg | 24 Oct 2000 | Group Stage |
| 9 | Lyon 7-2 Werder Bremen | 08 Mar 2005 | Round of 16 |
| 9 | Villarreal 6-3 Aalborg | 21 Oct 2008 | Group Stage |
| 9 | Tottenham 2-7 Bayern München | 01 Oct 2019 | Group Stage |
| 9 | Manchester City 6-3 Leipzig | 15 Sep 2021 | Group Stage |
| 9 | Paris SG 7-2 Maccabi Haifa | 25 Oct 2022 | Group Stage |
| 9 | Benfica 4-5 Barcelona | 21 Jan 2025 | League Phase |
Highest-Scoring Games in Champions League Knockout Rounds
Eight goals in a knockout is the record set by Bayern Munchen, whose phenomenal 8-2 defeat of Barcelona on 14 August 2020 set that particular benchmark. Thomas Muller and Philippe Coutinho also struck twice as Bayern became the first team to score eight goals in a Champions League knockout game. goals in a Champions League knockout match.
Goals | Match | Date | Stage |
| 10 | Barcelona 2-8 Bayern München | 14 Aug 2020 | Quarter-finals (one-leg) |
| 9 | Lyon 7-2 Werder Bremen | 08 Mar 2005 | Round of 16 Second Leg |
Highest-scoring draws:
| Match | Date | Stage |
| Hamburg 4-4 Juventus | 13 Sep 2000 | Group Stage |
| Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool | 14 Apr 2009 | Quarter-final |
| Bayer Leverkusen 4-4 Roma | 20 Oct 2015 | Group Stage |
| Chelsea 4-4 Ajax | 05 Nov 2019 | Group Stage |
| Juventus 4-4 Borussia Dortmund | 16 Sep 2025 | League Phase |
European Cup most goals in a match
The largest such score in all UEFA men’s club competitions is Feyenoord’s 12-2 defeat of KR Reykjavik in the 1969/70 European Cup. That matches only the highest-scoring UEFA competition game overall – Sporting CP’s 16-1 win against APOEL in the 1963 Cup Winners’ Cup, which remains the most goals scored in a single sanctioned match run by UEFA.
