Lewandowski scores for 15th consecutive season

Robert Lewandowski’s second-half strike for Barcelona in the Champions League made it 15 consecutive seasons in which he’s scored in Europe’s elite club competition. The 37-year-old Poland international sealed Barcelona’s 4-2 win at Slavia Prague on Wednesday with a 71st-minute goal. His own-goal in the 44th had left the game tied 2-2 at halftime.

Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema both reached 18 successive seasons of Champions League scoring, and Cristiano Ronaldo got to 16. “Finally the first goal came,” said Lewandowski, who was making his sixth Champions League appearance with Barcelona this season.

“Hopefully it will get easier now.” He joined the Catalan club in 2022 from Bayern Munich. Lewandowski’s first-ever Champions League goal came in 2011, and Wednesday’s strike means he’s scored in 16 consecutive calendar years in the competition. The Poland striker has scored 114 goals in UEFA competitions. He remains third in the all-time scoring list, behind the 132 of Messi and the 145 of Ronaldo.