French international Karim Benzema is closing in on Cristiano Ronaldo on the list of the all-time highest goalscorers in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) after his treble for Real Madrid at Chelsea in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie in the competition this season.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading goalscorer in the Champions League with 140 goals in 183 appearances. The Manchester United talisman has 15 more goals than the nearest challenger, Lionel Messi. The Paris Saint Germain (PSG) superstar has 125 goals in 156 games. Karim Benzema has moved within 58 goals of Cristiano Ronaldo after his hat-trick performance against Premier League giants Chelsea. His treble took the Frenchman to 82 goals in 138 appearances.

Benzema also moved within three goals of Bayern Munich hitman Robert Lewandowski on the list of the all-time highest goalscorers. Lewandowski is third on the list with 85 goals in 105 matches, while Benzema is fourth on the list. Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez completes the list of the top five all-time highest goalscorers on the Champions League stage with 71 goals in 142 appearances.
Real Madrid talisman Benzema is also in the running to win the Golden Boot award in the Champions League after his treble performance against Chelsea on Wednesday. His three goals against the Champions League holders took him to 11 goals this season and one goal behind leading marksman Robert Lewandowski.
Benzema was able to close the gap on Poland national team star Lewandowski after he failed to score for Bayern Munich during the quarterfinal first leg clash at Villarreal. Dutch winger Arnaut Danjuma scored the only goal of the game to give Villarreal a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich ahead of the second leg in Munich. Benzema scored three goals for Real Madrid to lead Real Madrid to a 3-1 victory at Chelsea ahead of the second leg in Madrid.