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Scoring sprees
When Cristiano Ronaldo rose highest to nod home Lucas Vazquez’s cross in Real Madrid’s clash with PSG at the start of the month, he made almost certain of his side’s place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The goal was significant for another reason too: it was the ninth consecutive match in Europe’s premier tournament in which the Portugal international had scored. In this slideshow, we look at the longest streaks in other competitions.
Ruud van Nistelrooy/Cristiano Ronaldo – 9 games, Champions League
Ronaldo’s header at the Parc des Princes in early March drew him level with former Manchester United team-mate Van Nistelrooy, who also found the net nine consecutive times in Europe’s premier competition. Ronaldo’s hot streak includes doubles against Juventus, APOEL (twice), Borussia Dortmund and PSG, as well as single strikes in meetings with the French giants, Dortmund and Tottenham.
Van Nistelrooy also scored 14 times in a nine-game patch for Manchester United in 2002-03, converting against Zalaegerszeg, Maccabi Haifa, Bayer Leverkusen (twice), Basel, Deportivo, Juventus and Real Madrid (twice).
Fernando Peyroteo – 10 games, Campeonato da Liga
Even by the standards of the 1930s and 1940s, Peyroteo’s scoring record was extraordinary. The Angola-born striker made the net rippled on 15 occasions in his 20 games for Portugal, but it was at club level where he truly excelled: in 334 outings for Sporting CP, he scored an astonishing 544 goals.
Such statistics mean it’s no surprise that Peyroteo holds the Portuguese record for the longest scoring run in the top flight. The one-club man struck a mind-boggling 31 goals in Sporting’s last 10 matches of his debut campaign of 1937-38, although even that wasn’t enough for the Lions to finish above runners-up Porto or champions Benfica.
Gabriel Batistuta – 11 games, Serie A
The Fiorentina forward came flying out the traps at the start of the 1994-95 season, netting in the Viola’s first 11 outings as Claudio Ranieri’s men shot into Scudetto contention. The Argentinian marksman opened his account with the winner against Cagliari on the first day of the campaign, before scoring 12 goals in his next 10 appearances – including braces against both Cremonese and Napoli.
Batistuta ended the season as Serie A’s top scorer with 26 strikes, but Fiorentina faded away and ultimately finished 10th after winning only five of their final 21 encounters.
Jamie Vardy – 11 games, Premier League
When Vardy struck for the 11th game in a row against Manchester United in November 2015, nobody anticipated it would form part of the story of Leicester’s title triumph. Breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Premier League record of 10 matches was an outstanding individual achievement, but the former non-leaguer’s scoring exploits also helped Claudio Ranieri’s men pick up 22 points en route to the most remarkable collective feat in English football history.
Vardy scored 13 goals during his record-breaking run, including doubles against Arsenal and Southampton, and single strikes against United, Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Stoke, Norwich, Crystal Palace, West Brom, Watford and Newcastle.
Serge Masnaghetti – 13 games, French Division 1
PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (above), Lyon’s Sonny Anderson and Nantes’ Vahid Halilhodzic all scored in nine consecutive top-flight encounters, but the all-time French record is held by ex-Valenciennes forward Masnaghetti.
The two-time Les Bleus international scored in 13 straight games in Division 1 in 1962-63 – an achievement made all the more impressive when you consider his side were only good for a ninth-place finish. Masnaghetti notched 35 goals that campaign, which remains the most by a Valenciennes player in a single season.
Stan Mortensen – 15 games, First Division
Vardy may have scored in more consecutive games than any other Premier League player, but it’s worth remembering football didn’t start in 1992. It’s only fair to recognise the accomplishment of Blackpool’s Mortensen, who converted in 15 First Division appearances on the bounce in 1950-51.
That stretch was punctuated by injuries, with the striker scoring three in three before being ruled out of the Tangerines’ next assignment. He netted in 11 successive matches upon his return but was then forced back to the treatment table; although that halted his momentum, Mortensen again scored in his first match back to make it 15 in a row.
Gerd Muller – 16 games, Bundesliga
Football's foremost goal-poacher was an expert at being in the right place at the right time, as he regularly demonstrated for both Bayern Munich and Germany.
Muller’s best scoring streak came at club level, the striker netting in 16 straight Bundesliga games in 1969-70. The stretch began with a goal in the 4-0 defeat of Eintracht Braunschweig at the end of September, a week before he grabbed all four of Bayern’s efforts against Werder Bremen. Muller put the ball in the net in every other top-flight game he played until 17 March, when he was finally shut out by 1860 Munich.
Lionel Messi – 21 games, La Liga
As is often the case, no one comes close to Messi in this particular category. The Barcelona forward scored in an incredible 21 successive La Liga games in 2012-13, beginning with a brace against Mallorca in mid-November and lasting until the final day of the season.
One goal in each of those matches would be impressive enough, but Messi took things further. In those 21 encounters he scored a preposterous 33 goals, smashing the record previously held by ex-Barcelona striker Ronaldo (10 matches) and firing the Blaugrana to the title in style.
