All Giggs' UEFA Champions League goals

Friday, September 16, 2011 by Paul Saffer

Ryan Giggs scored in a record 16th UEFA Champions League season with his equaliser at SL Benfica, a timeline going back to Manchester United FC's first group stage goal.

Ryan Giggs's career ©AFP/Getty Images

These days Ryan Giggs seldom does anything without setting a record and his equalising strike that earned Manchester United FC a 1-1 draw at SL Benfica on Wednesday was no exception.

Not only did Giggs beat the mark he established last term as the oldest UEFA Champions League scorer – now 37 years and 289 days – but the former Wales winger became the first man to score in 16 separate seasons of the competition. It is actually his 17th campaign, and the only time he failed to claim a goal was in his second winning season of 2007/08, when Giggs still managed to convert what proved the decisive shoot-out penalty in the Moscow final against Chelsea FC.

Giggs, who if he registers in the Premier League between now and May will have scored in all 20 seasons since that competition was rebranded, has an English record 12 championship medals among a slew of bests at domestic level, not least the fact that nobody has played more games for Manchester United. Meanwhile in the UEFA Champions League his tally of 127 appearances is bettered only by Raúl González while Giggs has hit 28 goals in all, not to mention two others in qualifying.

United's very first UEFA Champions League group stage goal on 14 September 1994, 33 minutes into their home match against IFK Göteborg, was scored by Giggs, the 20-year-old smashing home from inside the box to equalise. He later struck again in the ensuing 4-2 win, for the first of four games in which Giggs has netted twice in the competition.

It is appropriate, perhaps, that Giggs passed his latest mark with a goal at Benfica, for they are one of only two teams he has registered against in three separate UEFA Champions League matches, the other being Juventus. Just once – in the 2000/01 quarter-final exit to FC Bayern München – have United lost in the competition when their No11 has found the target.

Ryan Giggs's UEFA Champions League goals:

2011/12
Group stage: D1-1 v SL Benfica (a)

2010/11 – runners-up
Semi-final first leg: W2-0 v FC Schalke 04 (a)

2009/10 – quarter-finals
Group stage: W2-1 v VfL Wolfsburg (h)

2008/09 – runners-up
Group stage: D1-1 v Celtic FC (a)

2007/08 - winners
No goals (scored in final shoot-out v Chelsea FC)

2006/07 – semi-finals
Group stage: W3-1 v SL Benfica (h)
Round of 16 first leg: W1-0 v LOSC Lille Métropole (a)

2005/06 – group stage
Group stage: W2-1 v SL Benfica (h)

2004/05 – round of 16
Group stage: W6-2 v Fenerbahçe SK (h)

2003/04 – round of 16
Group stage: W2-0 v VfB Stuttgart (h)

2002/03 – quarter-finals
First group stage: W5-2 v Maccabi Haifa FC (h)
First group stage: W4-0 v Olympiacos FC (h) x 2
Second group stage: W3-0 v Juventus (a) x 2

2001/02 – semi-finals
First group stage: W3-0 v Olympiacos FC (h)
Quarter-final second leg: W3-2 v RC Deportivo La Coruña (h)