Falcao's 45 goals in 50 games makes him Europe's best

Radamel Falcao took his UEFA club competition goals tally to 45 in just 50 appearances on Wednesday, making him the most efficient scorer in the history of European football.

Top goals per game averages in all UEFA club competitions (minimum 20 games)*
0.90: Radamel Falcao (Porto, Atlético, Monaco) – 45 goals in 50 games
0.87: Gerd Müller (Bayern München) – 62 goals in 71 games
0.86: Stéphane Guivarc'h (Auxerre, Rennes, Newcastle) – 24 goals in 28 games
0.86: Ferenc Puskás (Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid) – 37 goals in 43 games
0.83: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 97 goals in 119 games
0.83: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid) – 50 goals in 60 games
0.82: Ivan Mráz (Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Praha, Dukla Praha) – 18 goals in 22 games
0.82: Jupp Heynckes (Borussia Mönchengladbach) – 45 goals in 55 games
0.80: Kees Kist (AZ Alkmaar, Paris Saint-Germain) – 20 goals in 25 games
0.80: Denis Law (Manchester United) – 20 goals in 25 games
0.80: Kevin Hector (Derby County) – 16 goals in 20 games

Falcao's header for Monaco against Dortmund in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie maintained a remarkable scoring rate for the Colombian international. He has registered 31 of his 45 goals in the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, placing him third on that competition's all-time list of marksmen.

Cristiano Ronaldo may be reaching new scoring milestones on a weekly basis – he became the first to score 100 UEFA Champions League goals on Tuesday – but his 103 goals in 144 UEFA club competition appearances means an average of 0.72. No slouch, then, but some way off Falcao's pace.

* UEFA club competitions = UEFA Champions League/European Champion Clubs' Cup, UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup, European/South American Cup