5 Players With Most UCL Knockout Games As Toni Kroos Breaks Into Top 3

• Toni Kroos played his 69th Champions League knockout stage game last night
• The German provided a superb assist to Vinicius Jr for Real Madrid’s first goal
• His compatriot, Thomas Muller, reached 150 UCL appearances in the 2-2 draw

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich drew 2-2 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final’s first match at the Allianz Arena in Germany.

Thomas Muller reached 150 Champions League matches for Bayern Munich, while Toni Kroos made his 69th knockout stage appearance, moving clear in third place.

Sports Brief looks at the top five players with the most UCL knockout games.

Players with most UCL knockout games

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

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Per Planet Football, Mr Champions League has featured beyond the group stages of the competition 82 times, playing for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus. Unsurprisingly, he also scored the most goals in those games, with 67. He has five winners’ medals.

2. Lionel Messi

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner played 77 games in the UCL knockout stages for FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. He scored 49 goals, 47 of which came for the Spanish club per Transfermarkt. He won the competition four times.

3. Toni Kroos

Kroos has played the most matches in the knockout stage among the active players, with 69 games. He will play his 70th game next week and could add one more this season if Madrid reaches the final. He provided a defence-cutting assist for Vinicius in the opener against Bayern.

4. Thomas Muller

The German veteran forward played his 150th UCL game last night, featuring for 80 minutes in the 2-2 draw. The match was his 68th in the knockout stage, and he moved comfortably into fourth place ahead of Karim Benzema.

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5. Karim Benzema

The Real Madrid legend and five-time winner of the competition, Benzema, played 67 knockout games before leaving Madrid in the summer to join Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League. His chapter in the competition may be over unless he leaves Saudi Arabia for another top European club.

Muller pokes fun at Tchouameni

Sports Brief reported on Muller poking fun at Aurelien Tchouameni after the Real Madrid midfielder unknowingly gatecrashed his post-match interview.

The 34-year-old claimed the France international was listening to him so he could copy Bayern's tactics for the second leg at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu next week.