On Wednesday night, Paris Saint-Germain takes on Barcelona at the Camp Nou with top spot in Group F up for grabs. Zlatan Ibrahimovic—after missing the first game in Paris—will take on Lionel Messi in a winner-takes-all battle.

Lionel Messi is the current all-time leading scorer in Champions League history after he recently passed Spanish legend Raul. The Argentine has 74 goals, Raul finished on 71, and now the next few years will be consumed with the back-and-forth contest between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the honour of being the competition’s top scorer.

Ronaldo, like Raul, has scored 71 times, but where does Ibrahimovic rank amongst the greats? How does the Swedish talisman fare against Lionel Messi when we break down the UEFA Champions League stats before the stars face off on Wednesday?

When it comes to goals, it’s hard for anyone to catch Messi at the moment. Ronaldo is three goals behind, with Ibrahimovic a mere 31 goals behind at the moment. At 33 years old, the Swedish is six years Messi’s elder, so there is little to no chance that he would be able to catch the little Argentine.

On his way to scoring his 74 goals, Messi has scored five hat-tricks in the Champions League, more than anyone else has managed. Ibrahimovic has only scored the one treble, although not to be outdone he scored four. Playing against Anderlecht at the Constant Vanden Stock stadium, it may be his only hat-trick, but it was one to remember.

All of Messi’s goals in the Champions League have come for Barcelona, scoring his 74 goals in just 91 games. In contrast, and perhaps impressively, Ibrahimovic’s goals have come for six different clubs.

No matter where he has played, he has scored goals in this competition, instantly turning whatever club he signs for into a Champions League contender. He scored six times for both Ajax and Inter Milan, his fewest return came for Juventus where he only scored three.

For Barcelona he managed just four goals, then at AC Milan he scored nine, but it has been at PSG that he has had his best return. His goal against APOEL Nicosia was his 14th for the club.

For both these players, it’s not just the ability to score goals that makes them special; they also bring a creative side to their team. Ryan Giggs leads everyone with 30 assists in the competition, but next on the all-time list is the Swedish forward with 19 assists, it is one of the few categories that he beats Messi in, but not by much.

Not to be outdone, Messi is only one behind on 18 assists, with time on his side; you would bank on the 27-year-old to overtake the Swede in this category too.

With top spot in Group F up for grabs, both sides will need players with nerves of steel, and if the referee awards a penalty, each side has one of the best at scoring from the spot.

Both Ibrahimovic and Messi have only missed one penalty in the Champions League. The Argentine has scored nine from 10 attempts, with Zlatan scoring five out of his six.

Each team will want to make sure they win on Wednesday. Coming top of the group not only means you will play one of the seven sides that finish second, but you also play the second leg at home, giving you a crucial advantage.

Messi does edge Ibrahimovic in most categories and the winger will hope to edge past the Swede once again this week, but there is one stat in which Messi will always beat Ibrahimovic, and it’s the one that means the most for any player.

Ibrahimovic has yet to win the UEFA Champions League, Messi has three titles, and perhaps if Zlatan wants to finally lift the famous trophy this season, he needs to get one over Messi when they face off on Wednesday night.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/12WUgNE
via IFTTT