Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema, the stalemate between two European guns

A new edition of the Champions League kicks off tonight and it will do so, once again, with two of the best centre forwards in the history of football as the main attractions of the competition. Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema.

The Blaugrana and the Madridista are the stars of their teams and their goals will partly determine their teams' progress in the tournament.

Such is the impact of the Pole and the Frenchman on European football that the two share third place in the all-time Champions League scoring charts. They have scored 86 goals in their careers in Europe's top competition.

Lewandowski, however, has only needed 106 games to reach that figure, while Benzema has had to wear the shirt on 142 occasions.

There are only two other players ahead of them in the overall ranking. A duo these clubs are very familiar with. Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi.

The Portuguese is the top scorer in the history of the competition, having scored 140 times, while the Argentinian star has scored 125 times.

The ex-Blaugrana's effectiveness is greater than that of the ex-Madrid player, as he has partaken in 156 matches in the all-star competition and the Portuguese in 187.

Raúl González, with 71 goals, Van Nistelrooy, with 60, and Shevchenko, with 59, follow in the ranking.

The next player with the most goals in this competition is Thomas Müller, with 52 goals, who is in eighth place in the ranking.