Champions League sets record with 40 goals in one night

The goal machines of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Shakhtar Donetsk cranked into top gear on Tuesday as the Champions League captivated its continental audience with a record 40 goals in one eight-game night. Bayern, who humbled Roma 7-1, Chelsea, who beat Maribor 6-0, and Shakhtar, who enjoyed a 7-0 win at Bate Borisov, contributed 20 between them on an evening to forget for defenders and goalkeepers alike. [caption id=“attachment_1768169” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Roma goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis fails to make a save during the Group E Champions League soccer match between Roma and Bayern Munich. AP[/caption] Ukraine’s Shakhtar became the first team to score six times in the first half of a Champions League match, and their victory was the joint-best for an away side. Shakhtar’s Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano became the first player to score four before halftime - and at 17 minutes he now holds the competition record for the quickest four-goal tally. He added another late on to join Lionel Messi as the only players to have netted five times in a Champions League outing. Messi scored once in Barcelona’s 3-1 victory over Ajax to pull level with Cristiano Ronaldo on 69 Champions League goals, two behind all-time leading scorer Raul. Chelsea’s win against Maribor was their record victory in the Champions League. In another high-scoring contest, Schalke beat Sporting 4-3. Reuters