Monaco’s Takumi Minamino becomes top Japanese scorer in Champions League

By Canadian Press on February 18, 2025.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Takumi Minamino’s first-half goal against Benfica on Tuesday made the Monaco winger the highest-scoring Japanese player in the Champions League.

The 30-year-old Minamino fired a low shot from inside the box in the 22nd minute for the visitors in a second-leg 3-3 playoffs draw that saw Benfica advance to the round of 16 on a 4-3 aggregate score.

That was Minamino’s fifth career Champions League goal — moving him one ahead of both Shinji Kagawa and Daizen Maeda as the Japanese player with the most goals in Europe’s elite club competition (group stage onwards), according to UEFA.

Tuesday’s strike was Minamino’s third Champions League goal this season after scoring twice in a 5-1 win over Red Star Belgrade in the league phase.

He scored two in the 2019-20 campaign for the Red Bull Salzburg — against Liverpool and Genk in the group stage. Minamino joined Liverpool in January 2020 before transferring to Monaco in the summer of 2022.

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The Associated Press

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