The man out-scoring Messi and Ronaldo in the Champions League - Luiz Adriano

he man out-scoring Messi and Ronaldo in the Champions League - Luiz Adriano Featured Spain No stopping 20-win Madrid ahead of CWC 1 Related Stories Editorial Why does the Club World Cup still struggle for relevance? Editorial How Liverpool loss cost Moyes his job at Manchester United Editorial Football remains a distant third in New Zealand sport despite Auckland success story Europa League Steaua left to fight for their identity as Europa League run ends Player Ratings Player Ratings: Lille 0-3 Wolfsburg Next Previous 2 Dec 10, 2014 10:00:00 PROFILE: The Brazilian has earned acclaim in recent weeks thanks to his phenomenal goal output and is in line to break Cristiano Ronaldo's Champions League group stage record By Peter Staunton It only took Luiz Adriano seven years to become an overnight success. He has scored plenty in the Ukrainian top flight, as well as the Champions League, since joining the perennial title holders in 2007, without making sufficient impression to be regarded as one of the continent's most feared forwards. It appears that perception is in the process of changing. Nine goals in only five Champions League matches this season give him a much better scoring record than both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The part he played in Shakhtar's 7-0 dismantling of Belarussian champions BATE Borisov on matchday three was historic. He scored five goals and in the process shattered a whole host of records. "When I joined Shakhtar, I thought of leaving a trace in the history of the club," he told Terrikon. "I managed it. When the dream comes true, I always feel great joy. The history of the club is not an empty sound for us Brazilians." He scored the quickest hat-trick in Champions League history. He was the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Champions League game. He scored five goals in a Champions League match, joining Lionel Messi on an illustrious list of only two. On matchday four, he scored another three against BATE. He became the first player to score back-to-back hat-tricks in Champions League history and joined Lionel Messi, Mario Gomez and Filippo Inzaghi as only the fourth player to score more than two hat-tricks in the Champions League. In the blink of an eye he became Shakhtar Donetsk's all-time leading scorer, a Champions League record-breaker extraordinaire and a fully-fledged Brazil international. "I am boundlessly happy that I have managed to go down in the history of a club that I love and that welcomed me with great warmth and tenderness," he told Uefa.com after the game. "For everything Shakhtar gave me, for how they helped me to grow both morally and professionally, I will not abandon them. If there is a place for me at this club I will be here until the end." Unlike plenty of his compatriots at Shakhtar, Luiz Adriano earned the recognition of his national team coach, Dunga, while plying his trade in Ukraine. November brought his debut against Turkey in which he played alongside old friend Willian in a 4-0 win.