Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on brink of equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's UEFA Champions League record - will Ballon d'Or follow?

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Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has had a major impact on Paris Saint-Germain since joining from Napoli last season, and he now stands on the brink of joining an exclusive group of players.

Highlights: Dembele decisive as PSG power past Bayern to reach final

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Not long after Luis Enrique’s men booked their place in a second successive UEFA Champions League final later this month in Budapest, Ben White was trending on social media.

It had been 24 hours since White played during Arsenal's nervy 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in this week's other semi-final, but observers of PSG's 6-5 aggregate triumph over Bayern Munich were already salivating at one particular match-up set to take place at the Puskas Arena on May 30, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

It is not that White is a bad defender. Indeed, having been welcomed back in from the international wilderness with England, he has risen to the occasion in Arsenal's quest for history as Jurrien Timber has battled with an ankle injury.

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The problem - and the potential mismatch - is whom he might face in a little over three weeks' time.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been lighting up the European stage for so long now, and his claims to the world's top individual prize are becoming harder to ignore.

Kvaratskhelia - nicknamed "Kvaradona," after the Napoli legend Diego Maradona - has scored 10 goals and assisted six times in the Champions League this season.

He also became the first player to score or assist in seven consecutive appearances in the same Champions League campaign.

In setting up Ousmane Dembele after just three minutes at Allianz Arena, Kvaratskhelia equalled Kylian Mbappe for most goal contributions in the competition this season (16) - but he stands on the brink of joining elite company if he produces another star turn in Hungary.

Since Opta started collecting such data in 2003/04, only Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have had more goal involvements in the Champions League knockout stages, with both achieving 11 for Real Madrid.

Ronaldo did so as Madrid lifted the trophy in 2017 before Benzema equalled that tally in 2022 - and both went on to win the Ballon d'Or in those years.

Dembele strikes inside THREE minutes as PSG stun Bayern

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Champions League knockout stages only - since 2003/04:

Rank	Player	Club (at time)	Season	Goal involvements
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	2016/17	11
2	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	2021/22	11
3	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	2011/12	10
4	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	2013/14	10
5	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	2019/20	10
6	Khvicha Kvaratskhelia	PSG	2025/26	10

Three other players have reached 10 goal involvements from games played after the group/league phase - Ronaldo again for Real Madrid in 2013/14, along with Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich when the Bavarians last lifted the trophy in 2020, and Lionel Messi for Barcelona in 2011/12.

There was no Ballon d'Or winner in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was widely ackowledged that Lewandowski would have recieved the award. In 2014, Ronaldo claimed the prize. And in 2012? You guessed it, Messi.

Kvaratskhelia would be a deserving winner, but the forward is the ultimate bastion of Enrique's team principles over any individual accolade.

Kvaratskhelia 'proud' to make final, wants to play 'best game of my life'

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He told TNT Sports: "We're very proud we've done it again. We will have to be ready for the final - it's the best game of our lives, and we will give everything for this club.

"I think it was very important that we scored very early. I saw that Dembele was alone, and I just had to give him the ball. He produced a very good finish.

"We're proud of him and the whole team because we fought today, and the team spirit was amazing.

"Bayern is one of the best teams right now. It was very difficult. The hardest one in the season. We showed we can play against these teams. I will give everything for this badge."

On facing Arsenal in the final - the fifth Premier League outfit PSG will have played this season - the 25-year-old added: "We respect all of the teams.

"For us, it's important to play our game. We don't really think about who is going to be our opponent; we just prepare our game and give everything on the pitch.

Kvaratskhelia is the best winger in the world - Gerrard

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"It will be difficult against Arsenal - it's the Champions League final - and we just have to go and enjoy it."

PSG look like they are certainly enjoying themselves. They have scored 44 goals in 16 matches across Europe this season. Only Barcelona, who scored 45 in 1999/00, have more in a single season.

That record looks set to be broken, when you consider Inter Milan had only conceded once in their eight league-phase matches last term before shipping five times in Munich's showpiece 12 months ago.

Certainly, if Kvaratskhelia is on song, Mikel Arteta will be scrambling for solutions.

Speaking after the semi-final second leg against Bayern, Steve Gerrard told TNT Sports: "He’s just so powerful, so dangerous and capable of going both ways.

"What an assist. He gets down the left, and most wingers are wasteful in that moment, but it was a huge early moment in the game, and he delivered a perfect ball for Dembele.

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"But it’s also the other side of his game. A lot of wingers only want to do the glamorous side when they have the ball at their feet, but this guy does it all.

"He works, tackles, fights, assists, and scores. He’s the best winger in the world right now.

"There are a lot of dribblers who dribble for the sake of it. But for me, if you’re going to dribble, there has to be an end product. Is it leading to a shot, a cross, or a combination play?

"If you’re an attacking player, you should be watching the four wingers who played tonight. He was the best of the lot. It was frightening."

Kvaratskhelia has the world at his feet - but the best individual players don't always end up on the winning team.

"I know more than anyone else that an underdog can win this final - when we won with Liverpool against AC Milan, it was a mismatch," Gerrard added.

"Arsenal will play against a high-quality team, against an elite manager. Every player will have to be at the top of their game.

"They have to use their physicality, size, and take PSG where they don't want to go - but they certainly have a chance."

Kvaratskhelia was a constant thorn in the Bayern Munich side

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Since his debut for PSG in February last year, only Harry Kane (22) has been involved in more Champions League goals than Kvaratskhelia (21 - 13 goals, eight assists).

Owen Hargreaves added: "He doesn’t really do tricks. Everything is functional.

"The chops, the changes of direction - there’s purpose behind it all. It’s exceptional to watch, and he’s a great example for young players."

Arsenal have shown they are one of the best teams out of possession in the world. But Kvaratskhelia is the master at controlling games.

This will be a repeat of last year's semi-final, which PSG won 3-1 on aggregate. It was Dembele who stole the show and propelled himself towards the first Ballon d'Or of his career. Kvaratskhelia now has the chance to do the same.

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