Manchester United: Ranking Their Top 10 Champions League Goals

With all the Champions League excitement surrounding Manchester United right now, we thought it would be the perfect time to take a look back at some United's best moments in the current iteration of the biggest club tournament in Europe.

Specifically, some of the best goals scored by some of the best players to ever throw on a United shirt.

Now we're going to be focusing on goals scored in Champions League competition over the last 20 years in order to keep the scope and range of the list more focused.

Plus the list will act as a nice little time capsule that will display some of the great players who have helped United become one of the top performers in European competition over the last two decades.

Some of these goals are just great examples of spectacular footballing skill while others have the added matter of circumstance.  Either way, they are all stellar goals that have stayed at the forefront of my young memory over the years.

One last thing before jumping in, I'm going to be leaving honorable mentions up to you guys, the readers.  If there's a goal I may have overlooked or you feel warrants mention. don't go off the deep end and accuse me of blasphemy for doing so, just give the goal a shout out in the comment section below.

Enough rambling on my part, lets begin...

The goal in question (starts at the 35 second mark) is one of many spectacular goals scored during the second leg of United's quarterfinal match up with European rivals Bayern Munich last year.

Valencia outwitted the Bayern defender on the edge of the box before sending in a pinpoint cross, which Nani calmly delivered into the back of the net with his right hell.

Despite going on to win 3-2 at Old Trafford, United were eliminated from the tournament on away goals (4-4 aggregate, Bayern had two away goals to United's one).

Lee Sharpe scored a similar goal when United welcomed Barcelona to Old Trafford during the group stage of the 1994/95 tournament.

The goal ended up securing a vital point for United, with the scoreboard reading 2-2 when the final whistle blew.

However, Barcelona got the better of the Red Devils during the away fixture a few weeks later and United failed to advance beyond the group stage that year.

A great piece of skill from one of the best goal scorers in the tournament's history, Ruud Van Nistelrooy literally broke the poor Basel defender's ankles before slotting home a nice right footed shot from an extremely tight angle.

United easily won their group during the 2002/03 Champions League campaign, but were edged out of the tournament by Real Madrid during a high scoring quarterfinal match up a few months later (6-5 on aggregate).

MFK Kosice were the first football club form Slovakia to make it to the group stages of the Champions League.  Sadly they failed to win a single game, losing 3-0 during both meetings with the Red Devils.

The highly underrated Teddy Sheringham scored one of those six goals with a lovely curling effort from well outside the top of the Slovak club's penalty area.

United easily won their group during the tournament that year, while Kosice got the honor being victim to many great goal scorers like Sheringham before bowing out.

Never one to disappoint, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer showed once again why he will go down in United history as one of their most prolific and exciting goal scorers.

The Norwegian legend made a perfectly timed run through the middle of the Lille defense before latching onto a lovely Beckham through lob at the top of the box. 

Solskjaer then proceeded to display great skill and dexterity by sending the ball into the upper right corner of the net with a stunning left footed strike.

Bruno Cheyrou salvaged a 1-1 draw for the French side in the second half, but United still advanced out of the group stages before being dumped out the tournament by Bayer Leverkusen in the semifinals.

United easily dispatched the Austrian champions on their home turf during the first group stage of the 1999/2000 Champions League.

Roy Keane got the whole affair rolling when he collected David Beckham's deflected free kick almost 30 yards from the Sturm net.

Keano sized up the situation, while given all the time in the world, before he sent the ball screaming into the top of the net with a spectacular right footed strike.

United breezed through both group stages that year, but the reigning champions were eventually dumped out of the tournament during their quarterfinal showdown with Real Madrid, who went on to defeat fellow Spanish side Valencia in the tournament's final.

Remember kids, if women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.  Luckily for Cristiano Ronaldo though, he has both qualities locked down.

The Portuguese attacker earned the Red Devils a free kick following one of his well rehearsed dives against Arsenal during the second leg of their 2008/09 semifinal match up. 

Although a good 35 yards from the net, Ronaldo proceeded to send the ball screaming over his teammates and the Arsenal defense into the back of the net, just out of the much-maligned Manuel Almunia's reach.

United easily dumped the Gunners out of the tournament, but were calmly dispatched by Barcelona in the final.

Ronaldo makes the list again with a jaw dropping right footed strike at the far left corner of the Porto net, pure class all the way.

The shot was taken from more than 35 yards out during the second leg of their 2008/09 quarterfinal meeting.  The goal secured a vital 1-0 win for the Red Devils following a disappointing 2-2 draw at Old Trafford during the quarterfinal's first leg.

As previously mentioned though, United went on to spill Arsenal out of the tournament in the semifinals before losing in the finals to Spanish champions, Barcelona.

The legendary Paul Scholes latches onto to a poor Barcelona clearance here and with plenty of time and space at his disposal, scores a lovely long range goal with his famous right foot.

It was the only goal scored during both legs of the 2007/08 Champions League semifinal match up between the two European powerhouses. 

When it was all said and done, Scholes and United went on to hold off Chelsea during a highly contested Champions League final to claim their third European title.

United's chances of reaching the 1998/99 Champions League final looked doomed from the start when they went down by two early Pippo Inzaghi goals during the second leg of their semifinal match up with Italian powerhouse, Juventus.

However, Roy Keane got the Red Devils back on board with a glancing header via a well placed Beckham corner halfway through the first half (0:50 mark).

The goal that saved the day for United though, was Dwight Yorke's diving header 10 minutes later (1:30 mark). 

The Trinidad and Tobago international gave United the advantage on away goals after sending Andy Cole's lovely through lob into the lower right corner of the opposition's net.

Andy Cole sealed a 3-2 win for United following an equally lovely little run from Dwight Yorke (2:50 mark) that was disrupted by a trip from the Juventus keeper.  Cole was in the right place at the right time to slide the ball home, negating any arguments for a penalty.

It was a stunning comeback to say the least, but the Red Devils fight to the finish was merely a preamble of things yet to come...

Yeah, no surprises here.

Manchester United did not look like they were going to be able to replicate the result of their semifinal comeback a month earlier against an incredibly strong Bayern Munich side during the 1999 Champions League Final.

It was all but certain that Bayern would be crown European champions as the match entered injury time.

UEFA officials were even setting up in the tunnels of Camp Nou to present Bayern with the trophy already decorated in the German side's colors.

However, United shocked everyone but maybe themselves when Teddy Sheringham turned Ryan Giggs' deflected volley into the near corner of the Bayern net.

Both sides were contemplating extra time and penalties until Solskjaer displayed heavenly reflexes by deflecting Sheringham's header off of another Beckham corner kick into the far corner of Bayern Munich's net.

The goal secured United their first European title in over 30 years, while firmly establishing United's "never say die" attitude underneath Sir Alex Ferguson's guidance.

Solskjaer has become a folk hero amongst the United faithful ever since and the victory is widely considered one of the greatest sporting comebacks in history.