Manchester City are coming off a 4-2 defeat against PSG, but the only goals for the Citizens came courtesy of Erling Haaland. His brace pushed him to 61 career goals in just 60 appearances in the UEFA Champions League, immediately reigniting comparisons to how Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi reached the same mark.
Haaland stands as the fastest player in the history of the competition to hit 60 goals. For perspective, Ronaldo needed 98 matches to reach that total, while Messi required 80. Haaland hit the mark in 38 fewer games than Ronaldo and 20 fewer than Messi.
That scoring pace also stands out against other historic tournament goalscorers: Robert Lewandowski needed 85 games, Kylian Mbappe 89, Karim Benzema 111, and Raul Gonzalez 115. Haaland appears destined to be one of the century’s defining players, and maintaining this scoring rate will keep him among the greatest strikers in soccer history.
Another milestone for Haaland
The prolific goalscorer also became Manchester City’s all-time leading scorer in the Champions League with 38 goals, overtaking Sergio Aguero. Having now surpassed every historic City legend in European competition, he continues his relentless pursuit of even more.
Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates.
Enzo Maresca made three changes at the break, and those substitutions paid off as Erling Haaland pulled one back in the 53rd minute with a glancing header. That goal made him City’s outright top scorer in the Champions League, breaking past Sergio Aguero’s previous mark of 37 goals.
Maghnes Akliouche’s effort was spilled over the line by Gianluigi Donnarumma to re-establish the visitors’ three-goal cushion, but another Haaland strike in the 75th minute halved the deficit once more. The finish came off an assist from Ayyoub Bouaddi, with Haaland converting a right-footed shot from the center of the box.
Despite Haaland’s scoring exploits, Man City were unable to overcome a slow start on Wednesday—having trailed 3-0 at halftime—and eventually fell to a 4-2 defeat against the Champions League holders.
Key takeaways
- 61 career goals in 60 Champions League appearances were reached by Erling Haaland.
- Cristiano Ronaldo needed 98 matches and Lionel Messi required 80 to reach 60 goals.
- 38 Champions League goals made Erling Haaland Manchester City’s top scorer, overtaking Sergio Aguero.
