Manchester City kicked off their Champions League campaign in style with a 2-0 victory over Napoli, thanks to goals from Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku. Haaland’s strike not only helped secure the win but also set a new record, reaching 50 goals in the competition in the fewest matches, prompting comparisons with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Haaland reached the milestone in just 49 games. By contrast, Messi required 66 matches with Barcelona, while Ronaldo needed 91 appearances across Manchester United and Real Madrid.
The Norwegian continues to cement his status as one of soccer’s brightest talents in the post-Messi-Ronaldo era. His goal against Napoli also broke Ruud van Nistelrooy’s previous record, who reached 50 Champions League goals in 62 matches.
Other players on the list of fastest to 50 goals include Robert Lewandowski, who did it in 77 games, and Kylian Mbappe, who reached the mark in 79 matches, most recently with a brace for Real Madrid against Olympique Marseille.
Haaland enters Champions League top scorers list
With his first goal in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Napoli, Erling Haaland matched Thierry Henry on the Champions League all-time scoring list with 50 goals. What sets Haaland apart is the speed at which he reached the milestone: just 49 games, compared to Henry’s 112 appearances.
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The updated list of the top Champions League goal scorers now looks like this:
- 1- Cristiano Ronaldo – 140 goals
- 2- Lionel Messi – 129 goals
- 3- Robert Lewandowski – 105 goals
- 4- Karim Benzema – 90 goals
- 5- Raul Gonzalez – 71 goals
- 6- Kylian Mbappe – 57 goals
- 7- Thomas Muller – 57 goals
- 8- Ruud van Nistelrooy – 56 goals
- 9- Erling Haaland – 50 goals
- 10- Thierry Henry – 50 goals
