Champions League: Erling Haaland breaks another record

• Erling Haaland once again got into the history books on Thursday evening as Manchester City secured a 2-0 win over Serie A side Napoli
• Haaland’s journey to becoming the fastest player to reach 50 Champions League goals started at RB Salzburg where he netted eight

Whether it’s the UEFA Champions League, English Premier League or international matches, Erling Haaland just can’t stop breaking records. The Norwegian attacker once again got into the history books on Thursday evening as Manchester City secured a 2-0 win over Serie A side Napoli.

City were being frustrated by the ten men of Napoli at the Etihad Stadium but Haaland stepped up and ensured the Cityzens recorded a comfortable win when he nodded in Phil Foden’s lofted pass early in the second half. It was his 50th goal in the competition in just 49 games, a record that eclipses the previous benchmark set by ex-Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who required 62 games.

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Haaland knew exactly what he had achieved immediately after scoring and celebrated with a smile on his face as he held up five fingers on one hand and a zero with the other. The 25-year-old is breaking every record he comes across and City head coach Pep Guardiola is more than happy for him.

“What can I say? The numbers speak for themselves. We are lucky to have him. Just to congratulate him, because he’s alongside goalscorers like [Ruud] van Nistelrooy, [Robert] Lewandowski, but especially the two monsters Cristiano [Ronaldo] and [Lionel] Messi for 20 years, for Erling to be there is unbelievable.” Pep Guardiola said, according to BBC Sport.

Haaland started to wow football fans with his goalscoring prowess while still playing in Norway. He made headlines while with Borussia Dortmund and has redefined goalscoring standards during his time at Manchester City, scoring an astonishing 130 goals in just 151 matches across all competitions.

The Norwegian has already scored 12 goals for both club and country this season. After scoring five goals in Norway’s 11-1 win over Moldova, he took his Premier League tally to 90 goals over the weekend as Manchester City beat rivals Manchester United 3-0.

Haaland’s journey to becoming the fastest player to reach 50 Champions League goals started at RB Salzburg where he netted eight. He then found the back of the net 15 times with Dortmund and has now scored 27 times in Europe’s premier football competition while representing Manchester City.

Manchester City Beat Napoli 2-0

Kevin De Bruyne’s return to the Etihad was the main talking point ahead of the Champions League fixture between Manchester City and Napoli. The midfielder parted ways with City during the 2025 summer transfer window and received a warm reception from the fans at the Etihad upon his return last night.

However, his long-awaited return lasted just 25 minutes, as Napoli manager Antonio Conte substituted him for tactical reasons after Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off for bringing down Erling Haaland as last man. With Napoli one man down, City took control of the match as expected. However, they couldn’t find the opener in the first half, thanks to a string of saves from goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

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The Serbian kept out Tijjani Reijnders’ well taken effort, Foden’s low strike and also denied Rodri. Still in the first half, he stopped Reijnders shot from crossing the line after taking a deflection and kept away headers from captain Ruben Dias and Nico O’Reilly.

However, Milinkovic-Savic’s solid goal was eventually breached eleven minutes after the break when Haaland latched onto Foden’s pass to open the scoring. Jeremy Doku then added the second goal in the 65th minute to seal the win for the hosts.