Erling Haaland demolishes Man Utd hero’s Champions League goal-scoring record

Erling Haaland has landed a piece of history that will be hard to beat (Picture: Getty Images)

Erling Haaland has scored his 50th Champions League goal and become the quickest player to reach that milestone by a considerable margin.

The Manchester City superstar put his team ahead against Napoli at the Etihad on Thursday night.

It was a slightly unusual kind of goal as Phil Foden poked a chip over the Italian defence for Haaland to run onto and place a looping header over the goalkeeper.

It was an example of the wide range of finishes in the Norwegian’s arsenal, an incredible skillset that has helped him rack up 50 goals in just 49 Champions League outings.

Still just 25 years old, Haaland scored Champions League goals for Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund, but has now scored the majority of his goals in Europe for Manchester City.

He was well aware of the achievement as he celebrated his latest goal by holding up a ’50’ with his hands.

50 goals in 49 games is an outrageous return and outstrips every other legendary forward that has graced the competition.

Ruud van Nistelrooy had previously been the quickest to 50 Champions League goals, doing so in 62 games, for PSV and then Manchester United.

It is not too surprising to see Lionel Messi next on the list, reaching 50 Champions League goals in 66 games for Barcelona.

Current Barca star Robert Lewandowski was the next fastest to the half-century, scoring 50 times in 77 Champions League outings.

Kylian Mbappe made 50 in 79 games, Karim Benzema in 88 and Cristiano Ronaldo as far down as seventh on the list in 91 appearances.

Haaland set Manchester City on their way to a win (Picture: Getty Images)

Haaland’s opener set Manchester City on their way to a 2-0 win over Napoli as they got their Champions League campaign off to a successful start.

The visitor’s captain, Giovanni di Lorenzo, was dismissed for bringing down Haaland on just 21 minutes, which made the job very tough for Antonio Conte’s side.

Sadly it was Kevin De Bruyne, the returning Manchester City legend, who was dragged off to reshuffle after the red card, ending his return to England prematurely.

The Norwegian scored his goal on 56 minutes, with Jeremy Doku doubling the lead nine minutes later.

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