Manchester City bagged a 2-0 win against Napoli at Etihad Stadium in their first Champions League game of the campaign on September 18.
Napoli were down to 10 men on the pitch in the 20th minute of the match after right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo received a direct red card. His sending off prompted the Serie A side’s head coach, Antonio Conte, to substitute former Man City star Kevin De Bruyne with defender Mathias Olivera.
Following an intense yet goalless first half, Erling Haaland found the back of the net after being set up by Phil Foden in the 56th minute. Jérémy Doku doubled Man City’s lead from an assist by Tijjani Reijnders in the 65th minute.
With the opening goal against Napoli, Haaland became the fastest player to reach 50 Champions League goals. The Norwegian striker achieved this feat in just 49 games, surpassing former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Ruud van Nistelrooy’s previous record of doing the same in his first 62 appearances in the competition.
Haaland has been exceptional in the Champions League since the beginning, starting with him being the first and only player to score a first-half hat trick on debut in the competition, a 6-2 win for Red Bull Salzburg over Genk in 2019.
Now, with half a century of goals in the Champions League, the 25-year-old ranks 11th in the competition’s all-time top scorers list, which has Cristiano Ronaldo at first with 141 goals, followed by Lionel Messi with 129 goals.
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What did Man City boss Pep Guardiola say about Erling Haaland’s Champions League record?
Following Man City’s victory in the Champions League opener, reports asked head coach Pep Guardiola if Haaland would continue to make and break scoring records in the competition, to which the Catalan manager replied,
“In that rhythm, yeah [he can break the record]. He’s not injured, he could play for 10 or 12 more years, and he maintains this progression, absolutely,” as per GOAL.
“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 Van Nistelrooy, [Robert] Lewandowski, but especially the two monsters Cristiano and Messi for 20 years, for Erling to be there is unbelievable.”
Haaland has already registered six goals in five appearances for Man City this season, and will be looking to increase his goal tally in their next Premier League match against Arsenal on September 21 at Emirates Stadium.
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