Erling Haaland became the fastest player to score 50 goals in the UEFA Champions League on Thursday, smashing the previous record in the process.Â
The Manchester City striker broke the deadlock in the 56th minute of their encounter with 10-man Napoli in Eastlands, heading in from Phil Foden’s cross.
Haaland reached a half-century of goals in the competition in just 49 appearances, split across appearances for Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and City.
The previous record holder was former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who did so in 62 appearances. Lionel Messi got to 50 in his 66th Champions League outing, but he did manage to do it at a younger age than Haaland. The ex-Barcelona and PSG star did so at 24 years and 284 years of age, while the Norwegian is 25 years and 59 days old.
The top ten list of footballers to reach the 50-goal mark in the fewest appearances is an exclusive club of some the greatest forwards in European football history, illustrating just how remarkable Haaland’s feats are.
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The fastest players to reach 50 Champions League goals
49: Erling Haaland (Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund, Man City)
62: Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Hamburger SV)
66: Lionel Messi (Barcelona, PSG)
77: Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona)
79: Kylian Mbappé (AS Monaco, PSG, Real Madrid)
88: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
91: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus)
97: Raúl González (Real Madrid, Schalke)
103: Thierry Henry (AS Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona)
130: Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich)
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