Erling Haaland has become the fastest player to reach 50 goal involvements in the Champions League, following his opening goal against Feyenoord this evening.
Despite the dismal finale to the game which saw Manchester City throw a three-goal lead away to draw 3-3 with the Dutch side, that does not detract from the fact the Norwegian has set yet another record on the continent.
It was now or never though, because Haaland has broken the record by just one game, needing 44 matches to rack up the 50, beating Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of doing so in 45 appearances.
Out of the 50 involvements, 45 were goals, and Haaland added another in the second-half, but ultimately in vain, as City only left the Etihad with a point.
Erling Haaland is the fastest player to reach 50 Champions League goal involvements in the #UCL era, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy's previous record of 45 games.
— Squawka (@Squawka) November 26, 2024
A genuine cyborg. 🤖 pic.twitter.com/H01drQnBrd
What next for Haaland and the record books?
The next target will be for Haaland to reach 50 Champions League goals in record-breaking time, and he has a very comfortable buffer in which to do so.
Tonight's brace saw Haaland reach 46 goals in just 44 matches, meaning he now has 17 matches to score a mere four goals in order to break the record.
That feat currently also lies with Van Nistelrooy, who hit his first 50 UCL goals in 62 matches, and has held the record for 18 years.
Haaland's current rate of scoring is made even more remarkable when it is put into comparison with the two greatest goalscorers in the competition's history - Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo has 140 goals in the competition, and Messi plundered 129, but neither of them were anywhere near close to the levels Haaland is on course to hit.
It took Messi 66 matches to reach 50 goals, and Ronaldo even more with 91, suggesting that Haaland could shatter all records that lay before him should he enjoy similar levels of longevity.
Robert Lewandowski became just the third player along with Messi and Ronaldo to reach 100 UCL goals by scoring in Barcelona's win over Brest on matchday five, and it took even the great Pole 77 matches to reach a half-century.
© Imago
Is Haaland back to his best?
With Man City floundering, they will need Haaland at his best if they are to have any chance of beating Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
The two goals against Feyenoord means the Norwegian now has 17 goals in 17 games this season, and looked like he had his clinical edge back, compared to his efforts in front of goal in recent weeks.
In his last 7 PL matches, Haaland has only managed 2 goals from an xG of 8.03, and he also missed from the penalty spot against Sporting Lisbon on matchday four of the Champions League, failing to hit the usual very high standards he has set.
Liverpool have rarely been favourable opponents though, as Haaland has just two goals against the Reds since his move, and he is yet to score at Anfield in a City shirt, but he did manage one as a Red Bull Salzburg player in 2019.
Andrew Delaney
