Erling Haaland became the fastest and youngest player to score 40 goals in the Champions League, beating Kylian Mbappé’s record.
The Norwegian scored a goal that saw City come from 2-0 down to beat RB Leipzig 3-2 and maintain their 100% record in Europe’s most prestigious competitions this season. This is Haaland’s 40th goal in the competition despite having played only his 35th match, making him the fastest player in history to reach this milestone in 10 matches. less than the previous record holder, Ruud van Nistelrooy. Haaland, 23, also became the youngest player to reach 40 Champions League goals, beating the previous record set by Kylian Mbappé in November 2022.
It’s been a record-breaking week for Erling Haaland, who became the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League goals by scoring against Liverpool on Saturday in his 48th English Premier League game, shattering the previous record of 65 matches set by Andy Cole.
Pep Guardiola spoke about City’s victory after the match: “Of course, we are incredibly happy to have qualified with two days to go. Finish first. We have time to think about it. Maybe we weren’t… clinical isn’t the right word… not clear, sweet, tender enough at the last moment to score more goals. But I like watching the team play”.
“The word that has defined this group of players for many years is consistency. We have high demands and that’s why we are still in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League. People say ‘yes, the group stage is easy’, but you have to do it. In life, you have to do it when people expect you to do it. There are two matches left. Leipzig are the toughest opponents in this group and we must try to finish further away. For the round of 16, it is important to have the weapon of the second match at home rather than away.
