Erling Haaland has surpassed two Champions League legends in a single night, becoming Manchester City's top scorer in the competition and breaking a record previously set by LionelMessi. The Norwegian striker, who arrived at the English club after a successful spell at Borussia Dortmund, scored his 37th goal in the Champions League on Wednesday, when City were losing 0-3 against PSG. Just three minutes later, he scored his 38th, although the team lost 2‑4. With that second goal, Haaland eclipsed the total of 36 goals that SergioAgüero had accumulated as the club's top scorer in the competition.
Haaland's record is not limited to Agüero's record. The young attacker also surpassed the record of Messi, who scored 60 goals in his first 80 Champions League games. Haaland reached the figure of 60 goals in just 60 games, and added one more goal to reach 61 goals in 60 games. With this figure, he is in seventh position in the table of top scorers in the history of the Champions League, just 11 goals behind Raúl González Blanco, who occupies sixth place.
Haaland's rise has been dizzying since his debut in the Champions League with RBSalzburg, where he scored a hat-trick in his first 45 minutes and finished with eight goals in six games. After moving to Borussia Dortmund, he scored 15 goals in 13 games before joining Manchester City. In the Premier League, the striker has scored 38 goals in five seasons, but his performance in the Champions League has been even more dominant, with 23 goals in 19 games before his arrival at City.
Haaland's performance translates into an average of one goal every 80 minutes, which places him among the most efficient forwards in European history. If he maintains this pace and avoids injuries, he could quickly approach the record of CristianoRonaldo, who scored 140 goals in 183 games. Haaland's next goal will be to surpass Raúl González Blanco, who is only eleven goals away.
With Manchester City still in contention for the Champions League and Premier League titles, Haaland's performance on Wednesday night shows that the Norwegian striker is establishing himself as one of the most fearsome goalscorers of the modern era. Fans and analysts are looking forward to seeing how his streak will continue in the upcoming matches of the competition.