Erling Haaland smashed another scoring record Thursday after racing to his 50th Champions League goal in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Napoli.
The Norwegian striker reached the half-century mark in his 49th tournament appearance, smartly lifting a header past the outstretched Napoli goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic after a clever assist by Phil Foden.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was previously the fastest player to amass 50 goals after he reached the milestone in 62 outings.
Fastest to 50
| Player | Matches |
|---|---|
| Erling Haaland | 49 |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy | 62 |
| Lionel Messi | 66 |
| Robert Lewandowski | 77 |
| Kylian Mbappe | 79 |
| Karim Benzema | 88 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 91 |
Haaland is averaging 1.07 goals every Champions League match. Cristiano Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in the competition with 140 goals after the qualification phase, struck at a rate of 0.77 goals per game.
Erling Haaland scores his 50th goal in the UEFA Champions League in just his 49th game, reaching a half century faster than anyone in the competition’s history.
He comfortably beats the previous record set by Ruud van Nistelrooy (62 games).#UCL pic.twitter.com/N409fJk9bj
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 18, 2025
“The numbers speak for themselves and how fortunate we are to have him,” Pep Guardiola said of Haaland.
“Along with the two monsters of the past 15 to 20 years Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi, Erling is there. In terms of goals he is unbelievable,” Guardiola added. “In that rhythm (he can break the record). If he can play 10 to 12 more years and maintain this progression, absolutely.”