Erling Haaland one goal away from rewriting two Leo Messi UCL records
Erling Haaland has moved to within one goal of 60 Champions League strikes, putting two of Lionel Messi’s long-standing milestones firmly within his reach.
Erling Haaland has placed two of Lionel Messi’s Champions League records within touching distance after another remarkable goalscoring performance for Manchester City.
The Norway international struck twice as City opened their league-phase campaign with a 2-0 victory over Porto on Tuesday, taking his Champions League tally to 59 goals in just 59 appearances.
That means Haaland needs only one more goal to reach 60, a landmark Messi reached in his 80th appearance. UEFA records also show that Messi remains the youngest player to score 60 Champions League goals, having reached the figure at 26 years and 86 days.
Haaland is now 26 and could potentially overhaul that mark in City’s next European fixture, depending on when he scores.
The Norwegian has already established himself as one of the competition’s most prolific finishers, holding records for reaching 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 goals faster than anyone else.
His latest double also underlined the extraordinary consistency behind those numbers, with his 59 goals arriving at an average of exactly one per Champions League appearance.
Haaland’s rise has been particularly striking because his goals have come across three clubs: Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City. At City, where the bulk of his European goals have been scored, he has continued to turn difficult fixtures into opportunities to add to his remarkable record.
The Porto performance also helped City maintain their perfect start to the season under new manager Enzo Maresca, making Haaland’s individual pursuit part of a wider push for another deep Champions League run.
For now, Messi’s two records remain intact, but Haaland is closer than ever to taking them away, and history could be rewritten as soon as City’s next Champions League outing.
