Erling Haaland destroys Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo with new Champions League record.
With his amazing feats in front of goal both domestically and in European competition, the Manchester City sensation is quickly moving into a league of his own.
After Erling Haaland’s fantastic start to life under Pep Guardiola, the few who had their doubts about the success of the 22-year-move old’s to Manchester City have been clearly disproven.
The £51 million fee paid by the Norwegian international in the summer suddenly appears to be one of the best bargains in recent memory, and he hasn’t stopped scoring since arriving in England after leaving former club Borussia Dortmund.
In their Champions League group, City will actually play Haaland’s former squad, a matchup the young attacker is undoubtedly looking forward to given his current form. In City’s opening game of their European season against Sevilla, another brace made it 12 goals for the season in 7 games across all competitions, an unbelievable total.
It is the kind of return that has cemented Haaland’s status among the greatest players in game history. With his total on the European stage alone, the former Dortmund striker has demonstrated that he is a man for the biggest occasion.
In just 20 appearances, he scored two goals against Sevilla to give him 25 goals overall in the Champions League.
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Even even the greatest players in the history of the game, like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, these numbers have never been achieved.
In fact, the stats are astounding to read when compared to each other after 20 games in the top championship for European club football.
At that point in his Champions League career, the legendary Ronaldo of Manchester United hadn’t actually scored a single goal, but it must be said that he more than made up for it by going on to become the competition’s all-time leading scorer, largely due to his accomplishments at Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid.
Messi, a former Barcelona star who is now a playmaker for Paris Saint-Germain, had only eight goals by the time he had played 20 times in the championship.
20 times total during the competition. Robert Lewandowski, a current Camp Nou favorite, performed somewhat better at that point with an excellent return of 11.
Just one goal separates the Poland international from Karim Benzema, his new adversary. The Real Madrid sensation seems to be only getting better as he gets older, but his 20 Champions League goals show that the Frenchman was always a remarkable talent.
Prior to Haaland’s sudden appearance on the scene, Benzema had the most goals (20 games) with 12. On the greatest stage of them all, the City talisman redefined what is “normal” for elite forwards, and he shows no signs of slowing down.