50 Champions League goals in just 49 games: former BVB striker Erling Haaland has set a new record. The best German player in history is also within reach.

50 goals in 49 Champions League games – no one has ever been as fast as Erling Haaland. The star striker for Manchester City and former Borussia Dortmund pro scored the 1-0 goal in the 56th minute of Thursday’s 2-0 win over SSC Napoli, reaching the 50-goal mark faster than any other star in the history of the competition before him.

Until now, Ruud van Nistelrooy from the Netherlands had been the fastest, with 50 goals in 62 games. The 25-year-old Haaland has scored 27 goals for Manchester City, 15 for Borussia Dortmund and eight for RB Salzburg in his Champions League career to date.

Haaland is in outstanding form early in the season. He has scored twelve goals in seven competitive games for Manchester City and the Norwegian national team. He scored five in the 11-1 win over Moldova, followed by two in the 3-0 win over Manchester United.

With 50 Champions League goals, the 25-year-old Haaland now has more than Zlatan Ibrahimović, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Mohamed Salah, and Didier Drogba and is in the top 10. But there is still a long way to go to reach the top: Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a total of 140 goals for Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Juventus Turin.

In second place is Lionel Messi with 129 goals for FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. Thomas Müller holds the German record with 57 Champions League goals for FC Bayern, putting him on a par with Kylian Mbappé in sixth place in the all-time rankings.

Erling Haaland already shone with his goal ratio during his time at BVB

Haaland, who scored more goals than appearances for Red Bull Salzburg in Austria with 29 goals in 27 games, is known for his incredible goal ratio. He also repeatedly proved his accuracy during his time at BVB. His debut against FC Augsburg alone is likely to remain in the memory of many Dortmund fans. Haaland initially sat on the bench before scoring three goals in 34 minutes. These were the first of 86 in a BVB shirt. He also provided 23 assists in 89 games.

In the summer of 2022, this naturally attracted the attention of one of the world’s most financially powerful clubs: Manchester City. The English club secured Haaland’s services for around €60 million, and the Norwegian continues to score goals there too. He has 130 goals and 21 assists in 150 games to his name so far. He has also won two championships, the Champions League title and the Golden Boot for Europe’s top scorer. with dpa