Haaland’s Brace Against Monaco
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On Wednesday night, Manchester City had to fight hard for their point in the Champions League, but they were fortunate to have Erling Haaland on their side. In an exciting match against a determined Monaco team in France, the Norwegian striker opened the scoring after just 15 minutes, connecting with a cross from Josko Gvardiol and firing it into the net. Monaco quickly equalized with a goal from Jordan Teze three minutes later, but Haaland was intent on securing a result for his team. He netted his second goal in the 44th minute with a perfectly placed header that left the goalkeeper stranded. Had it not been for a late penalty by Eric Dier, Haaland would have almost single-handedly clinched all three points for City with his two goals.
Few observers would doubt that the City star would find the net against Monaco. Before this match, Haaland had already scored an impressive nine goals in seven games, and his Champions League record is unmatched in the sport. Since making his debut with the iconic competition’s theme song playing, no other scorer has managed to keep pace with Haaland’s incredible tally.
Indeed, Haaland first appeared in the Champions League on September 17, 2019, when Red Bull Salzburg faced Genk. He made a sensational entry by scoring a hat-trick against the surprised Belgian team and followed that up with another five goals in the remaining group stage matches. He continued this scoring spree after moving to Borussia Dortmund, where he netted 15 goals in 13 Champions League matches, before joining Manchester City. With his performance on Wednesday, he has now scored 29 goals in 31 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s squad.
Remarkably, Haaland has now accumulated 52 goals in just 50 games across his career with three clubs, averaging an impressive 1.04 goals per game and an astounding 1.16 goals per 90 minutes in the Champions League. This scoring rate is unmatched by any player since his debut in 2019. As depicted in the graph above, no competitor has scored more UEFA Champions League goals than Haaland during this period, with only Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski matching his tally but with four additional games played.
No other player approaches Haaland’s scoring efficiency, with Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé trailing behind by six goals in 14 more matches. Other notable forwards like Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, and Vinicius Jr. are also far behind Haaland’s incredible pace. Considering that Haaland is only 25 years old, he has a genuine chance to challenge Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time Champions League record of 140 goals. After his recent brace, he now sits just 88 goals away from that milestone.
