Haaland sets Champions League scoring benchmark but still far behind Ronaldo

MANCHESTER, England (AP) – Erling Haaland became the fastest player to score 50 goals in the Champions League with his latest strike for Manchester City on Thursday.

The Norway striker reached the landmark figure in his 49th game in European club soccer’s top competition as City beat Napoli 2-0. He surpassed the previous record by former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, who took 62 games to score 50 goals.

Haaland opened the scoring early in the second half with a looping header at the Etihad Stadium.

He has scored 12 goals in seven appearances for club and country this season. Haaland hit five goals in Norway’s 11-1 win over Moldova last week. He then struck twice in City’s 3-0 victory over United on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Haaland has now surpassed some of European soccer’s greats on the Champions League and European Cup all time scorers list. He moved ahead of Madrid icon Alfredo di Stefano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

He is level with Filippo Inzaghi and one behind Thierry Henry, who is 10th on UEFA’s list.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time top scorer in the Champions League with 141 goals, while Lionel Messi is second with 129.