MANCHESTER, England: Another goal, another record for Erling Haaland.
The Manchester City striker became the fastest player to score 50 goals in the Champions League in a 2-0 win over Napoli on Thursday — reaching the landmark in his 49th game in European club soccer’s top competition.
Haaland surpassed the previous record by former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, who took 62 games to reach that total.
“He seems to break every record going. At his age, it’s unheard of what he’s doing,” City teammate Phil Foden said.
At the age of 25, Haaland looks capable of chasing down Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time Champions League record of 141 goals.
“The numbers speak for itself,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “If he plays 10, 12 years... if he maintains this progression, absolutely .”
Haaland already took Van Nistelrooy’s Champions League record as the fastest player to score 30 goals, back in 2023. That same year he became the fastest player to score 50 in the Premier League.
He has 130 goals in 151 appearances since joining City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
“How lucky and fortunate we are to have to him,” added Guardiola, who said Haaland’s record puts him among the game’s greats like Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski.
The Norway international’s latest strike came from a looping header early in the second half at the Etihad Stadium.
He has scored 12 goals in seven appearances for club and country this season — including five in Norway’s 11-1 win over Moldova last week. He also struck twice in City’s 3-0 victory over United on Sunday.
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 11th on UEFA’s list.
Messi is still the youngest player to score 50 goals — reaching that figure at the age of 24 years, 284 days.
Kylian Mbappe reached 50 goals in 79 appearances and the Madrid forward is currently on 57 in the competition.
The next target in Haaland’s sights is Messi’s record of 60 Champions League goals in 80 games. Messi also holds the record for the fewest games to reach 70 goals.
Lewandowski’s 80 Champions League goals in 100 games is another record.
While Ronaldo leads the scoring list, Messi is second with 129 goals and Lewandowski third on 105.
Haaland sets new Champions League scoring benchmark but still far behind Ronaldo
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Haaland sets new Champions League scoring benchmark but still far behind Ronaldo
Stokes calls on England to ‘show a bit of dog’ in must-win Adelaide Test
ADELAIDE: Ben Stokes has called on England to “show a bit of dog” in the must-win third Ashes Test against Australia on Wednesday after “raw” conversations following heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane.
The tourists have crashed to consecutive eight-wicket losses and must snap a 17-match winless streak in Australia at Adelaide Oval to keep the five-match series alive.
They have made just one change with Josh Tongue replacing fellow quick Gus Atkinson, while off-spinning allrounder Will Jacks kept his place ahead of Shoaib Bashir.
England skipper Stokes said after the Gabba defeat that Australia was “no place for weak men” and admitted to “raw” dressing room conversations in the aftermath.
“We don’t do getting into rooms and have big things up on the screen. We have proper, meaningful conversations. What’s been said has been said,” he told English media.
“I’ve done all the talking over the last two days that I needed to. All that stuff’s done now, so it’s about what gets seen out on the field in Adelaide this week.”
Stokes was called “the most competitive person I’ve ever come across” by former England captain Alastair Cook last week and the 34-year-old allrounder demanded more fight from his team.
“It’s just about trying to fight in every situation that you find yourself in, understanding the situation and what you feel is required for your team,” said Stokes.
“Just look at your opposition every single time and show a bit of dog. That’s fight to me. You’re giving yourself the best possible chance if you’ve got a bit of dog in you.”
He cited England’s battling third Test win against India at Lord’s in July as an example of the grit he wanted to see in Adelaide, with the hosts winning by 22 runs deep into day five after a time-wasting row.
“That’s exactly what I’m on about,” he said.
“We were probably in a situation where we would have to be absolutely perfect to win that game and we were.
“The attitude and the mentality toward that specific situation is what gave us the best chance of winning that game.”
Since arriving in Australia, England have been under intense media scrutiny and faced hostile crowds at Perth and Brisbane.
Just five of the players used so far had previously played an Ashes series in Australia and Stokes acknowledged it had been confronting for the newcomers.
“Honestly, I think so,” he said. “Now I feel everyone has experienced that and probably at its highest level, so we all know what it’s going to be like.
“So for the next three games there isn’t going to be any of that ‘I didn’t expect this’ or ‘it’s the first time I’ve had this’.”
