Erling Haaland has been in a scintillating form this season both in the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League in Manchester City colors.
Aside his awesome form, Haaland also tops the list (10) as the player with multiple Champions League goals under the age of 23 surpassing Paris Saint Germain duo, Kylian Mbappe (6) and Lionel Messi (5).
In addition to breaking further records, Erling Haaland’s performance in the Manchester derby won him a remarkable 10/10 rating from L’Equipe, a publication known for its tough criticism.
It’s uncommon for someone to impress the French news organization to the point where they award a flawless score because they are known for their no-nonsense approach to performance evaluation.
But occasionally, the mask comes off, and they are forced to acknowledge the achievements of those who put on flawless performances.
FUTBALLNEWS will walk you through the three players who have scored multiple goals in UCL games when they were just under age 23.
Erling Haaland At 22
Erling Haaland, a Manchester City forward, made his debut with a first-half hat-trick and has since broken numerous records in the UEFA Champions League. He is only 22 years old.
Haaland has already scored more goals in the Champions League than all but 28 players after just three and a half seasons. Luis Suárez and Rivaldo were overtaken by him after his Matchday 3 double against Copenhagen.
Erling Haaland has scored against which clubs?
Haaland has scored against 11 of the 13 teams he has faced in the Champions League; only Ajax and Manchester City were able to successfully keep him out of the back when he was at Dortmund.
He has scored eight goals against Belgian opposition, while Sevilla alone has allowed six goals in three games from Haaland.
Although Haaland has scored goals in both halves almost equally thus far, opponent managers should be aware that he gets stronger as the game goes on. He poses the greatest threat between minutes 66 and 75.
Star strikers at 20-game mark
Erling Haaland – 25 goals
Harry Kane – 15 goals
Kylian Mbappé – 12 goals
Karim Benzema – 12 goals
Robert Lewandowski – 11 goals
Lionel Messi – 8 goals
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (19 in 77) was Norway’s best scorer in the Champions League until Haaland surpassed him after 14 games.
Kylian Mbappe At 23
Kylian Mbappe has the most goals in the UEFA Champions League for Paris Saint-Germain.
The highest-paid player in PSG history is now tied for the most goals scored by the team in UCL history.
On Wednesday night in Israel, Mbappe scored his 30th UCL goal for PSG as the French champions defeated Maccabi Haifa 3-1.
Mbappe and Edinson Cavani are now equal with 30 UCL goals for PSG. Being the all-time leading scorer for a European powerhouse like PSG with thirty goals may not sound like much.
In 1992, the European Cup was renamed the Champions League, however PSG only participated in four of those competitions before 2012.
For his former team Monaco, Mbappe scored six goals in the Champions League. He scored his first of 30 UCL goals for PSG in a 2017 matchup with Celtic.
Aside from Maccabi, he has also scored for PSG in European matches against Anderlecht, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Red Star, Manchester United, Club Brugge, Real Madrid, Galatasaray, Basaksehir, Barcelona, RB Leipzig, Manchester City, and Juventus.
Lionel Messi At 23
To begin with, Messi had already won three of his seven Ballon d’Ors by the time he was 23.
On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, Lionel Messi opened the scoring for Paris Saint-Germain against Benfica, shattering one of his own Champions League records.
Messi, 35, is the only player to have scored in the Champions League against 40 different opponents. When this campaign first started, he had already scored against the number 39.
The PSG forward has been one of the most productive in the UEFA Champions League season with nine goals against Arsenal in north London.
Messi is the second-highest scorer in the history of the Champions League with 126 goals. With 140, only Cristiano Ronaldo has more.
Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona is the next highest goal scorer in the competition, with 89 goals. Lewandowski and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, who has scored 86 goals, are far behind Ronaldo and Messi.
PSG defeated Maccabi Haifa 3-1 and Juventus 2-1 in its opening Champions League group stage games before the Benfica game. Messi also scored against the Israeli squad.
With the goal against Benfica, the Argentine also made history by becoming the first player to score in 18 successive Champions League matches.
