Manchester City can consistently rely on Erling Haaland. Once more, the Norwegian frontman stepped up when his team required his brilliance, netting a brace after the interval to seal a 2-0 triumph against FC Porto and launch their Champions League journey flawlessly.
This double increased Haaland’s tally to 36 Champions League goals for City in merely 40 matches, putting him on par with Sergio Agüero as the team’s co-top goalscorer in European football’s elite tournament.
The forward’s statistics become even more extraordinary when looking at his overall record in the tournament. Following stints at Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund, the 26-year-old striker has now amassed 59 goals across 59 matches in this prestigious competition.
In doing so, he overtook Thomas Müller to claim the seventh spot on the tournament’s historical top-scorer list, having now registered goals against 22 distinct teams in the competition.
The English champions had to remain patient for their opening goal at the Dragão, where Porto’s shot-stopper Diogo Costa denied Haaland on multiple occasions before the Norwegian finally broke the deadlock in the second half. He added a second goal late in injury time, coolly finishing from inside the box to guarantee the victory.
Furthermore, Haaland celebrated another historic achievement at the Dragão by climbing to third on Manchester City’s list of all-time top goalscorers with 167 goals. He overtook Tommy Johnson, who netted 166 goals for the citizens during his decade-long spell from 1920 to 1930.
At present, only Eric Brook, with 177 goals, alongside Sergio Agüero, with 260, sit above Haaland in the club’s historical scoring ranks.
