Erling Haaland is knocking on the door of two illustrious records held by Lionel Messi in the Champions League. Following a remarkable double in Manchester City's 2-0 win against Porto, the Norwegian striker has netted 59 goals in just 59 appearances in the competition.
The first eight of those came during his time with Red Bull Salzburg, while he added another 15 to his tally whilst at Borussia Dortmund. The remaining 36 goals were scored wearing the City jersey, placing Haaland level with Andriy Shevchenko.
To reach the coveted milestone of 60 goals, Haaland needs just one more. Messi hit the same figure at the age of 26 years and 86 days after playing 80 Champions League matches.
At the time of the match against Porto, Haaland was just 26 years and 50 days old. City’s next Champions League outing is scheduled for October 14 against Paris Saint-Germain, a match that will fall on his 26th birthday at 85 days. Should he score, he will surpass Messi's record by achieving 60 goals one day earlier, setting a new age record in the process.
Moreover, Haaland is all but guaranteed to eclipse Messi's number of matches needed to reach the 60-goal mark. Currently, he stands at 59 goals from 59 appearances, while Messi required 80 games to achieve the same.
Haaland has already made history in the Champions League for being the fastest to reach milestones of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 goals.
