Manchester City striker Erling Haaland broke two of Lionel Messi’s UEFA Champions League records despite his side’s 4–2 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
Haaland scored twice at the Etihad Stadium, becoming the fastest player to reach 60 goals in the competition and the youngest to achieve the milestone. UEFA confirmed that the Norwegian reached the landmark in 60 appearances, surpassing Messi’s previous record of 80 matches.
The 26-year-old reached the milestone at 26 years and 85 days, one day younger than Messi was when he scored his 60th Champions League goal.
Despite Haaland’s achievement, City were unable to recover from a difficult first half against the defending champions.
PSG took the lead through Désiré Doué in the 13th minute before Ousmane Dembélé doubled their advantage two minutes later. Vitinha added a third in the 32nd minute to give the visitors a commanding lead at half-time.
Haaland pulled one back for City in the 53rd minute, but PSG restored their three-goal cushion through Maghnes Akliouche in the 62nd minute.
The Norwegian struck again in the 75th minute, but City could not complete the comeback as PSG secured a 4–2 victory.
Haaland had previously become the fastest player to score 50 Champions League goals, reaching the mark in 49 appearances and beating the previous benchmark of 62 matches associated with Ruud van Nistelrooy.
His brace against PSG also took his Champions League tally for Manchester City to 38 goals, making him the club’s leading scorer in the competition, ahead of former striker Sergio Agüero, who scored 36.
Although City suffered defeat, Haaland’s latest milestones further strengthened his position among the competition’s most prolific goalscorers.
