Haaland surpasses Agüero and Messi in the same Champions League night

Erling Haaland delivered a historic night in the Champions League by surpassing two legendary marks: he became Manchester City's all-time top scorer in the competition, taking the record from Sergio Agüero, and improved Lionel Messi's scoring pace in his first matches in the tournament. It happened during his team's 2-4 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain, a bitter result that did not stop the Norwegian from extending his personal legend.

• Haaland scored twice in City's 2-4 loss to PSG.
• With 38 goals, he surpassed Sergio Agüero's 36 as the club's top scorer in the Champions League.
• He reached 61 goals in 60 Champions League games, twenty fewer matches than Messi needed to hit 60.
• The Norwegian averages one goal every 80 minutes in the competition.
• He now sits seventh on the all-time Champions League scoring list, 11 goals behind Raúl González.

Brace against PSG to surpass Agüero as a City legend

On Wednesday, with Manchester City trailing 0-3 in the 53rd minute, Haaland stepped up to make it 1-3 and score his 37th Champions League goal in a sky-blue shirt. That strike allowed him to leave behind the 36 goals Sergio Agüero had scored for the English club, a record that seemed difficult to match for years. The Kun, an absolute idol at the Etihad, held that mark for a long time, but the Scandinavian striker has now smashed it in just five seasons.

Not content with the first goal, Haaland found the net again later to add his 38th Champions League goal for City. His brace, however, was not enough to avoid the 2-4 defeat against a PSG side that punished Pep Guardiola's team severely. Even so, the match will be remembered for yet another individual milestone from the 24-year-old forward.

Haaland's relentless pace: beating Messi's precocity

Beyond the club record, the Norwegian also left behind a precocity mark that belonged to Lionel Messi. The Argentine needed 80 matches to reach 60 Champions League goals. Haaland has now hit 61 goals in just 60 games, twenty fewer than the Rosario-born star. It is further proof that his trajectory has no comparison with almost anything seen in the recent history of the tournament.

Since his Champions League debut with RB Salzburg, when he scored a hat-trick in his first 45 minutes in the competition against Genk, the striker has turned every European appearance into a constant threat. With the Austrian club he scored 8 goals in 6 matches. Later, at Borussia Dortmund, he added 15 more in 13 appearances. He landed in Manchester with 23 goals in 19 games, and since then he has scored 38 times in five seasons as a sky-blue player.

Haaland's path to the top of the Champions League scoring charts

With 61 goals, Haaland already occupies seventh place on the all-time Champions League scoring list. His next target is Raúl González Blanco, who scored 72 goals and is now eleven away for the Norwegian. If he keeps his current average, that figure could fall sooner rather than later.

Much further ahead sits Cristiano Ronaldo, the competition's all-time top scorer with 140 goals in 183 matches. The gap is wide, but the Scandinavian's pace —one goal every 80 minutes in the Champions League— suggests that, if injuries respect him, the Portuguese star could see his throne in danger in the coming years. For now, Haaland keeps building a career that points toward rewriting every record in European football.

Haaland's Champions League numbers season by season

The Norwegian's impact on Europe's top club competition is best understood by reviewing his progression. His breakthrough at Salzburg was explosive: he debuted with a hat-trick in the first half against Genk and closed his Austrian spell with more goals than games. At Dortmund he maintained the trend, and at City he has elevated it to levels only the greatest forwards in history have been able to reach.

Erling Haaland has turned every Champions League match into a real chance to break a record, and against PSG he proved it again with a brace.

Frequently asked questions about Haaland's records