• Erling Haaland scored two goals to lead the comeback for Manchester City.
• Haaland’s goal was his fifth in the Champions League this season.
• he became the fastest player to reach 40 goals.

A stunning comeback by Erling Haaland helped Manchester City defeat RP Leipzig 3-2 on Tuesday in their UEFA Champions League (UCL) group-stage match at Etihad Stadium in England. The striker had trailed by two goals in the first half of the match.

In the 54th minute, Haaland scored to start a comeback, which was eventually capped off by Julian Alvarez’s goal in the 87th minute, which kept Man City atop Group F.

With his fifth UCL goal of the year, Haaland became the fastest player to reach 40 goals overall in just 35 games. He surpassed the record held by the late Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who scored 45 goals in a game.

What an achievement, @ErlingHaaland! 👏 pic.twitter.com/8n4GBx9Lse

— Manchester City (@ManCity) November 28, 2023

Aiming for his second European championship with Man City, Guardiola could find no words to express how happy the squad is to have the Norwegian striker.

“Again? I have to tell you again?” Guardiola laughed when asked for comment. “A thousand million times, I’m really impressed. They won today. Another record. Congratulations. He’s a fantastic player. I tell you many times, we’re really, really pleased.

“We love him, not just for the goals he scores, but for many many other things.”

Haaland earlier became the fastest player in Premier League history to reach 50 goals when he scored the game’s lone goal against Liverpool.

He broke Manchester United striker Andy Cole’s long-standing record of 65 appearances by accomplishing this milestone in just 48.

Now twenty-three, Haaland is the oldest of a group of elite strikers that includes Mohammed Salah (72), Alan Shearer (66), Fernando Torres (68), and Ruud van Nistelrooy (68).

Haaland also broke the record for most goals in a 38-game season during the previous campaign (2022–2023), finishing the league run with an astounding 36 goals. His 12 Champions League goals in just 11 games during Manchester City’s Treble-winning season were a major factor in his success.