Dortmund wonderkid Erling Haaland stole the show in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday, even on a night the competition’s all-time leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo and his Juventus side we’re dealt a knockout blow in a concurrent game in Turin.
Before Tuesday, there had already been hints of how the 20-year-old Norwegian striker is fast displacing the Portuguese talisman as the ultimate clutch god on Champions League nights, but Haaland’s performance on that night confirmed he is the new king in town.
In scoring a brace in Dortmund’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla – which was enough to see the German side through on a 5-4 aggregate, Haaland set the record of becoming not only the youngest but also the fastest (in terms of number of games) ever to reach 20 Champions League goals.
It took the youngster only 14 games to reach the mark – a ridiculously low figure when compared to how long it took some legends of the game. For example, it took Ronaldo 56 games, Messi 40, and Ibrahimovic 71 games for them to reach same 20 goals in the competition.
In the article, NetBet highlights the top 10 players, including Haaland, who like the Norwegian hitman enjoyed a remarkable start to their Champions League career, and how many games it took them to reach the 20-goal mark.
- Marco Simone – 35 games
Simone made his Champions League debut while at AC Milan and he contributed well to their dominant run in the competition back in the 1990s – an era in which they won the defunct European Cup (1990) and Champions League (1994).
It was in 2000, while at Monaco, that he reached 20 UCL goals on his 35th appearance.
- Karim Benzema – 34 games
Benzema made his Champions League debut in 2005 while at Lyon and it took him six years and a transfer to Real Madrid before he reached the 20 mark. Nonetheless, he’s one of the youngest ever to reach the feat – aged 23 years and 282 days as at that time. He’s won the title four times with the Los Blancos.
- Jardel – 33 games
The Brazilian forward reached 20 goals while at Porto in the 1999/00 season in which he remarkably notched 10 goals and shared the top scorer award with compatriot Rivaldo and Real Madrid’s Raul.
- Rivaldo – 33 games.
After his remarkable individual success in the competition in 1999/00, Rivaldo got his 20th Champions League goal only the following season. He won the title only once – with AC Milan in 2002/03.
- Mario Gomez – 32 games
The German striker reached the mark in 2011/12 – a season he bagged 12 goals in 12 appearances in the competition to help the Bavarians to the final where they were handed a penalty shootout defeat by Chelsea. Meanwhile, he got his first and only UCL title the following season while yet at Bayern.
- Filippo Inzaghi – 28 games
The AC Milan and Juventus hitman is the 11th all-time leading scorer in the competition with 46 goals and close to half of his tally was scored in his first 28 games.
- Ruud van Nistelrooy – 27 games
The Dutch marksman reached 20 UCL goals while at Man United in 2002, roughly three years and exactly 27 games after making his bow at PSV.
- Alessandro Del Piero – 26 games
It also took the Juventus legendary striker three seasons to hit 20 goals in the competition. Incidentally, he won his only UCL title in his very first campaign with Juventus.
- Harry Kane – 24 games
The Englishman has exactly 20 goals in 24 appearances in the Champions League. His last appearance and goal came in November 2019.
- Erling Haaland – 14 games
The Norwegian forward has undoubtedly set the bar a lot higher. He made his debut in 2019 with Salzburg and just over a-year-and-half later he’s already bagged 20 goals. Also worthy of note, his age at the time of setting the record (20 years, and 231 days) is the youngest a player that hit the mark has ever been.
The future is definitely promising for Haaland. Who knows what record he will be shattering next? But you can be ahead of the curve and bet on Champions League games involving the youngster or any other of your favourite superstars on NetBet Nigeria. We offer considerably huge odds for European games and you shouldn’t miss out.
