Erling Haaland chasing Cristiano Ronaldo’s UCL top scorer record
Erling Haaland suffered a twisted ankle during Saturday’s crushing of Bournemouth, so there was some doubt about taking a chance on him against Young Boys before a challenging stretch that begins with a Premier League trip to Chelsea on Sunday.
Haaland, though, is considering a far wider picture when he puts pressure on Pep Guardiola to allow him play. He finished second to Lionel Messi at this year’s Ballon d’Or awards.
Having been the top scorer in the Champions League for two of the previous three seasons, he is well aware of what is needed to win that trophy. Against one of the competition’s weaker teams, he didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to increase his total.
Haaland wasted little time in adding two more goals to his tally of 39 Champions League goals in 34 games. He can already aim for Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 140, even at the young age of 23.
At his present rate, the Norway striker needs 102 goals to overtake Ronaldo, which would need 89 more games. Though Haaland still has a ways to go, he is on his way.
