ERLING Braut Haaland could break a Champions League goalscoring feat set by Ruud van Nistelrooy when Manchester City take on Inter Milan in Saturday’s final in Istanbul.
Records have tumbled at the feet of the 22-year-old during the 2022-23 season, where he has scored an astonishing 52 goals in as many games across all tournaments.
Haaland set a new single-season Premier League scoring record with 36 goals from 35 appearances, storming to the Golden Boot as Man City retained their title.
The Norway international’s remarkable numbers also include 12 goals from 10 Champions League affairs, scoring five times in the Citizens’ first three group games against Copenhagen, Sevilla and former club Borussia Dortmund.
Haaland then elevated his game to new heights with a quintet of goals in a 7-0 last-16 second leg thrashing of RB Leipzig, before netting in both legs of his side’s quarter-final triumph over Bayern Munich.
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The Scandinavian did not make the net ripple during his side’s 5-1 aggregate semi-final win over Real Madrid, but he has never gone three Champions League games without scoring before, and a new slice of European history will be written if he can continue that streak.
Should Haaland score for the 13th time in Europe this season, he will break the record for the most Champions League goals in a single campaign by a player for an English club.
The ex-Dortmund marksman currently sits level with Dutch legend Van Nistelrooy, who also bagged 12 Champions League goals for Manchester United during the 2002-03 season.
Furthermore, a goal for Haaland on Saturday would make him the first Norwegian to score in a Champions League final for 24 years since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s iconic winner for Man United against Bayern Munich in 1999.