Erling Haaland wrote his name into the history books on Thursday night, scoring his 50th UEFA Champions League (UCL) goal in just his 49th appearance, as Manchester City secured a 2-0 victory over a ten-man SSC Napoli at the Etihad Stadium. The win leaves the Italian club still seeking their first victory on English soil in 13 attempts across all competitions.
The match took a decisive turn in the 17th minute when Napoli’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo was shown a red card after a VAR review of his challenge on Haaland. The dismissal forced a tactical reshuffle for the visitors, who had to abandon their initial plans and focus on a more defensive setup. The change also meant an early end to Kevin De Bruyne’s much-anticipated return to the Etihad, as the former City star was substituted by manager Antonio Conte.
Despite playing with a numerical advantage, City found it difficult to break down Napoli’s resolute defense, which was anchored by the impressive goalkeeping of Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. The Serbian goalkeeper produced a series of fantastic saves to keep the score level at halftime, frustrating the home side.
The breakthrough finally arrived 11 minutes into the second half. A perfectly weighted pass from Phil Foden found Haaland, who expertly lobbed the ball over the onrushing Milinkovic-Savic to score the record-breaking goal. His strike made him the fastest player ever to reach the 50-goal milestone in the Champions League, surpassing the previous record of 62 games held by Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Manchester City sealed the victory ten minutes later when Jeremy Doku wove his way through the Napoli defense and calmly slotted home his first goal of the season. The win marks Manchester City’s second Champions League victory in their last eight outings and their first back-to-back wins of the 2025/26 season.
For Napoli, the defeat means they have now lost their 100% winning record in the Champions League and face a difficult road ahead in the competition.
