With every passing game, the level of pressure and expectation on Erling Haaland in a Manchester City shirt grows. The Norwegian striker has taken to life in England incredibly well.
There may have been various discussions around whether his style of play aids or hinders City’s way of playing, but there is no getting away from the ridiculous number of goals he has scored.
The Norwegian’s next huge task is to net against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi finals. The two sides met at the same stage last season when a dramatic late turnaround helped Los Blancos reach the final, where they became European champions by beating Liverpool.
Here is Haaland’s record so far against Los Blancos.
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Even though it feels like Haaland has been around the Champions League scene for many years now with RB Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and now City, he is yet to face Real Madrid in a competitive game.
The only time that Haaland has actually played against Real Madrid came during a pre-season friendly in August 2019. He was a young striker for Salzburg at the time and the overwhelming majority of football fans will not have known who he was.
He only played half of the game and apart from almost getting on the end of a low cross, he had no involvement of note. It was actually Eden Hazard who really impressed that day, scoring the only goal of the game.
|
Club played for |
Matches |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goals scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Red Bull Salzburg |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
It is no secret Haaland loves the Champions League. Soon after his first goals in the tournament while playing for Salzburg, videos surfaced of him listening to the Champions League anthem while driving his car.
With Salzburg, Dortmund and City, Haaland has scored 35 Champions League goals before the first leg against Real. He is the top scorer in the 2022/23 campaign with 12 so far and it will be a big surprise if he does not end it with the Golden Boot.
The 2019/20 season was his first in the Champions League and he scored eight times in that year. His next best was ten with Dortmund in 2020/21, which he has since topped with City.
Erling Haaland’s favourite Champions League opponents
|
Opponent |
Played |
Goals scored |
|---|---|---|
|
Sevilla |
3 |
6 |
|
RB Leipzig |
2 |
5 |
|
Genk |
2 |
4 |
|
Club Brugge |
2 |
4 |
|
Besiktas |
2 |
3 |
|
Napoli |
2 |
3 |
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