Manchester City 2-0 Napoli: Haaland reaches 50 Champions League goals

Erling Haaland reached a half-century of Champions League goals as Manchester City got their 2025-26 campaign off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Napoli.

Haaland’s header in the 56th minute helped Pep Guardiola’s side finally breach Napoli’s defensive rearguard, after their captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off in the first half.

The City number nine reached 50 goals in the Champions League in just 49 matches, the quickest any player has achieved that feat in the competition’s illustrious history.

Haaland also played a key role in the incident that led to Napoli being reduced to 10 men, with Di Lorenzo given his marching orders for chopping the Norwegian down as the last defender in the 21st minute.

Referee Felix Zwayer initially waved away City’s protests, but he overturned his decision after being sent to the pitchside monitor, with Antonio Conte forced to reshuffle his pack.

The unfortunate man to be sacrificed was the returning Kevin De Bruyne, whose reunion with City lasted just 26 minutes before being replaced by Mathias Olivera.

Napoli held firm until the break, with visiting goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic making two stunning stops in quick succession to deny Nico O’Reilly and Josko Gvardiol, before Matteo Politano cleared Tijjani Reijnders’ effort off the line.

However, Haaland struck his milestone goal 11 minutes after the restart, looping a header over Milinkovic-Savic following Phil Foden’s brilliant scooped pass over the top.

50 – Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has scored his 50th goal on his 49th appearance in the UEFA Champions League, reaching half a century of goals in at least 13 appearances fewer than any other player (Ruud van Nistelrooy closest – 62 apps). Unstoppable. pic.twitter.com/zYrZGvGnkc

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 18, 2025

Jeremy Doku then made the result safe after the hour, brilliantly beating three defenders inside the box before picking out the bottom-right corner.

City are next in action in Europe on October 1 away to Monaco, though their eyes will be firmly fixed on their highly-anticipated Premier League clash with Arsenal on Sunday.

Data Debrief: Hero Haaland answers Guardiola’s wish

Ahead of kick-off, Guardiola outlined the importance of taking three points to start the league phase, after his team struggled under the new format last season.

It was no surprise that Haaland had his say on proceedings.

Having struck his 50th Champions League goal in his 49th game, he reached that landmark in 13 appearances fewer than any other player in the competition’s history, a record previously held by former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy (62 appearances).

He has now scored 130 goals for City in 151 appearances across all competitions, with 74 of those goals coming in 71 games at the Etihad Stadium, and you have a feeling that number will continue to rise.

City, though, were helped by Di Lorenzo’s dismissal, as he became only the third Napoli player to be sent off in the Champions League. Guardiola’s side took full advantage, though, ending the game with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.18 from their 23 shots, compared to their opponents’ 0.17 from their sole attempt.