Haaland Becomes Man City's Top Champions League Scorer, but PSG Win 4-2 at Etihad

Erling Haaland became Manchester City's all-time leading scorer in the Champions League, but holders Paris Saint-Germain beat City 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, October 14, in matchday 2 of the league phase. A record European home crowd of 60,021 watched PSG race into a three-goal lead before Haaland's two goals made the final score closer.

PSG were ahead 3-0 at half-time through Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé and Vitinha. City coach Enzo Maresca said afterwards that the early goals had upset the balance of his side.

The second half was a very different contest. Haaland headed in City's first goal in the 53rd minute. It was his 37th Champions League goal for the club, which took him past Sergio Agüero, who scored 36 in the tournament proper. He reached the mark in his 41st Champions League appearance for City since joining in 2022. Agüero had also scored a hat-trick in a qualifier against Steaua Bucharest, but that does not count in his tally.

The comeback hit a setback when Maghnes Akliouche made it 4-1. His strike crept in after Gianluigi Donnarumma's strong hand failed to counter the spin on the ball. City kept fighting, and Enzo Fernández and Haaland both hit the woodwork. Haaland then scored again in the 75th minute to take his City tally to 38 Champions League goals.

Haaland now has 61 goals in 60 Champions League appearances overall, including his earlier spells with Borussia Dortmund and Red Bull Salzburg. That puts him seventh on the all-time list, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé and Raúl. Last season he became the fastest player to reach 50 Champions League goals, doing so in 49 appearances. He has scored 172 goals in 207 matches for City in all competitions.

It was the first time City have conceded four goals at home in the Champions League. It was also their first defeat in eight matches.