Manchester City host Paris Saint-Germain in the league phase on Wednesday, with kick-off at 8pm local time at the Etihad. For Haaland the night is already loaded with history before a ball is kicked.
He has made 59 Champions League appearances and scored 59 Champions League goals, a per-game ratio no striker in the competition’s history has carried this far. Walking out against PSG makes him a 60-appearance Champions League player, and settles one of the modern game’s quietest benchmarks.
The Van Nistelrooy mark no one chased down
Ruud van Nistelrooy held the record for the most goals through a player’s first 60 Champions League games: 48, scored across spells at Manchester United and Real Madrid. For most of the two decades since, nobody got near it.
Haaland went past 48 goals long before his 60th game. He reached 50 Champions League goals in 49 appearances when he headed City in front against Napoli at the Etihad on 18 September 2025, 13 games quicker than Van Nistelrooy had needed.
Read also: Michael Owen raises major Liverpool concern after Man City humiliation: “It is a problem”
Lionel Messi got to 50 Champions League goals in 66 games, Robert Lewandowski in 77 and Kylian Mbappé in 79. The 60-appearance mark is where the specific record is formally handed over.
Agüero also in the crosshairs
A second record is close to tilting. Sergio Agüero is Manchester City’s all-time top Champions League scorer with 36, a mark Haaland has already matched. One goal against PSG moves the Norwegian clear and makes him City’s outright record scorer in the competition.
He has scored 37 of his 59 Champions League goals at home venues.
PSG have beaten him twice already
Haaland’s record against PSG reads three goals in three games, but two of those meetings have ended in defeat. He scored twice for Borussia Dortmund in a 2-1 first-leg win in the 2019/20 round of 16, before PSG progressed 3-2 on aggregate.
Read also: Chelsea told what it will take to land Barcelona star in January
The most recent meeting came in January 2025, when Jack Grealish and Haaland put City 2-0 up at the Parc des Princes before PSG scored four in a row through Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, João Neves and Gonçalo Ramos to win 4-2 on 22 January 2025. Haaland’s goal came in the 53rd minute.
Luis Enrique’s PSG arrive in Manchester as back-to-back Champions League winners.
First European night since the 114-charge verdict
Wednesday is also City’s first Champions League match since the Premier League’s independent commission ruling on the club’s financial case. On 29 September 2026, the Premier League confirmed City had been found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges brought in February 2023, covering the period from 2009 to 2018. Sanctions have not yet been determined and the club has said it will appeal.
Enzo Maresca, who replaced Pep Guardiola at the Etihad in June 2026, publicly backed the club after the verdict.
Read also: Spain’s federation moves to protect its referees as Real Madrid turn up the heat before Clasico
“There is no other team in the world where I would rather be,” he told beIN Sports, adding that he had “100%” trust in his employer.
Haaland scored twice in City’s 2-0 Champions League win at Porto on matchday 1 and opened the scoring in a 3-0 away win at Liverpool on 11 October. He was substituted off for Norway during the international break but trained with the squad on return.
The teams meet at the Etihad at 8pm on Wednesday.
Read also: Man City dealt €100m transfer blow as Bayern Munich star makes feelings crystal clear
