Erling Haaland’s remarkable achievement of scoring 50 Champions League goals in just 49 matches was the highlight as Manchester City began their 2025-26 campaign with a 2-0 win over Napoli.
Haaland’s header in the 56th minute broke through Napoli’s defence, which had been reduced to ten men after Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s first-half red card.
Napoli faced a setback when Di Lorenzo was sent off for fouling Haaland, who was the last defender. Initially, referee Felix Zwayer dismissed City’s appeals but changed his decision after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor. This forced Antonio Conte to adjust his strategy, substituting Kevin De Bruyne with Mathias Olivera after just 26 minutes.
Haaland’s milestone goal came from a looping header following Phil Foden’s clever pass. This achievement made him the fastest player to reach 50 goals in Champions League history, surpassing Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of 62 appearances. Haaland has now scored 130 goals for City in 151 games, with 74 at the Etihad Stadium.
Despite being down to ten men, Napoli held firm until halftime. Their goalkeeper, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, made impressive saves against Nico O’Reilly and Josko Gvardiol. Matteo Politano also cleared Tijjani Reijnders’ effort off the line, keeping City at bay until Haaland’s breakthrough.
The dismissal of Di Lorenzo gave City an edge, making him only the third Napoli player ever sent off in the Champions League. City capitalised on this advantage with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.18 from their 23 shots, while Napoli managed just one attempt with an xG of 0.17.
Jeremy Doku secured City’s victory by scoring after dribbling past three defenders and finding the bottom-right corner of the net. City’s next European fixture is against Monaco on October 1, but they are focused on their upcoming Premier League match against Arsenal.
Guardiola’s Tactical Success
Pep Guardiola emphasised the importance of securing three points at the start of this league phase after last season’s struggles under a new format. Haaland played a crucial role in achieving this goal by contributing significantly to City’s victory and setting new records along the way.
This win sets a positive tone for Manchester City’s Champions League journey this season as they aim to build on their successful start and continue their quest for European glory.