Man City 2-0 Napoli: Erling Haaland breaks Champions League record as Premier League side cruise to win | OneFootball

A familiar face returned to the north-west on Thursday

Erling Haaland became the fastest player to score 50 Champions League goals during Man City’s comfortable 2-0 win over 10-man Napoli at the Etihad Stadium.

It was the Norwegian’s header that broke the deadlock as the hosts began to get frustration, as he converted Phil Foden’s creative and delicate clip over the visiting defence, nodding into the corner on 56 minutes.

Ten minutes later, Jeremy Doku doubled the lead later in the second half with a superb dart into the box, before finishing with aplomb past Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

City’s task had been made a bit easier by the dismissal of Giovanni di Lorenzo in the first half after he was adjudged to have denied Haaland a clear goalscoring opportunity, and a tactical reshuffle from Antonio Conte curtailed Kevin De Bruyne’s fairytale return to his former club after his departure on a free transfer in the summer.

The Belgian was given a hero’s welcome as he warmed up and as he left the field by all sides of the stadium that he used to call home.

City had chance after chance before they finally managed to take the lead, with Tijjani Reijnders stinging the palms of Milinkovic-Savic, while Rodri also forced the Serbian into a top save with a lasered effort from the edge of the box.

Josko Gvardiol went narrowly close with a curler on the stroke of half time, and Reijnders’ improvised backwards header landed the wrong side of the netting as it looped over the top.

It was Haaland and Doku who popped up to provide the two elusive strikes, and Guardiola is off to winning ways in Europe this term.

There is a sterner test, however, for City this weekend, when they take on familiar foes Arsenal in a huge title clash at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.