Ole: Haaland will top my 20 Champions League goals

Tuesday 01 December 2020 15:39

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a permanent place in Champions League history, as the man who netted arguably its most dramatic winning goal, for Manchester United in the 1999 final.

But the Reds' manager recognises that his status as the competition's top-scoring Norwegian is now under serious threat, as a young man who played under him at Molde edges ever closer to his all-time tally of 20.

Erling Haaland, who currently plays for Borussia Dortmund, has netted 16 Champions League goals in his burgeoning career so far - the same number scored by legends such as Bayern Munich forward Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, former United midfielder David Beckham and Real Madrid's attacking full-back Roberto Carlos.

Video
Watch all of Solskjaer's 20 Champions League goals for United.

The 20-year-old forward has reached that tally in just 12 games, so it made sense when Solskjaer conceded his record will soon be surpassed.

"He'll beat it and very quickly, that's for sure," said Ole, when asked about Haaland in his press conference to preview United's game against Paris Saint-Germain.

"The boy has had a great start to his career. It was really good to work with him, to see the potential in him and some part of me feels proud of having a little bit of input into such a rise.

"I'm sure Erling will score loads of goals in the Champions League."


Haaland has helped Dortmund to lead the way in Group F of this season's competition and, like United, they will qualify for the round of 16 this Wednesday evening if they avoid defeat in a home game against their nearest challengers - Lazio, in the German club's case.

Meanwhile, the Reds take on PSG, for whom our striker Edinson Cavani netted 30 of his 35 Champions League goals so far, with the other five coming in Napoli's colours. That combined total places him 19th in the competition's all-time scoring chart, one goal and two ranks behind Neymar, who still plays for the French side of course.

Another current PSG forward, Kylian Mbappe, has scored 19 times in Europe's elite club tournament, in 38 appearances.

Recommended: