Haaland Becomes Youngest Player in Champions League History With 20 Goals

There’s been no stopping Erling Haaland in Champions League this season, and Sevilla is finding out the hard way. 

Haaland scored two goals in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 win over Sevilla in the first leg last month and added another two in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw in the second leg that send BVB through to the quarterfinals on a 5-4 aggregate. The goals made the 20-year-old Norwegian the youngest player in Champions League history to reach 20 goals—and he’s done so in just 14 appearances. 

Just like in the first leg where Sevilla held 66% of possession, the Spanish side continued to dominate time on the ball while letting Haaland light up the scoreboard. Despite missing two group stage matches, Haaland leads the Champions League this season with 10 goals from six matches.

Dortmund didn’t seem to miss the injured Jadon Sancho on Tuesday as Thorgan Hazard and captain Marco Reus combined to set up the opening goal. In the 36th minute, Reus cut back a pass that found Haaland in stride as the 20-year-old phenom made a delayed run at the near post and coolly finished with his left. 

The second goal came amid plenty of confusion that saw a Haaland goal rescinded by VAR for a foul, only for the referee to retroactively award a penalty for a foul committed by Jules Koundé on Haaland. The forward saw his first penalty saved, but the referee ruled that Sevilla goalkeeper Bono came off his line early. On the retake, Haaland sent an almost identical shot that barely evaded the keeper for his second goal of the night. 

With the goals, Haaland surpassed PSG forward Kylian Mbappé for most Champions League goals before turning 21 with 20 — an encouraging sign for the future of a sport that has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. For what it’s worth, it took Messi 40 games to hit 20 Champions League goals and Ronaldo 56.

Even more impressive is the fact that Haaland has recorded 31 goals in 29 appearances across all competitions for Dortmund this season.