Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said praising new striker Erling Haaland after each game has become part of his routine following the Norwegian’s double in their 4-0 Champions League win at Sevilla on Tuesday.
Haaland has scored 12 goals in eight games in all competitions for the Premier League champions since joining them from Borussia Dortmund during the close season.
At 22 years and 47 days, Haaland is the youngest player to score 25 goals in the Champions League, breaking Kylian Mbappe’s previous record. The Norwegian is also the fastest to reach the landmark, achieving it in 20 matches.
“I love this routine, but it’s been a routine in every single press conference after the game, asking me about him and his goals. Hopefully he can continue this routine, but the numbers speak for themselves,” Guardiola told reporters.
“It’s not just two goals, he’s always just there and always with the feeling that he would score more goals.”
Real win at Celtic but suffer Benzema blow
Real Madrid claimed a 3-0 victory over Celtic in their Champions League Group F opener on Tuesday but it came at a cost as they lost forward Karim Benzema to a knee injury in the first half.
Vinicius Jr, Luka Modric and Eden Hazard were all on target in the second half for holders Real at a sold-out Celtic Park although they rode their luck at times as the Scottish side spurned a number of opportunities.
The hosts enjoyed an impressive start, creating several chances in front of their home fans but they were unable to find that killer instinct in front of goal and were punished by the 14 times champions.
Mbappe shines as PSG claim first win against Juventus
Kylian Mbappe played chief tormentor as Paris St Germain started their Champions League campaign by beating Juventus 2-1 at home on Tuesday, their first victory against the Italian side.
Mbappe opened the scoring with a stunning goal and added a second in the opening half before substitute Weston McKennie reduced the arrears after the break as the French champions’ level went down a notch.
Juve had chances to equalise but keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made several good saves to make up for a blunder for the visitors’ goal, ensuring PSG beat the Italian side for the first time in nine meetings, having lost the last six.
Christophe Galtier’s team are level on three points in Group H with Benfica, who beat Maccabi Haifa 2-0.
Results and fixtures for the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday (start times are CET)
Group Stage
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Dinamo Zagreb (1) 1 Chelsea (0) 0
Borussia Dortmund (2) 3 København (0) 0
Salzburg (1) 1 Milan (1) 1
PSG (2) 2 Juventus (0) 1
Benfica (0) 2 Maccabi Haifa (0) 0
Celtic (0) 0 Real Madrid (0) 3
RB Leipzig (0) 1 Shakhtar Donetsk (1) 4
Sevilla (0) 0 Manchester City (1) 4
Wednesday, September 7 fixtures (CET/GMT)
Ajax v Rangers (1845/1645)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Sporting CP (1845/1645)
Napoli v Liverpool (2100/1900)
Barcelona v Viktoria Plzeň (2100/1900)
Internazionale v Bayern München (2100/1900)
Atlético Madrid v Porto (2100/1900)
Club Brugge v Bayer Leverkusen (2100/1900)
Tottenham Hotspur v Olympique Marseille (2100/1900)