Erling Haaland can join Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in becoming one of the most prolific scorers in the Champions League.
Haaland took his total to 33 goals from just 25 Champions League games after scoring five times in Manchester City's 7-0 demolition of RB Leipzig. Norway striker Haaland became City’s all-time leading scorer for a single season, reaching 39 goals to break the record held by Tommy Johnson, which had stood for 94 years.
Haaland’s City team-mate John Stones reckons the forward can go on to produce similar numbers to Ronaldo and Messi, who are out in front on their own with 140 and 129 goals respectively in Europe’s elite club competition.
With Haaland still only 22, Stones is convinced he can emulate Ronaldo and Messi - and potentially even surpass two of the game’s most iconic players in terms of their formidable goal output.
"How do I go about this without putting pressure on Erling?" said Stones, when asked about Haaland emulating Ronaldo and Messi. "He'd probably thrive off it. I believe he really could do what he wants, just from his hunger, his attitude and his professionalism and I'd love to see him do it, definitely.
"I think he wants to just win. I think if you have that mentality, then the personal accolades just come naturally without chasing them. That could be totally wrong, but I think Erling is a huge team player and with that kind of mindset, he's going that way to break more records."
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Stones said Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne - who returned to his best form on Tuesday, producing a stunning strike for City's seventh goal - are at the club to win the biggest prize of all.
"I think that's definitely why they're here and that's why they're playing at arguably the best club in the world, for the best team in the world - and they do it on the biggest stages," said Stones.
"As soon as Kevin went in on his right foot, I knew he was going to put it towards that top corner. That's Kevin's quality, his power, and then Erling in the right spot at the right time - an 'absolute ball magnet' I think Jack [Grealish] was calling him in the dressing-room after. I get to see it first-hand on the pitch and big players turn up on big occasions."
Haaland dominated the headlines after his display against Leipzig. "It’s a big night," he told BT Sport at full-time. "First of all, to play [in the] Champions League - I love this competition as everybody knows. Five goals, to win 7-0 at home, I’m so happy."
Haaland added, "My super strength? I think after scoring five goals, I have to say scoring goals. A lot of the goals today I wasn’t thinking, I was just trying to get the ball into the back of the net. The penalty, same with the second goal, same with the third goal, same with every goal. I didn’t think with every single goal.
"A lot of it is being quick in the mind and trying to do the right thing - trying to put it where the 'keeper is not. A little bit is quality, but a lot of it is in the head."
