Right on the night of announcing the nomination list for the 2026 European Golden Ball, two bright candidates, Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) and Erling Haaland (Man City), both scored, both opening goals in the matches against Inter Milan and FC Porto.
The goal against Inter early this morning was Kylian Mbappe's 71st goal in the UEFA Champions League. This achievement of the French striker helps him equal another legend of Los Blancos, Raul Gonzalez. Ranked above Mbappe and Raul are Karim Benzema (90 goals), Robert Lewandowski (109), Lionel Messi (129) and Cristiano Ronaldo (141) respectively. Thus, Mbappe is still 70 goals away from CR7's record. If he continues to maintain his current form for about 4-5 more Champions League seasons, this record could be broken.
Before the match took place, Mbappe was awarded the title of top scorer in the Champions League last season by legend Luis Figo. Real Madrid may have spent 2 consecutive seasons empty-handed, but Mbappe personally, he still proves himself to be one of the top strikers in the world.
The only person currently in European football to be able to race in goals with Mbappe is Haaland. The Norwegian super striker's double is his 58th and 59th goals after exactly 59 matches in the Champions League, a performance that is too admirable. Last week in the Premier League, Haaland reached the milestone of 300 goals in his club-level career.
The 2nd goal against Porto was Haaland's 36th goal in the Champions League for Man City, equaling Sergio Aguero's record for The Citizens. Haaland is also the player who reached the milestones of 30, 40 and 50 goals fastest in Champions League history. There is no doubt that the 26-year-old striker is the best scorer in the history of the Manchester team and he promises not to stop.
After Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland both scored on their opening day in the Champions League, on the last day of this week, it will be Harry Kane's (Bayern Munich) turn to play. The English striker is still a very big opponent in every scoring race and promises to create an exciting three-horse race.
The first match day of round 1 of the Champions League 2026-27 qualifying round has closed with 6 matches and 21 goals, averaging more than 3 goals/match. There were 3 matches witnessing 5 goals: Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa, Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal and Lille 2-3 Real Betis. Two players scored a double: Erling Haaland (Man City) and Serhou Guirassy (Dortmund).
Tonight and early tomorrow morning, the Champions League will return with 6 matches, including the opening matches of championship candidates such as Barcelona, Arsenal, Liverpool, Atletico Madrid or PSG. Round 1 of the UEFA Champions League qualifying round will take place in 3 days of competition, from the next week, the last day will begin to be given to the Europa League and Conference League.
