Erling Haaland became the fastest player to reach 50 goals in the UEFA Champions League and Manchester City kicked off their 2025-26 campaign with a 2-0 victory over Napoli at Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
MORE — UEFA Champions League table
Haaland reached the half-century mark in just 49 games — 13 fewer than Dutch legend Ruud van Nistelrooy — and he did so when the result was just starting to look in doubt. Manchester City had a man advantage for 70 minutes after Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off in the 21st minute for a sliding tackle that took out the big Norwegian right on the edge of the penalty area, with only the goalkeeper left to beat.
Perhaps Di Lorenzo should have left it to the goalkeeper, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, because the 6-foot-8 Serb put on a masterclass performance to keep Napoli’s slim hopes alive for much longer than he should have done. Milinkovic-Savic made six saves in the first half as Man City fired 17 shots but went into the break level at 0-0.
Six shots on target in the first half, zero goals. Two shots on target in the second half, two goals. Haaland got his in the 56th minute and it took a deft header to to lift Phil Foden’s chipped pass over the gigantic Milinkovic-Savic and still keep it under the crossbar. Jeremy Doku continued his strong start to the season (two assists in the Premier League already) by adding the second goal in the 65th minute. Doku received the ball just outside the box and darted toward goal immediately, splitting two defenders with a little “I’m going this way, nope I’m going this way” move and slotted home between the keeper’s legs.
What’s next?
- Arsenal vs Manchester City — Sunday, 11:30 am ET
- Monaco vs Manchester City — Wednesday, Oct. 1, 3 pm ET (next UCL fixture)
Manchester City vs Napoli live updates - by Andy Edwards
Manchester City vs Napoli final score: 2-0
Goalscorers: Erling Haaland (56'), Jeremy Doku (65')
GOAL! Man City 2-0 Napoli: Doku shakes everyone in dark blue to double the lead (65')
Jérémy Doku speeds through the defense to double City's lead 😤 pic.twitter.com/8kZyF3b2Cp
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 18, 2025
GOAL! Man City 1-0 Napoli: Haaland becomes the fastest to 50 Champions League goals (56')
50 UCL goals in 49 games 🤯
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 18, 2025
Erling Haaland becomes the fastest player ever to reach 50 #UCL goals! pic.twitter.com/mwk1eJi7kP
Kevin De Bruyne sacrificed for formation
Double bummer for this one, as Man city legend Kevin De Bruyne is removed in order to get another defender into the team: Mathias Olivera.
RED CARD! Di Lorenzo sent off for DOGSO as Haaland runs in behind (19')
Captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo came within a hair’s width of getting a stud on the ball, but instead he only got the the right leg (first) and left foot (second) of Haaland. Napoli will be down to 10 men for the final 70 minutes of this game. Talk about an uphill battle.
Man City starting lineup
Donnarumma - Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly - Rodri, Reijnders, Foden - Silva, Doku, Haaland
Napoli starting lineup
Milinkovic-Savic - Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Buongiorno, Spinazzola - Lobotka, Zambo Anguissa, De Bruyne - Politano, McTominay, Hojlund
How to watch Manchester City vs Napoli live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Thursday (September 18)
Venue: Etihad Stadium — Manchester, England
TV Channel/Streaming: Paramount+
Pep Guardiola’s new-look City got a huge win against Manchester United on Sunday to boost their confidence after a shaky start to the new season. With Erling Haaland banging in goals, Phil Foden back fit and flying, new signing Gianluigi Donnarumma looking superb in goal and a few key defenders returning from injury, all of a sudden things are looking pretty good for City. But this clash against Napoli will be a huge test of their defensive solidity.
Antonio Conte’s Napoli have had a great start to the Serie A season with three wins from three and summer signing Kevin de Bruyne has settled in extremely well. With former Manchester United duo Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund also having great starts to the season, there are plenty of familiar faces in this Napoli side. Conte will fancy the chances of his side not only pushing City all the way in this game but making a deep run in the Champions League.
Manchester City team news, focus
John Stones could return from injury for this game but plenty of others are missing with Mateo Kovacic, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Kalvin Phillips all out. City’s back four looked pretty settled in Sunday’s win against United and it will likely stay the same for this game. In midfield the trio of Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders worked really well, while Jeremy Doku and Foden were superb in feeding Haaland early and often. Plus the x-factor for City is the arrival of Italian international goalkeeper Donnarumma who made some superb saves against United and has brought calmness to City’s defense with his huge presence.
Napoli team news, focus
All eyes will be on De Bruyne on his return to Manchester so soon after leaving. KDB made it clear that he wasn’t exactly planning on leaving City, but he left as a free agent after a glittering 10 seasons at City. He has found what looks like the perfect landing spot at Napoli too. With Romelu Lukaku still out for a few more months, at least, Napoli made a move to sign Hojlund on loan and so far it appears to be a great signing for both them and the Danish striker as he’s already scoring and looking more confident. McTominay’s rise as a Napoli hero continues as he’s started this season where he left off last and he will relish being back in Manchester. Napoli’s defense is also pretty mean and Conte looks set to build on their Serie A title success last season with more trophies.
Manchester City vs Napoli prediction
This feels like it has a draw written all over it as De Bruyne will play a big part in scoring or assisting for Napoli. This will be a lot of fun. Manchester City 2-2 Napoli.
