Haaland Champions League start outstrips Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi

The Red Bull Salzburg striker has made a sensational start to his Champions League career, scoring six times in his first three appearances.

Champions League: Haaland start outstrips Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi

Erling Braut Haaland has taken the Champions League by storm, scoring so prolifically for Red Bull Salzburg that he already has one European record in the bag.

Haaland the fastest to six Champions League goals

Haaland's brace against Napoli on Wednesday means he has six goals from his first three Champions League appearances - the fastest that anyone has reached such a tally. The 19-year-old is also the second youngest player to have netted in each of his opening three games in the competition, behind only Karim Benzema.

Messi, Cristiano took far longer to get to six goals

What's more, a look at Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's initial Champions League figures only serves to underline the Norwegian's achievement. The tournament's two highest scorers with 127 and 113, respectively, Cristiano and Messi both took much longer to get going in front of goal.

After making his Champions League debut against Shakhtar Donetsk in 2004, Messi had to wait until the following year to open his account, scoring against Panathinaikos in his fifth appearance in the competition. It wasn't until his 17th game that the Argentine reached six goals.

Having made his Champions League bow in 2003, meanwhile, Cristiano took nearly twice as long as that: after netting for the first time in his fourth appearance, the Portuguese did not get to six goals until his 32nd tournament match, in 2007/08.