Only 117 goals until Erling Haaland breaks Cristiano Ronaldo’s Champions League record – The Warm-Up

WEDNESDAY’S BIG STORIES

Haaland is good

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, Raul, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Thomas Muller, Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi – he’s coming for you.

What’s that, you’re really going to waste time talking about how good Erling Haaland is, and shamelessly rope us in with a headline featuring Ronaldo’s name too? Puh! (That’s a scoffing type of noise). Rent free much?

Well, yeah, cos Haaland is only 22 and has a Champions League goalscoring ratio that could eventually and absolutely obliterate a record held by one of the greatest of all time.

That tally, after just 20 games, is a record, and it has taken him half of the amount of matches it took Messi, Mbappe, Benzema and Lewandowski…serious names, and he’s left them in his wake.

Where will it stop? Who apart from plucky Bournemouth can stop him? And, given how Haaland is being so devastatingly brilliant right now, just where could we be placing this guy’s name in future conversations?

Hold your horses, like, but as cheesy as it sounds, greatness is playing out in front of us, and so long as he stays injury-free then who knows where this campaign could rank, especially when you have Kevin De Bruyne & Co. serving you.

“I know one way or another, Erling is going to be there,” said De Bruyne. “For the moment, he is scoring the goals so it helps us win the games. I think the way he’s adapted to us is really good but I think outside the goalscoring there’s still another part in the game and I think that part is more tough to adapt to. It makes it more exciting! If he can adjust to the way we play, then the levels will go up.”

Oh dear, Chelsea

Something has to change, and something has to change quick at Chelsea.

Even their recent victories have been far from plain sailing, the draw with Spurs arguably their best performance of the season so far, and nights like last night expose their shortcomings on a European stage – not something the new owners would have expected after such a summer outlay.

“Too much to analyse,” added Tuchel. “I’m a part of it. We are clearly not there, where we need to be and where we can be. So it’s on me, it’s on us, we need to find solutions.”

Best of luck, Thomas.

Real gonna Real

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou admirably shot down suggestions his side would change their approach with the European champions in town, and also urged his supporters to stay buzzed about the prospect of taking the game to Real Madrid, and, well, for 55 minutes it was 0-0 – at least?

The only scare will be Benzema pointing to his knee when coming off injured. Here’s hoping it’s nothing too serious.

IN OTHER NEWS

Ten-gland? Nah that’s awful

You can only beat what’s in front of you, they say, and so European champions England got down to business and then some last night.

Deep breath one and all, if you are for some reason reading this aloud, as it was goals from Beth Mead, Ella Toone, Georgia Stanway, Bethany England, Rachel Daly, Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo and Nikita Parris that helped the Lionesses beat Luxembourg.

We didn’t even mention that Stanway and England (the player) both scored doubles, so yeah: 10-0.

All in all a great homecoming, with the now retired Jill Scott parading the Euro 2022 trophy and Sarina Wiegman receiving her UEFA coach of the year award, but lessons to be learned from the match, very few. Roll on next year’s World Cup.

IN THE CHANNELS

Lovely to see. Sebastien Haller cheering on his Borussia Dortmund team-mates last night, all smiles in the stands having started chemotherapy in July.

RETRO CORNER

Happy 54th birthday Marcel Desailly! Sure he’ll have a right laugh.

COMING UP

More Champions League! Another eight group games, and we’ll be blogging the ones in bold this evening right here on eurosport.co.uk:

• Ajax v Rangers (5.45pm)
• Eintracht Frankfurt v Sporting (5.45pm)
• Inter v Bayern Munich (8pm)
• Barcelona v Viktoria Plzen (8pm)
• Napoli v Liverpool (8pm)
• Atletico Madrid v Porto (8pm)
• Tottenham v Marseille (8pm)
• Club Brugge v Leverkusen (8pm)

Do join us. For that, and La Vuelta a Espana throughout the day too!