Mo Salah and Sebastien Haller led the way as it rained goals in the Champions League A total of 30 goals were scored in eight matches, an average of 3.75 goals per game in the Champions League on Tuesday night with the African duo of Mohamed Salah and Sebastien Haller amongst the goals again.
Both forwards helped their respective clubs, Liverpool and Ajax, complete a perfect run in the group stages of the competition.
Pulse Sports rounds up all the key stats and records broken from the opening night of the final round of matches on matchday 6.
Cameroon’s Sebastian taller equals Cristiano Ronaldo’s record
Ronaldo is known as ‘Mr. Champions League and rightly so following his incredible records in the competition, one of which is the player to have scored the most goals in the tournament’s history.
But Tuesday night belonged to Cameroon’s Haller, who equaled one record and set two more when he opened the scoring from the spot for Ajax in the 4-2 win over Sporting Lisbon.
It was his 10th goal of the season in the competition, making him the quickest player to score 10 goals in the history of the Champions League, breaking Erling Haaland’s record of seven games.
The former West Ham striker also became the second player to score in every group stage match in the Champions League. Who was the first? Mr. Champions League, Ronaldo, in the 2017/2018 season.
The 27-year-old, who made his Champions League debut in September, is the first player in Champions League history to score in each of his first six appearances in the competition.
READ ALSO: The helicopter carrying India’s military chief crashes
European giants Liverpool, Ajax join ‘perfect’ group
It was a night of firsts for both English and Dutch giants, Liverpool and Ajax, as they became the latest clubs to finish the group stages with a perfect score.
Liverpool came from behind to beat their host AC Milan 2-1 at the San Siro thanks to goals from Salah and Divock Origi. The win ensured Liverpool completed the group stages with six wins from six to become the first English club to achieve the feat.
At the Amsterdam Arena, Ajax also became the first Dutch club to win all their six games in the group stages after a 4-2 win over Sporting.
Both Liverpool and Ajax join an elite group of clubs, that includes Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and AC Milan, to record a perfect run in the group stages.
Mo goals and records for Egypt’s Salah
As far as Liverpool are concerned, Salah has become inevitable. The Egyptian was at it again on Tuesday night as he inspired the Reds to a come from behind win at the San Siro.
Despite Jurgen Klopp’s decision to rest some key players in his starting lineup, he kept his African stars, Sadio Mane and Salah.
However, it was another African, Fikayo Tomori, who opened the scoring albeit for the home side, AC Milan, just before the half-hour mark.
Tomori’s goal lasted just seven minutes before Salah equalized for Liverpool as the first half ended with both teams level at 1-1.
Salah’s goal was his seventh in the competition this season, which was a club record as he became the first Liverpool player to score seven goals in a single Champions League group campaign.
