In the 17th minute of the match, the striker found the net, giving the Red Devils the lead in splendid fashion alongside Marcus Rashford. Hojlund later added another goal in the 67th minute, reclaiming the lead after Wilfred Zaha had equalized. However, despite his efforts, Manchester United suffered a 3-2 loss to Galatasaray on the night. Hojlund, the Danish sensation, has now scored three goals in his first two Champions League appearances, following his debut goal against Bayern Munich on matchday one.

 

With this latest strike on Tuesday evening, Hojlund achieved a remarkable feat, becoming the youngest player to score in his first two Champions League appearances since Erling Haaland in 2019 (at the age of 19 years and 73 days).

 

Back then, Haaland, while playing for Borussia Dortmund, made his mark in the Champions League group stage against KRC Genk. In front of an electric Signal Iduna Park crowd, he left an indelible impression on Europe’s grandest stage by netting a hat-trick. He followed it up with another goal against Liverpool at Anfield in his second outing.

 

Since then, Haaland has firmly established himself as one of the world’s deadliest strikers, tallying 39 goals in as many matches in the competition and guiding his team to their first-ever title in the 2022-23 season.

 

United is set to return to action against Brentford on Saturday, while Haaland, now with Manchester City, will be eager to lead his team to victory against RB Leipzig on Wednesday, following an unexpected defeat to Wolves last weekend.