Haaland opened the scoring in City's 2-0 win over Napoli in its opening European encounter of 2025-2026, looping a header over Vanja Milinkovic-Savic after Foden's clever pass.

It was the Norwegian's 50th goal on his 49th appearance in the UEFA Champions League, reaching half a century of goals in at least 13 appearances fewer than any other player in the competition's history, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of 62 matches.

Haaland has now scored 130 goals for the Citizens in 151 appearances across all competitions, with 74 of those goals coming in 71 games at Etihad Stadium.

England international Foden was quick to shower praise on Haaland, who he backed to smash even more records.

"They were a nightmare team to breakdown. I thought we were pretty clever and didn't give away too many turnovers," Foden said.

"The first half was a bit frustrating. I wasn't getting too many touches between the lines. Erling is always going to make that run.

"It's just about getting that connection. He seems to break every record going. It's unheard of what he's doing. What an unbelievable player."

After his goal in the Manchester derby, Foden also had an impressive game, creating a game-high eight chances, which is also the most by a City player in the UEFA Champions League since Kevin De Bruyne against Real Madrid in August 2020 with nine.

De Bruyne, of course, was on the opposing team this time, having swapped Manchester for Naples over the summer after a stellar stint with the Citizens.

However, it was not the homecoming many envisaged, with the Belgium international replaced in the 26th minute by Mathias Olivera after Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off four minutes earlier.

De Bruyne received a standing ovation from the home support, and while not getting a full run out, Foden acknowledged he had already achieved legendary status at the club.

"He's a legend of the club. I can't thank him enough for what he has done. He's forever going to be a legend here," Foden added.