'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#2 Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid) - 2013
Diego Costa made a blistering start to life in the Champions League. On his competition debut in 2013 against Austria Vienna, the then 25-year-old scored a brace to power Atletico Madrid to a 3-0 win in the Austrian capital.
As if to prove that was no fluke, Costa then proceeded to score in each of his next four games, including both legs of the Round of 16. In the process, the Spaniard joined Del Piero as the only two players to score in their first five games in the Champions League.
He also scored in the semi-final against Chelsea as the Rojiblancos reached their first Champions League final. However, Costa hobbled off after only nine minutes in the title match against Real Madrid, who won 4-1 in extra time on the night.
Costa failed to build on his promising exploits, though, scoring only thrice in his next four Champions League campaigns.
#3 Erling Haaland (Red Bull Salzburg) - 2019
Erling Haaland announced himself on the Champions League stage when he scored a hat-trick for RB Salzburg on his competition debut in 2019.
The then-teenager then proceeded to net in each of his next four games. That made Haaland the first player in Champions League history to score eight goals in his first five games in the competition.
Fast forward two years, the 21-year-old has scored 21 times in only 18 Champions League games. His last 13 goals have come for his current club Borussia Dortmund.
In his absence in the last three games in this season's competition, though, BVB endured as many defeats to drop out of the Round-of-16 reckoning.
#4 Sebastien Haller (Ajax) - 2021
Sebastien Haller has taken to the UEFA Champions League like a duck to water. The Ajax striker opened his account in the competition with a stunning quadruple on his Champions League debut against Sporting Lisbon. He hasn't looked back since then.
Haller then proceeded to net in each of his next three games before a brace at Besiktas on Matchday 5 helped him script history. In the process, he became only the fourth player to score in their first five games in the Champions League.
That wasn't the only record Haller created on the night, though. With nine goals in five games, Haller has broken Haaland's record for most Champions League goals after five games.
In the process, he also became the first Ajax player to score in the first five games of a Champions League campaign. Ajax, in fact, have become the first Dutch side to win their first five games in a season in the Champions League era.
