Joy-Lance Mickels tops Champions League scorers level with Haaland
Sabah forward Joy-Lance Mickels has four goals in this season's Champions League, level with Erling Haaland and three others. The numbers behind his run and the full scorer race.
A name few fans would have predicted is at the top of the Champions League scoring list. According to the latest Yalla Shoot data for the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League, German forward Joy-Lance Mickels of Sabah has four goals and one assist in this season's competition. That puts him level with Erling Haaland, Ermedin Demirović, Talisca and Nicolò Tresoldi, and he is listed first among the five. Most of his goals came during the long road through the qualifying rounds, but his club has now reached the league phase. This report looks at the numbers behind his run, the shape of the early scoring race and what comes next.
Joy-Lance Mickels' Champions League stats
Mickels has played ten matches in this season's competition, more than anyone else at the top of the list, and has been on the pitch for 642 minutes. His numbers:
- Goals: 4 (none from penalties)
- Assists: 1
- Appearances: 10
- Minutes: 642
- Minutes per goal: about 160
- Average rating: 6.29
Ten appearances by mid-October tells you how his club got here. The league phase has only had two matchdays, so most of Mickels' games and goals came in the qualifying rounds over the summer. The competition's official scoring list counts those qualifiers, which is why players from clubs outside the traditional elite can sit next to Haaland at this early stage. All four of his goals came from open play.
Sabah in the league phase: 22nd after two matchdays
Having come through qualifying, Sabah have taken their place among the 36 clubs in the league phase. After two matches they have one win and one defeat, three points and a 2-4 goal record, which puts them 22nd in the single league table. They share that points total with clubs such as Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Feyenoord.
Under the format in use since the 2024-25 season, each club plays eight league-phase matches. The top eight go straight into the round of 16, the clubs placed ninth to 24th enter a knockout play-off round, and the bottom 12 are eliminated. Sabah are currently inside the play-off positions, though with six matchdays still to play the table will change a lot.
Sabah's attack has been built around two players this season. Mickels has four goals and his team-mate Veljko Simić has three, also from ten appearances and 598 minutes. Between them they have seven of the goals that took the club through qualifying and into the main stage.
Champions League top scorers 2026-27: the full top ten
Five players have four goals each. Four more have three. The table below shows the top ten in this season's competition, qualifying rounds included:
| # | Player | Club | Goals | Assists | Apps | Minutes | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joy-Lance Mickels | Sabah | 4 | 1 | 10 | 642 | 6.29 |
| 2 | Ermedin Demirović | VfB Stuttgart | 4 | 0 | 2 | 71 | 8.66 |
| 3 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 4 | 0 | 2 | 180 | 8.36 |
| 4 | Talisca | Fenerbahçe | 4 | 0 | 6 | 474 | 7.00 |
| 5 | Nicolò Tresoldi | Club Brugge | 4 | 0 | 2 | 173 | 7.95 |
| 6 | Ousmane Dembélé | Paris Saint-Germain | 3 | 3 | 2 | 140 | 9.24 |
| 7 | Veljko Simić | Sabah | 3 | 0 | 10 | 598 | 6.36 |
| 8 | Reinaldo | Levski Sofia | 3 | 0 | 8 | 366 | 3.98 |
| 9 | Nika Sikharulashvili | Iberia 1999 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 250 | 4.96 |
| 10 | Florian Flecker | LASK | 3 | 0 | 3 | 84 | 7.23 |
Different routes to four goals
The players level with Mickels reached four goals in very different ways. Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirović needed only 71 minutes across two appearances, roughly one goal every 18 minutes, and his side are fourth in the league phase with six points. Haaland scored his four in 180 minutes over Manchester City's two league-phase games. Club Brugge's Nicolò Tresoldi did it in 173 minutes, two of his goals from penalties. Fenerbahçe's Talisca has played six matches and 474 minutes, also with two penalties among his four goals.
The best all-round figures so far belong to Ousmane Dembélé. The Paris Saint-Germain forward has three goals and three assists in only 140 minutes, and his average rating of 9.24 is the highest in the top ten. PSG top the league-phase table after scoring ten goals in two wins.
Several players lower down the list will not add to their totals in this competition. Levski Sofia's Reinaldo and Iberia 1999's Nika Sikharulashvili scored their three goals each in qualifying. Levski now appear in the Europa League table, and Iberia 1999 are not among the 36 league-phase clubs.
What Mickels' run means
Realistically, the scoring list will look very different by the end of the league phase, and Mickels will find it hard to stay at the top. Clubs like Manchester City, PSG and Stuttgart have strikers who score frequently against strong opposition, and they will play six more matches. Sabah's own goal output in the league phase so far, two goals in two games, shows how much tougher this level is.
His position still reflects a real achievement. Leading the scoring chart in the Champions League, even jointly and even in October, is something most players never do. For a club from outside Europe's biggest leagues, his goals helped secure a place in the league phase, which brings top opponents and significant prize money.
What's next in the Champions League scoring race
Six league-phase matchdays remain. For Mickels and Sabah, the target is to stay in the top 24 and reach the knockout play-off round, and every goal he adds also keeps him near the top of the scoring list. For Haaland, Demirović, Tresoldi and Dembélé, the next few rounds offer the chance to move clear of the pack.
You can follow the full league-phase table, fixtures and scorer list on our UEFA Champions League page, check Manchester City and VfB Stuttgart team pages for Haaland's and Demirović's next games, and keep up with every goal on Yalla Shoot live scores.