German club RB Leipzig who held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Round of 16 match were simply destroyed by City striker Erling Haaland who scored five goals. The Pep Guardiola led-side beat the Bundesliga side 7-0 (8-1 on aggregate) to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The Norwegian – whose five goals came within a devastating 35-minute spell – already had a hat-trick by half-time, a penalty, a close-range finish stemming from his pressing of the goalkeeper, and a scrappy third after Leipzig had cleared the ball off the line. Two more close-range finishes furthered the pain for the visitors, either side of Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne’s goals.
Haaland’s remarkable five-goal haul ensured he moved beyond the 30-goal mark in the Champions League, becoming the youngest goal scorer in the competition to reach that milestone – secured by his hat-trick strike just before the break. Also, Haaland now has 33 Champions League strikes in 25 appearances – the youngest player, at 22 years and 236 days, to reach 30. He eclipsed Tommy Johnson’s 38 City goals in the 1928-29 season.
Erling Haaland, who was subbed in the 58th minute, joked that he had told manager Pep Guardiola he wanted six when he was taken off. Speaking of City’s victory, he continued: “This was a big night. I am proud to play in the Champions League, I love this competition – as everyone knows. Five goals to win 7-0 at home, I am so happy!”
He further added, “We worked on pressing them for this game, especially at home but in every game we need to put the opposition under pressure. We are so good at winning the ball high up the pitch and moving forward quickly, working the ball to Kevin de Bruyne.”
In the process, Haaland joined the likes of Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano for scoring five goals in a Champions League game.
