Erling Haaland has once again demonstrated his world-class abilities by scoring five goals in Manchester City’s last-16 clash win over RB Leipzig. The 22-year-old striker scored twice in as many minutes midway through the first half before adding a third just before the break. It was his second hat-trick in the competition, which is already more than Thierry Henry, Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were able to score in their illustrious careers. City eventually won 7-0 on the night and 8-1 on aggregate to see them progress to the last eight for the sixth consecutive season.
City needed a spark to send them through to the quarter-finals after their 1-1 draw from the first leg, so up stepped Haaland. Despite the prospect of a double hat-trick, manager Pep Guardiola defended his decision to bring him off. “If he achieved this milestone at 22, his life would be boring.” Haaland now sits on 39 goals in 36 games for City in all competitions, which is a new record for the club.
TalkSPORT pundit Micky Gray was taken aback by the statistics, calling the striker: “An absolute phenomenon.” Gray added: “A freak of nature, something I don’t think we’ve actually seen in the Premier League or the Champions League, certainly not playing for City. His numbers are off the charts.” It’s clear that the Norwegian is one of the best in the world, and even he is aware of his own incredible ability.
“I think after scoring five goals, I have to say scoring goals!” he said in response to former City defender Joleon Lescott on BT Sport asking what his super strength is. When speaking on his goals, he added: “I’ll be honest, a lot of the goals today I didn’t think, I was just doing it. On the penalty, I was just trying to get the ball into the back of the net, same with the second goal, same with the third goal, same with every goal. I didn’t think on every single goal.”
City are on an arduous quest to win the Champions League, and with Haaland scoring goals anything is possible. They are yet to lift the Champions League, despite having such star-studded squads in previous campaigns. Haaland could be the man to get them across the line though, especially when he continues to score goals for fun.
Haaland scored his fifth treble of the season, and his second goal saw him become the fastest player in Champions League history to score 30 goals. City were in cruise control heading into the break but in the second half, Haaland wanted more. He was on target in the 53rd and 57th minute to put the tie even further out of Leipzig’s reach before being substituted in the 63rd minute.
“I told [manager] Pep Guardiola when I went off: ‘I would love to score a double hat-trick!’,” he said after the game. “But what can I do? I really love this competition, I love the Champions League”. It’s clear that Haaland is a player who wants to win and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
In conclusion, Manchester City have a real chance of winning the Champions League this season with Haaland leading their attack. His incredible ability to score goals has already set him apart from some of football’s greatest players. If he continues to perform at this level, there’s no telling what he can achieve in his career.