Erling Haaland became the third player in Champions League history to score five goals in one game as he led Manchester City to an implacable 7-0 defeat by RB Leipzig in the second leg of the round of 16 on Tuesday.
The win, which equaled City’s biggest win in Europe, sent Pep Guardiola’s side 8-1 on aggregate to the quarter-finals, with Ilkay Gündogen and Kevin De Bruyne also scoring for City in a devastating performance at the Etihad Stadium.
It was a record-breaking night for 22-year-old Haaland, who became Manchester City’s top scorer in a season as he took his campaign tally to 39 goals and shot him past Tommy Johnson’s mark in 1928-29.
He also became the youngest player to score 30 goals in the Champions League as he rose to 33 and reached that mark in 25 games, the fewest ever.
“It’s a great night. Firstly, I’m proud to play in this competition, I love it. Five goals. Winning 7-0 is incredible,” he said.
“My super strength is scoring goals. Should I be honest? A lot of goals today, I didn’t think so. I was just trying to put them in the back of the net,” he added. “A lot of that is being quick in the mind and trying to put it where the goalkeeper isn’t.”
Haaland hinted he had a big night ahead with a quick brace, scoring a home penalty in the 22nd minute after Benjamin Henrichs was ruled handled in the box following a VAR review, with the Norwegian suffering a knee slip and a greeting celebrated .
He found the net again 19 seconds after kick-off.
Haaland urged Leipzig’s keeper to make a bad clarification, which fell to De Bruyne. The Belgian’s shot came back off the bar and ricocheted off for Haaland to go home.
His fifth hat-trick in all competitions this season came in first-half injury time when Ruben Dias’s header wobbled over the line and Haaland rushed in to force it into the net.
“Fabulous,” Guardiola said of Haaland in the evening. “He’s got a huge competitive mentality, he’s there and yes, he’s scored five goals, which isn’t easy.”
Gundogen made it 4-0 in the 49th, driving a low finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the box before Haaland capped his history-making night with two more from close range in the 53rd and 57th minutes.
Guardiola replaced the Norwegian in the 62nd minute, perhaps sparing Leipzig further humiliation but denying Haaland an opportunity to strike a record-breaking sixth in a single Champions League game.
“I told him (Guardiola) that I would like to score a double hat-trick, but what can I do?” Haaland said.
De Bruyne scored a stunning seventh goal seconds before the final whistle for good measure.
Manchester City have never lifted the Champions League trophy and came the closest in 2021 when they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the final. They lost to Real Madrid in the semifinals last season.
Leipzig coach Marco Rose knew before kick-off that Haaland would be a big challenge and he was right.
“He had a great night. He was so hungry,” Rose said. “He was scoring goals with his foot and his head, winning second balls, running deep. It looked really easy.”
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