Champions League
Unstoppable Haaland! He scored five goals in an hour
Erling Haaland in trouble? There’s been something along those lines in the media in recent weeks. But Tuesday night will go down in European football history. Erling Haaland netted five goals in an hour of play and managed to single-handedly knock Leipzig out.
Erling Haaland in trouble? There’s been something along those lines in the media in recent weeks. But Tuesday night will go down in European football history. Erling Haaland netted five goals in an hour of play and managed to single-handedly knock Leipzig out. Haaland scored a hat-trick in the first forty-five minutes. He added two more goals after the change of sides.
Haaland has been the subject of light criticism in recent weeks. How to improve the cooperation between him and the midfield? Was it the right choice to bring him into the reigning champion’s team in the summer? The Champions League return leg against German Leipzig proved that it was.
Tuesday night was an unforgettable one for the Norwegian sniper. He needed less than an hour of play to score 5 goals. Moreover, he improved the statistics of the players operating in the Islands. For the first time since the 2015/16 season, a player playing in the Premier League managed to record five hat-tricks in one season.
The spectators did not wait too long for the first goal in the gloomy English weather. In the 22nd minute, the Norwegian striker converted a penalty kick with ease to send the Citizens into a 1:0 lead.
And then another cruel blow came for the visiting team. After a misplaced ball Kevin De Bruyne hit the crossbar, the deflected ball was knocked into the empty net by none other than the author of the opening goal. In the 24th minute, the former Borussia Dortmund player had already scored two goals.
This goal also makes him the youngest player to score thirty goals in Champions League matches. Kylian Mbappé has also surpassed that number.
Haaland put an end to the first half in injury time. After a corner kick, he literally pushed the ball over the goal line and scored a hat-trick.
And Haaland didn’t let up after the change of sides either. He found the right place in the penalty area after a corner kick and with a precise shot he increased the score to 5:0.
Not even the sixtieth minute had ticked off the clock, and the home team’s driving force had already scored five goals. And again the same fairy tale. Corner. A deflected ball. And Haaland’s precise shot.
After that goal, coach Pep Guardiola acknowledged that he would not trouble the German side any more and replaced the summer signing.
Source: UEFA
