Erling Haaland scored a record five goals to help Man City produce one of the high-scoring football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. The tie was precariously poised following a 1-1 draw in Germany, but Haaland ripped the game away from City’s opponents with a first-half hat-trick and added two more before the hour mark on an incredible night. His season total now stands at 39. The other goals came from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne, but the evening belonged to the 22-year-old Norwegian. He is the first guy in nine years to score five goals in a Champions League game, and he could have had more if Pep Guardiola hadn’t pulled him. The City manager is aware that there are tougher challenges ahead, despite Arsenal’s five-point advantage in the Premier League title chase.
His first penalty of the night came after a harsh handball ruling against Benjamin Henrichs after a VAR assessment. The second goal came just two minutes later, a spectacular header after De Bruyne’s shot had hit the crossbar. The third ricocheted in off him from only a yard away after Ruben Dias’ header had slid along the line, but Haaland is always in the correct spot. This is his fifth hat trick of the season. The second of these came just before halftime.
When Ederson collided with Konrad Laimer after sprinting out of his area, he was fortunate to escape penalty, while Timo Werner missed his kick when well-placed to pull one back. But the odd sloppiness at the back never appeared to be expensive. Not with them being so effective at the other end of the pitch. Not with Haaland around. The fourth goal was a great team effort that ended with Jack Grealish sending up Gundogan for a left-footed shot into the far corner. With Leipzig defeated, all talk about Haaland struggling to see the ball seemed ridiculous – it looked to be drawn to him.
Janis Blaswich did well to stop his header but was unable to keep the rebound out. The goalie denied Manuel Akanji but not the man of the moment, so he had his fifth. At this moment, there was nearly astonishment. Just his substitution kept the Bundesliga team from defeat. De Bruyne made the final decision. On a week when his boss had instructed him to focus on the little things, he completed the rout with the final kick of the game, curving the ball into the top corner of the net. The Belgian’s excellence continues.
It was a wonderful time because the legendary Poznan celebration was being aired. Given the stakes, this was remarkable. Guardiola has already stated that he understands that his time at City will be judged by some on whether or not he wins the Champions League. Haaland’s presence indicates that he may have succeeded.
“It’s an important night. I am extremely happy to be a member of the Champions League; I adore this competition. I am overjoyed after scoring five goals and winning 7-0 at home. I don’t remember the goals since I just shoot and don’t think!” Erling Haaland said. “There are a lot of objectives nowadays. I didn’t think about it; I just did it. I just wanted to put it in the back of the net on the penalty, as I did with the second, third, and every goal. A lot of it is about thinking quickly and getting it where the keeper isn’t. Some of it is due to quality, but most of it is due to the mind. I told him that I would love to get a hat trick, but what can we do?!”
The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be drawn at 11 a.m. UK time on Friday, March 17 at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The last-16 winners will compete in an open quarter-final and semi-final draw. Because there are no seedings or country protection, clubs may encounter opponents from the same country. They can also draw teams from previous group-stage matches. A final draw will also take place to identify the ‘home’ side for the showpiece event on June 10 in Istanbul, Turkey. On Saturday, Manchester City will face Burnley in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
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