Manchester City has reached the last eight in the Champions League in a very convincing way on Tuesday evening. Erling Braut Haaland claimed a leading role by scoring no less than five goals during the 7-0 win at the Etihad Stadium. Josep Guardiola, however, decided to exchange his pupil for Julián Álvarez after 63 minutes. Haaland admitted afterwards that he was frustrated when he was substituted early. The Norwegian goal machine says it would have liked to have made a double hat-trick.
“It was a great night,” the striker said BT Sports. “Firstly, I am proud to play in this league, I love it. I score five goals and we win 7-0, great. My superpower is scoring goals. Do I have to be honest? Many of today’s goals didn’t even make me think, I just wanted to smash that ball into the net. It’s about thinking fast.”
Guardiola took Haaland to the side after more than an hour with a 6-0 score. However, the striker’s hunger for goals was not satisfied yet. “I told the coach that I would have liked to have scored a double hat-trick, but yes. What are you doing about it?” he said jokingly. Leipzig coach Marco Rose, who worked with Haaland at Borussia Dortmund last season, thought it was a special evening for the striker. “Haaland was so hungry. He scored goals with his foot, with his head, he won second balls, he made sprints behind our defence. It looked really simple tonight. He took the ball from the referee. It means it was a special night for him and can only congratulate him.”
Response Guardiola
Haaland equaled Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano on Tuesday evening, both of whom had already scored five times in one Champions League match. Due to Guardiola’s early substitution, Haaland was unable to break this record. “If he breaks that at the age of 22, life will be boring. Now he has another goal to work towards,” Guardiola said at a closing press conference. “Today he made five in thirty to 35 touches. That’s what we want, but it’s not easy.”