After scoring a ridiculous five goals for Manchester City in a 7-0 Champions League thrashing of RB Leipzig, Erling Haaland then delivered a brilliant post-match interview. Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne were also on the scoresheet for the home side, but it was all about Erling Haaland, who scored a hat-trick in the first half and added a brace in the second.
However, it was Erling Haaland’s manager Pep Guardiola who denied him a double hat-trick, which would have then broken Lionel Messi’s record for most goals in a single UCL game. Currently, both Haaland and Messi share the record on five goals, along with Luiz Adriano. The Norway international opened up about what he said to Guardiola when the Spaniard subbed him off.
‘What can I do?’ – Erling Haaland on Guardiola denying him a double hat-trick
The only drawback for Erling Haaland on the night was that he was taken off in the 64th minute before he could make history by becoming the first player in Champions League history to score a double hat-trick. He appeared to be frustrated, and after speaking with De Bruyne, he was seen speaking to his manager, Pep Guardiola while going off the pitch to let Argentine World Cup winner Julian Alvarez take over.
And, in a fantastic post-match interview with BT Sport alongside Jake Humphrey, Rio Ferdinand, Nedum Onuoha, and Joleon Lescott, Erling Haaland revealed what he said to Guardiola. The striker revealed:
“I’m really proud to play in the Champions League. I really love this competition. My super strength? I think after scoring five goals, I have to say scoring goals. A lot of goals today, I didn’t think. I was just doing it. I told him [Pep Guardiola] when I went off, ‘I would love to score a double hat-trick’. But what can I do?”
Haaland has even scored nine goals in a game – for Norway against Honduras at the Under 20 level as his desire to score is almost unrivalled. His five-goal display on Tuesday evening came in just 30 touches, averaging a goal every six touches. Haaland has now scored 39 goals this season, the most by a City player in a single season, surpassing the previous record of Tommy Johnson who had bagged 38 in the 1928/29 season.
Furthermore, the former Borussia Dortmund striker has become the youngest player in Champions League history to score 30 goals, shattering his rival Kylian Mbappe’s record. While Haaland has now scored 30 goals at the age of 22 years and 236 days, Mbappe had achieved the feat at the age of 22 years and 352 days. He could now even go on to pip the PSG superstar in Champions League titles won as City again are the favourites to lift the trophy this year.
On the other hand, Mbappe and his glittery PSG team had to bow out from the round of 16 for a second season in a row. The Parisians fell to old rivals Bayern Munich on a 3-0 aggregate score across two legs. The Bavarians had even denied Mbappe a Champions League triumph in 2020 by defeating PSG in the final by a narrow 1-0 scoreline. Mbappe and co will now focus on securing the Ligue 1 title, while Erling Haaland and City will await to know their last eight opponents.