Erling Haaland is the third player to score five goals in a single Champions League game after Luiz Adriano in October 2014 (Shakhtar Donetsk vs BATE Borisov) and Lionel Messi in March 2012 (Barcelona v Bayer Leverkusen)
Erling Haaland rewrote the record books by scoring an incredible five times as Manchester City swept RB Leipzig aside to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Haaland becomes the fastest and youngest player to reach 30 goals in Europe’s elite club competition.
He is also the youngest player to score five times in a single Champions League game, joining Argentina great Lionel Messi and Brazil forward Luiz Adriano as the only players to do so.
The 22-year-old is now on 39 goals for the season in all competitions, the first City player to reach that figure in a single campaign. His five hat-tricks are three more than any other player in the big five leagues.
On any normal day, Ilkay Gundogan’s precise low shot into the bottom corner would have merited praise. On this historic night, which matched City’s 7-0 triumph over Schalke in 2019, it was nothing more than a footnote.
On this evidence, no-one, not even Real Madrid, will want to be paired with Pep Guardiola’s side in Friday’s last-eight draw.
Legendary former club captain Vincent Kompany can only hope his old club have got this calibre of performance out of their system when he brings his Burnley side to Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Haaland haunts former boss Rose
Leipzig coach Marco Rose was Haaland’s boss at Dortmund last season. Little wonder he reacted with incredulity on the eve of the game when it was pointed out to him that some feel City are a lesser team with the Norwegian in it.
“It could get really, really, really good for him with Pep and Man City,” was Rose’s response.
He would have preferred his words not to be proved quite so perceptive, quite so soon.
Leipzig were given a very early warning about the difficulties that lay ahead when Nathan Ake dropped a long pass over their defence and in the space of half a dozen strides Haaland had sprinted clear of their defence and bore down on goal.
Goalkeeper Janis Blaswich managed to deny Haaland the opener – but it was to be his last success of the night in that personal duel.
Five-star Haaland offers up finishing masterclass
Rose may argue City should not have been awarded the penalty that gave Haaland the chance to open the scoring.
True, Benjamin Henrichs was very close to Rodri – but once VAR intervened it was also obvious the defender had his arms out when the City man headed the ball against his hand.
Haaland kept his cool, buried the penalty and, as the visiting bench were still grumbling at the unfairness of it all, made it 2-0 when he reacted quickest after De Bruyne’s thunderous shot came back off the crossbar and headed into an empty net.
And when Amadou Haidara’s clearance off the line, after Blaswich had turned away Ruben Dias’ header, bounced straight into the advancing Haaland to give him his hat-trick in first-half stoppage time, Leipzig might have been tempted to concede.
But there was more punishment to come for the hapless visitors.
Gundogan’s well-taken strike was followed by Haaland’s fourth, which came when Blaswich saved a Manuel Akanji effort and again it fell just right for the Norwegian.
When he turned home a fifth for the first time in his career, Haaland had effectively scored five times in 35 minutes.
Hs dad Alfie, watching from an executive box high in the stadium, was on his feet leading the applause.
Probably wisely, Guardiola decided there was not much point in Haaland staying on the pitch. He left to a standing ovation from a crowd both appreciative and incredulous at what they had just seen.
City eased off with the job emphatically done before De Bruyne scored with virtually the last kick as Leipzig were condemned to their heaviest European defeat.
Player of the match
HaalandErling Haaland
RB Leipzig
Squad number7Player nameOlmo
Squad number19Player nameAndré Silva
Squad number17Player nameSzoboszlai
Squad number11Player nameWerner
Squad number9Player namePoulsen
Squad number32Player nameGvardiol
Squad number22Player nameRaum
Squad number4Player nameOrbán
Squad number8Player nameHaidara
Squad number2Player nameSimakan
Squad number10Player nameForsberg
Squad number39Player nameHenrichs
Squad number44Player nameKampl
Squad number16Player nameKlostermann
Squad number27Player nameLaimer
Squad number21Player nameBlaswich
Line-ups
Man City
Formation 3-2-4-1
31Ederson
3Rúben Dias25Akanji6Aké
16Rodri8Gündogan
17De Bruyne5Stones20Bernardo Silva9Haaland
10Grealish
- 31Ederson
- 3Rúben Dias
- 25AkanjiBooked at 77mins
- 6Aké
- 16RodriSubstituted forPhillipsat 64’minutes
- 8GündoganSubstituted forMahrezat 55’minutes
- 17De BruyneBooked at 67mins
- 5StonesSubstituted forGómezat 64’minutes
- 20Bernardo Silva
- 9HaalandSubstituted forÁlvarezat 63’minutes
- 10GrealishSubstituted forFodenat 55’minutes
Substitutes
- 2Walker
- 4Phillips
- 14Laporte
- 18Ortega
- 19Álvarez
- 21Gómez
- 26Mahrez
- 32Perrone
- 33Carson
- 47Foden
- 80Palmer
- 82Lewis
RB Leipzig
Formation 4-2-3-1
21Blaswich
39Henrichs4Orbán32Gvardiol22Raum
8Haidara44Kampl
27Laimer10Forsberg17Szoboszlai
11Werner
- 21Blaswich
- 39HenrichsBooked at 21minsSubstituted forKlostermannat 80’minutes
- 4Orbán
- 32Gvardiol
- 22Raum
- 8HaidaraSubstituted forSimakanat 63’minutes
- 44Kampl
- 27Laimer
- 10ForsbergSubstituted forAndré Silvaat 62’minutes
- 17SzoboszlaiSubstituted forOlmoat 72’minutes
- 11WernerBooked at 34minsSubstituted forPoulsenat 62’minutes
Substitutes
- 2Simakan
- 7Olmo
- 9Poulsen
- 13Nyland
- 16Klostermann
- 19André Silva
- 23Halstenberg
- 25Ba
- 34Nickisch
Referee:Slavko Vincic
Attendance:52,038
Live Text
Match ends, Manchester City 7, RB Leipzig 0.
Second Half ends, Manchester City 7, RB Leipzig 0.
Goal! Manchester City 7, RB Leipzig 0. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Riyad Mahrez.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match because of an injury David Raum (RB Leipzig).
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by David Raum.
Attempt saved. Manuel Akanji (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Bernardo Silva with a cross.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Willi Orbán.
Attempt blocked. Julián Álvarez (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Substitution, RB Leipzig. Lukas Klostermann replaces Benjamin Henrichs.
Attempt missed. André Silva (RB Leipzig) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Willi Orbán with a headed pass.
Manuel Akanji (Manchester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Manuel Akanji (Manchester City).
Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Sergio Gómez (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig).
Foul by Bernardo Silva (Manchester City).
Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, RB Leipzig. Dani Olmo replaces Dominik Szoboszlai.
Foul by Rúben Dias (Manchester City).
