erling holland
– Photo: Social Media
Expansion
Norway striker Erling Haaland continues to be charismatic for Manchester City. This time the victim of his magical game was Germany’s club RB Leipzig. Haaland scored five goals, including a hat-trick, in City’s 7-0 one-sided victory in the Champions League second leg. He became the youngest footballer to score five goals in a single match in the Champions League. He equaled Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Luiz Adriano in terms of scoring five goals in a league match, but Haaland surpassed both by achieving this feat at the age of 22 years 236 days.
Scored 30th goal in 25 league matches
Not only this, when he scored the second goal for City at his home ground Etihad Stadium, he became the fastest young footballer in the league with 30 goals. He scored these goals in 25 matches. Kylian Mbappé of France scored 30 goals in the league at the age of 22 years 352 days. Haaland had earlier given City a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute through a penalty kick. He completed his hat-trick with his third goal before half-time to give City a 3–0 lead.
Father encouraged by sitting in the audience gallery
Haaland’s father, former City footballer Elf Inge, was not only enthralled by his son’s performance from the stands, but also continued to cheer him on from there. He then scored more goals in the 54th and 57th minutes. Coach Pep Guardiola called Haaland off the field in the 63rd minute to relieve Leipzig. Ilkay Elkai Gundogan (49th minute) and Kevin De Bruyne (90+2) scored the other two for City. The first leg match between the two ended in a 1-1 draw.
Inter Milan also in the quarter-finals after holding Porto to a goalless draw
Italian club Inter Milan entered the quarter-finals of the Champions League after holding Portuguese club Porto to a 0-0 draw thanks to a strong wall-like defence. Inter has achieved this feat after a decade. Inter defeated Porto 1–0 in the first leg. A 1–0 goal average earned him entry into the last eight. Earlier, Italy’s club AC Milan has reached the quarter-finals and the third Italian club Napoli is also in the race to reach the last eight.
