Manchester City cruised past RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League’s Round of 16 as Erling Haaland scored a record-breaking five goals. The 22-year-old Norwegian striker is currently the top scorer in both the Premier League and the Champions League. The goal-scoring machine was substituted in the 64th minute of the game and still managed to net five.
In last night’s game alone, Haaland made UEFA Champions League History by breaking a number of records. The match ended in a 7-0 second leg victory for Manchester City with two other goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan. The first leg in Leipzig had ended in a 1-1 draw, bringing the aggregate to 8-1 in favor of City.
UEFA Champions League records broken by Erling Haaland in the Ro-16 game vs RB Leipzig
Five goals in a UEFA Champions League knockout fixture is no trivial feat. Haaland became only the third player to score five goals in a single UCL match after former Barcelona icon Lionel Messi against Bayer Leverkusen in 2011-12 and former Shakhtar Donetsk man Luiz Adriano against Bate Borisov in 2014-15.
Even Mr. Champions League Cristiano Ronaldo has a personal best of four goals in a single game. Haaland and Messi are now the only two players to score five goals in a knockout UCL game.
Haaland’s overall goal tally has made him both the youngest and the quickest to reach 30 goals in UEFA Champions League history, beating the previous records set by Kylian Mbappe and Ruud Van Nistelrooy, respectively.
Erling Haaland sets new Manchester City goal-scoring record
We may be nowhere near the end of the 22/23 football season but Haaland has already become Manchester City’s all-time top scorer with 39 goals beating the 1928 record of Tommy Johnson with ease.
Interestingly, the former Borussia Dortmund striker was criticized for not being on the scoresheet in the away leg in Leipzig. However, Haaland turned it all around in the Etihad stadium with a 10/10 performance.
The young striker now has more UEFA Champions League goals than some big names like Wayne Rooney, Antoine Griezmann, Samuel Eto’o and Kaká. After the RB Leipzig match, Haaland joked that he would have loved to score a double hat-trick.
Ballon d’Or chances for the Norwegian striker
This single performance has made him a clear contender for the upcoming Ballon d’Or, alongside the likes of World Cup winner Lionel Messi and French superstar Kylian Mbappe. Paris Saint-Germain crashed out early in the Champions League against Bayern Munich, which heavily affects both Messi and Mbappe’s chances of winning.
If Haaland keeps up his form and leads Manchester City to their first ever Champions League trophy, the Ballon d’Or is inevitable for the Norwegian. Even if they fall short, toppling Arsenal in the PL would still be enough to bring him to the Top 3.
RELATED NEWS: TikTok: Who are the highest earning + most popular footballers? Ranked
You can also share any questions you have about Erling Haaland’s UEFA Champions League records. Until then, stay with us here at Spiel Times for more content.