London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Haaland hits five as Man City reach quarter-finals

Haaland hits five as Man City reach quarter-finals

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.

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)

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.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×