Several people have criticized Haaland’s performance ahead of the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round match between Manchester City and RB Leipzig. Some argue that the Norwegian striker made a mistake in selecting the Etihad Stadium squad as a fresh stop in his career.
Haaland has “a small hand” in the Champions League, surpassing Mbappe and tying Messi – 1 Haaland scored five goals in 57 minutes against RB Leipzig.
Despite this, Erling Haaland put an end to any umos after only 63 minutes of activity. HL Pep Guardiola switched Julian Alvarez for Haaland after the young Norwegian prodigy hit the opposition team’s net five times. This player last scored in the Champions League in October of last year, so this achievement is amazing.
Haaland scored their first goal after 22 minutes on a successful penalty kick. Even though the opponent’s keeper recognized the path, the Norwegian striker showed daring by striking into the bottom right corner. Unfortunately for goalkeeper Blaswich, Man City’s No. 9 strike was too powerful for him to answer in time.
In just two minutes, Haaland scored a header to enhance Man City’s lead. Earlier, De Bruyne attempted a dangerous left-foot shot, but the ball smacked the opposing goal post. Whenever this player appears within 5m50 of Haaland, the ball always seems to locate him.
In the penultimate minute of stoppage time in the first half, Ruben Dias smacked the ball off the right post of RB Leipzig’s goal. As the ball rolled to the left post, Haaland was in position to clinch his hat-trick. Things haven’t come to an end there yet.
In the 53rd minute, Bernardo Silva set up Haaland to reach the top of the wall. Blaswich forced the ball out, but Man City’s No. 9 still had a back-kick to make it 5-0. Haaland finished “Little Hand” with another back kick four minutes later. Blaswich continued to assist the Norwegian striker with a great save.
Haaland has “a small hand” in the Champions League: Taking over Mbappe and tying Messi – 2
Haaland has officially surpassed Mbappe as the player with the most Champions League goals at the youngest age.
As a result of this achievement, Erling Haaland moved to the position of Champions League leading scorer with 10 goals. Prior to kickoff, the striker was three goals behind Salah of Liverpool, who had recently slid to second place.
With his second goal against RB Leipzig, the Norwegian striker surpassed Kylian Mbappe to become the Champions League’s youngest player to reach 30 goals at the age of 22 years and 236 days. This player also smashed the record of 30. Van Nistelrooy scored as many goals in the Champions League as he did in the most games combined. Haaland just needed 25 games, whilst the Dutch great needed 34.
Not only that, but Haaland became only the third player in history to score five goals in a Champions League match. Lionel Messi of Barcelona won in 2012, and Luis Adriano of Shakhtar Donetsk won in 2014. The young Norwegian prodigy, on the other hand, had to be respected by the two seniors because he made history in just 57 minutes. Messi needed 82 minutes, while Luis Adriano requires 84.
Leipzig defender: ‘Haaland devoured us alive’
BENJAMIN Henrichs admitted Leipzig could not contain the explosive ability of striker Erling Haaland in the 0-7 defeat in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round.
“I think Leipzig was eaten alive,” Henrichs said after the loss at Eithad. “I’ve never lost 0-7 in my career. It’s been a bitter evening for us.”
Man City dominated yesterday with a 67% ball possession rate, finishing 23 times with 16 shots on goal compared to 4 and 1 for the visitors. Haaland shone with five goals, shattering numerous Champions League records. Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan added the final two goals, advancing Man City to the quarterfinals with a total score of 8-1.
Haaland’s outstanding effort assisted Man City in matching their highest Champions League victory, which came in March 2019 at the Etihad Stadium with a 7-0 triumph over Schalke in the second leg of the 1/8 round.
The German team has suffered its two greatest defeats in the history of the Champions League thanks to losses to Leipzig and Schalke versus Man City.
Henrichs admits that Haaland, who is exceptionally physically powerful and wields enormous power, is difficult to fight against.
“The way he played today says a lot about Haaland’s quality,” the 26-year-old German defender continued.
Because of the VAR’s decisions, Leipzig is also at a disadvantage in compared to Manchester City.
Rodri accidently touched defender Henrichs in the arm in the penalty area in the 22nd minute, resulting in the first controversial incident. Slavko Vincic stepped away from the field to investigate.
Even though Henrichs was close to the opponent and facing his back, the referee awarded Man City.
At the 11-minute mark, Haaland’s shot to the lower right corner broke the stalemate and served as a turning point in the second leg.
Vincic didn’t even raise an alarm after that when the Brazilian goaltender exited his area to break the ball and collided with Konrad Laimer.
The referee did not use VAR and even warned Timo Werner for his slow reaction time.
When asked about these situations, Henrichs replied: “We can’t talk about VAR, we need to talk about our own performance.”
Similarly, coach Marco Rose accepted responsibility, refused to take the referee’s decisions to justify the defeat and acknowledged that Man City won. According to the German coach, Man City was overwhelming, proactive, alert, more ready and Lepzig should have handled the situation better. “Overall, this is a bitter outcome,” he said.
Meanwhile, midfielder Emil Forsberg said: “Man City play well and are a great club. To be honest, we didn’t have a chance. It’s heartbreaking. Leipzig can’t compete and I don’t want to give it away. any excuses”.
After being ousted from the Champions League with a total score of 1-8, Leipzig will focus on two domestic competitions for the rest of the season. They are seven points behind Bayern in the Bundesliga and will play Dortmund in the German Cup quarterfinals on April 5.
