Erling Holland scored his second hat-trick in five days as Manchester City hammered Championship leaders Burnley at the Etihad Stadium to book a place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Holland scored five goals against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, claiming three more to take his tally to 42 for the season.
He is just two short of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mohamed Salah’s record for most goals in a season for an English top-flight club in the Premier League era.
Julian Alvarez added two goals and substitute Cole Palmer also scored in a quiet night for former City captain Vincent Kompany, whose Burnley side have moved 13 points clear at the top of the Championship.
The Clarets performed well in the first half but could not match Holland’s impressive performance in front of goal.
City opened up in the second period, highlighting the gulf in class between England’s top two divisions.
“He is in the right place for his development because he is still very young,” said the Burnley boss of the Netherlands. “He’ll get better – he’s got the right coach and the right mindset.
“I’ve played against great players. They’re part of a certain elite. The best guys have a hard time stopping those guys. They keep finding a way. He looks like a superstar who’s ready to improve.” And it’s exciting to watch. The goalscoring record puts you in a certain bracket – that’s the hardest part of the game.”
It will be City’s sixth semi-final in seven seasons under Pep Guardiola, and this form will see some argue against lifting the trophy for just the second time this term as they maintain their hopes of completing the Premier League, FA treble. are Cup and Champions League.
The draw for the FA Cup semi-finals takes place after Brighton’s tie against Grimsby Town (14:15 GMT) on Sunday.
Holland Goal Scoring Machine
Holland now has an incredible six hat-tricks in his first season in English football – already scored by the brilliant Argentine Sergio Aguero in his ten-year City career.
Considering that City will play a further 18 games if they reach both the FA Cup and Champions League finals, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the Norwegian will end the campaign with around 60 goals. Which has never come close to being achieved in modern times.
The problem for defense is that it has many attributes.
“Holland are a beast,” said Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer on Match of the Day. “He is a goal-scoring machine. He wins and scores goals.
“If he doesn’t score, he doesn’t sleep at night. He wants another, then another, then another.
“He’s fantastic, and this team should be a dream with his potential. He can score 50 goals, maybe even 60.
His first goal owed much to his power as goalkeeper Stefan Ortega headed a long ball low. Holland had the strength to stop Amin Al Dakhil, then cut the ball back to Julian Alvarez who made a brilliant pass through the Burnley defence. Clarets keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell left his line believing he could get to the ball first.
He soon discovered that Holland was also unusually fast. Norway beat him and scored the first try under the keeper.
Holland scored their second three minutes later.
This time, Phil Foden delivered a low cross, which the Norwegian had the intelligence to head into the net above Meur Farrell.
His hat-trick goal was all about being in the right place at the right time as Foden’s shot deflected off the post as Holland stepped up to finish first.
If there is a complaint, it is that Holland are scoring goals too quickly. For the second game, Guardiola took him off with just over an hour played.
“This man will have a problem in the future – he will be expected to score three or four goals in every game and that is not going to happen,” Guardiola said.
“He doesn’t care because he is so positive, so optimistic, never complains. Goal numbers, I don’t know. But if we play well, Erling will score.”
Kompany’s welcome return
Losing at Manchester City is nothing new for Burnley – they have never won at the Etihad Stadium and their last victory at Man Road was in 1963.
It must have been a strange experience for the company, as he enjoyed many memorable moments here and even has a statue of him outside the grounds.
He received a standing ovation when his name was read out before kick-off, with even Guardiola joining in the applause.
After the whistle blew, the company ordered in its distinctive hat, cheered and encouraged its team.
He showed irritation when attacking moves were not executed to his satisfaction, but he also appreciated when Burnley threatened, which they did at intervals, particularly in periods when Holland The opener was scored.
At the end the company shook hands with all the City players who were his teammates not so long ago.
He stood up for a quiet word with Belgian team-mate Kevin de Bruyne, presumably congratulating him on the brilliant pass that left Alvarez for his second, having already curled in a pinpoint cross. Had placed his first on the wall plate.
Kompany knows his team has had nothing like the championship standard, but looks set to bounce back next season – when he hopes to have learned some tough lessons from today.
