Erling Haaland rewrote the record books by scoring an incredible five times as Manchester City brushed aside RB Leipzig to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Holland became the fastest and youngest player to score 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 Argentine great Lionel Messi and Brazilian forward Luiz Adriano as the only players to do so.
The 22-year-old is now on 39 goals of the season in all competitions, the first City player to reach that mark in a single campaign. His five hat tricks are three more than any other player in the big five leagues.
On any normal day, Alke Gundogan’s accurate low shot into the bottom corner would be worthy of praise. On that historic night, which coincided with City’s 7-0 victory over Schalke in 2019, it was nothing more than a footnote.
On that evidence, nobody, 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 get that performance out of their system when they bring their Burnley side to the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Haaland haunts former boss Rose
Leipzig coach Marco Rose was Holland boss at Dortmund last season. Unsurprisingly, he reacted with incredulity on the eve of the game when it was pointed out that some felt City were a lesser team alongside the Norwegian.
“It could be really, really, really good for him with Pep and Man City,” was Rose’s response.
He would have preferred not to prove his point so quickly.
Leipzig were given an early warning of the trouble ahead when Nathan Ake dropped a long pass over their defense and within half a dozen yards the Netherlands had cleared their defense and crashed through on goal.
Goalkeeper Janis Blasovic was able to deny Holland an opener – but that was the last success of the night in this personal pairing.
Five-star Haaland offers up finishing masterclass
Rose may argue that City should not have been awarded the penalty that allowed Holland to score.
It’s true that Benjamin Henriques was too close to Rodri – but once VAR intervened it was also clear that the defender’s arms were out when the City man headed the ball with his hand.
Holland kept his cool, buried the penalty and, with the visiting bench still muttering at the injustice of it all, made it 2-0 when he deflected De Bruyne’s thunderous shot off the crossbar. The latter showed the fastest reaction and went into an empty net.
And when Amadou Haidara’s clearance from the line deflected Blaswich’s Ruben Dias’ header, it bounced straight at the advancing Haaland to give him his hat-trick in first-half stoppage time, Leipzig may have been tempted to concede. came.
But more punishment was to come for the poor pilgrims.
Holland’s fourth followed Gundogan’s well-taken strike, which came when Blasovic saved Manuel Akanji’s effort and then it fell just wide for the Norwegian.
Holland had effectively scored five times in 35 minutes when he headed home the fifth in his career for the first time.
His father Alfie, watching from an executive box high in the stadium, clapped his feet.
Perhaps sensibly, Guardiola decided there was little point in Holland staying on the pitch. He left to receive a standing ovation from a crowd he had just seen.
City eased into the task emphatically before De Bruyne scored with virtually the last kick as Leipzig were condemned to their heaviest European defeat.
