Manchester City have successfully joined Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for this season. They won 7-0 over RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium, with Erling Haaland scoring five goals.
Pep Guardiola’s men don’t always perform impressively in the competition, but they have been balling so far in the 2022-2023 season.
The Citizens have won their previous 10 round of 16 games in the UCL, with 8 wins, 2 draws, and 31 goals scored. Of course, that’s amazing.
RB Leipzig were very strong during the group-stage, but they failed woefully on Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium, conceding seven goals, four in the second-half.
Meanwhile, Haaland was seriously at his best against the Bundesliga side. As a result, he single-handedly added some records to his name in Europe’s top-5 leagues.
At the age of 22, Erling is the fastest player to score 10, 20, and 30 goals in the UEFA Champions League, everything in just 25 games.
He scored 10 UCL goals in 7 matches, beating Tottenham’s Harry Kane, who made 12 appearances before registering ten goals in the competition.
At the same time, the Norwegian youngster scored 20 goals in just 14 games, leapfrogging Harry Kane again, who had 24 matches.
However, on Tuesday, against RB Leipzig. He reached 30 UCL goals in just 25 matches, overthrowing Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had 34 appearances.
Even though Haaland is just 22-year-old, he has scored more Champions League goal hat-tricks (2) than Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, and Wayne Rooney.
The Norwegian international is always too hot to handle for defenders in Europe’s top-5 leagues, particularly under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
Haaland on scoring five goals:
“I could have had two more goals in the first half. And there were crosses on the pitch from Kevin [De Bruyne] I could have got to. And I had stayed on the pitch, who knows what could have happened. You have to be happy with five, but I always want more.”
Having scored three goals in the first-half against RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium, he has single-handedly registered five hat-tricks for the Citizens in all competitions.
Despite the fact of joining Manchester City in the 2022-2023 campaign, he has scored a hat-trick against the following teams;
- Crystal Palace
- Nottingham Forest
- Manchester United
- Wolverhampton
- RB Leipzig
Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland:
“He has unbelievable mentality. We’re so happy with this boy. We didn’t know him [before the signing] but Erling is always happy, always funny, he’s nice with his teammates.”
Who are the players to score four or more goals in a single UCL match?
- Erling Haaland
- Robert Lewandowski
- Serge Gnabry
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Luiz Andriano
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Mario Gomez
- Lionel Messi
- Bafetimbi Gomis
- Andriy Shevchenko
- Ruud van Nistelrooy
- Dado Prso
- Simone Inzaghi
- Marco van Basten
Obviously, the Norwegian youngster joined the league of the big boys at the age of 22, showing his qualities inside the opponent’s box.
Who are the players to score a hat-trick in the UCL knock-out stage since 2015-2016?
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
- Sadio Mané
- Lucas Moura
- Josip Iličić
- Robert Lewandowski
- Karim Benzema
- Kylian Mbappe
- Erling Haaland
What are the 7 records Erling Haaland created after scoring five goals against Leipzig?
Fastest player to reach 30 UCL goals
The Citizens’ central forward is now the fastest player to score thirty goals in the UEFA Champions League in just 25 games.
He overtook Rudd van Nistelrooy, who registered the same amount of goals in 34 games, scoring for fun in all competitions.
Haaland recently overtook Ruud van Nistelrooy in the Premier League, and now he has broken his record in the UCL.
Most UCL goals for Manchester City
Speaking of Erling’s five goals against RB Leipzig on Tuesday, he has cemented himself in the club’s book of European records.
The Norwegian international became the first player ever at Manchester City to reach double figures (10) in a single UCL season.
Of course, the player is literally taking over Sergio Agüero’s legacy at the club, scoring goals regardless of the competition.
Most goals in a single campaign for Manchester City
In all competitions, Haaland became the player with the most goals for Pep Guardiola’s men in a single season.
He has now scored 39 goals for Manchester City, making him unstoppable and irreplaceable for the Citizens at the moment.
Surprisingly, it’s just March, meaning he’s expected to double the figure before the end of the campaign in June.
Youngest player to score 30 UCL goals
Even though Kylian Mbappe is a goal-machine on his own, always dangerous in the UEFA Champions League.
Haaland is now the youngest player to record 30 UCL goals, beating many young footballers in Europe’s top-5 leagues.
The record may be somehow difficult to break for the upcoming players, because European competitions aren’t for amateurs.
First Premier League player with five hat-tricks
Erling has registered five hat-tricks for Manchester City in all competitions this campaign, three more than any other player in Europe’s top-5 leagues.
As a result, he’s now the first Premier League player to score five hat-tricks in a single season, putting the league’s name on the map.
Frankly, the Norwegian goal-machine is most likely to do another impossible thing before the end of the 2022-2023 season.
Third player to score five goals in a UCL game
Haaland joined the circle of the big boys on Tuesday, as he netted five goals against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League.
Therefore, he became the third player in history to score five goals in a UCL game since 2014.
Erling is literally unstoppable in the 2022-2023 campaign, expecting to go for more European records.
Who are the other players to score five goals in a single UCL game?
Lionel Messi – Barcelona
The Argentine maestro netted five goals against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012, as the Culers claimed a 7-1 victory over the Bundesliga team.
Luiz Andriano – Shakhtar Donetsk
The Brazilian was also on the list, scoring more than four UCL goals in a single match against BATE Borisov in 2014.
However, Messi remains the only player to score five non-penalty goals in a UEFA Champions League match.
Haaland netted a penalty against RB Leipzig on Tuesday, and Luiz Andriano had a penalty against BATE in 2014.
Interestingly, Lionel Messi’s record remains intact in the competition, being the only player with 5 non-penalty goals in a single UCL match.