Transparent in the first leg, Erling Haaland came out of his box to offer the qualification to the quarterfinals to Manchester City. Guardiola's players won at home against Leipzig. In the other match, Inter held their own and eliminated FC Porto thanks to an iron defense.
For several years, the Skyblues have been looking for a star to shine on the European stage. And that star could well be Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker, author of a quintuple, allowed his team to beat Leipzig on Tuesday, March 14 in the 1/8th final second leg of the Champions League (7-0). This after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Germany.
In the first leg, City had dominated the first half, Leipzig the second. In this return match, both teams decided to observe each other from the start. No doubt driven by the fear of letting slip the ticket for the quarter of the Champions League. However, at home, City began to press. The first shot was fired by Erling Haaland. Launched in depth by Ruben Dias, the Norwegian is ahead of the defenders and puts the seed. The German goalkeeper saved with his foot (11th). Three minutes later, Leipzig tried to break through. But Raum's cross ended up in Ederson's hands.
The grip on Amadou Haïdara's teammates was tightening. In the 19th minute, Akandji and Haaland both hit the German wall from corners. But Leipzig eventually gave in, and Henrichs' handball was awarded a penalty, albeit a harsh one. Erling Haaland did not hesitate to execute the sentence (22nd). The cyborg scored twice 78 seconds later after De Bruyne's shot was released by the goalkeeper (24th). However, Leipzig can feel wronged by the refereeing. First because of the generous penalty. Then because the Mancunian goalkeeper Ederson was guilty of a big foul outside his area, not whistled by the Slovenian referee Mr. Slavko Vinčić. And to make matters worse, Haaland will get a hat-trick, from a corner (45+2). Three nil at the break.
Record for Haaland
And most importantly, for Erling Haaland, that's now 30 goals in 25 Champions League matches, at half-time. He becomes the youngest to reach 30 goals in the competition (22 years and 236 days), but also the fastest. Enough to satiate him? Not at all. This striker was born to break records. He added two goals in the second half (54th, 57th) to give himself a quintuple. The former Salzburg man becomes the third player to score 5 goals in a Champions League match after Luiz Adriano and Lionel Messi. He gave up his place in the wake, with stars in his eyes. Meanwhile, Gundogan (49th) had also scored. Kevin De Bruyne (90+2) scored the 7th goal with an exceptional right-footed shot.
5 - Erling Haaland est le 3e joueur à marquer 5 buts dans un match de Ligue des Champions après Luiz Adriano en octobre 2014 (avec le Shakhtar Donetsk contre le BATE Borisov) et Lionel Messi en mars 2012 (avec Barcelone contre le Bayer Leverkusen). Jardin. pic.twitter.com/MHSFvmhPcv
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) March 14, 2023
No Haaland, no goal
Between Porto and Inter, there was no goal. It must be said that not everyone has Erling Haaland in his squad. The first half was an observation session. Having won the first leg 1-0, Inter did not want to go on the attack. They were content with counter-attacks while remaining solid in defense. They go back to the locker room, at the break, holding the 0-0. In the second half, Porto pushes to score. But André Onana always showed up as the last block. The Italians kept the 0-0 despite two last scares: a ball saved by Dumfries (90+5) and a header of Taremi on the bar (90+6). They qualify for the quarterfinals.
