….. and then equals another set by Lionel Messi in dominating display against RB Leipzig.
Erling Haaland’s quick-fire hat-trick for Man City against RB Leipzig on Tuesday broke a goalscoring record previously held by Kylian Mbappe.
The big Norwegian scored a first-half hat-trick as City took control of their Champions League last-16 early on at the Etihad, the City’s home.
City’s clash with the Bundesliga outfit looked finely poised going into Tuesday’s second leg following a 1-1 draw in Germany, three weeks earlier.
Haaland converted a penalty 22 minutes into the second leg before scoring again just 19 seconds after Leipzig had kicked off.
It was also the 30th goal of Haaland’s Champions League career.
He then completed his 17th career hat trick in first-half stoppage time with a scruffy finish from ultra close range after a headed effort from Rodri had almost crossed the line.
Erling scored twice more in the first 12 minutes of the second half to become only the third player in UCL history after Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano – to score record five goals in one game.
While Haaland’s efforts will help his team progress further in the competition, it also represented an impressive individual feat.
At 22 years and 236 days old, the City forward became the youngest player to reach 30 goals in the competition’s history.
That puts him ahead of Kylian Mbappe, who previously held the record at 22 years and 352 days old, both of whom are far ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
On Tuesday night, Haaland also celebrated becoming the fastest player to reach the 30-goal milestone, doing so in just 25 matches, beating Ruud van Nistelrooy’s previous record of 30 games.
Pep Guardiola put a cap on his prolific day by substituting Haaland off in the 63rd minute, much to the disappointment of fans across the world who wished to see the Norwegian break the record himself, but it was still a memorable Sunday evening in Manchester as City flew through into the quarterfinals.
